"Principles of Physiology" will provide students with basic knowledge about cell morphology and physiology, and physiology of organs and systems: musculoskeletal, nervous, respiratory, cardio-circulatory, renal, and digestive systems.
Students will learn the specific language of the discipline to describe the functionality of the human body, both at the cellular level and at the level of organs and systems. They will also begin to acquire the knowledge and critical skills that will allow them to design medical devices compatible with the functionalities of the human body and capable of interpreting biological signals.
Course Prerequisites
Basic chemistry
Basic notions of biology taught in high school, in particular relating to the structure of the cell and the human anatomy.
Teaching Methods
Lectures conducted through the presentation of Power Point slides and exercises.
Where possible, interactive teaching and gamification will be used to make the lessons more dynamic and participatory
Assessment Methods
Written exam including problems, true/false and multiple choice questions, open-ended questions.
It is possible to take an intermediate written tests in itinere at the end of the first semester, on the topics of the first part of the course. If this first intermediate test is successful, it is possible to complete the exam with a further final test, limited only to the topics covered in the second part of the module.
Alternatively, it will be possible to take only one final written test on the entire program.
Texts
To delve deeper into the topics covered in class, the following textbook is recommended:
Anna Belfiore et al., FISIOLOGIA UMANA-FONDAMENTI, EDIERMES 2018
Contents
The biological membrane - Transmembranal fluxes - Membrane transports - Ionic channels - Membrane potential - Membrane equivalent circuit - Passive electrophysiological properties of a cell - The action potential - Chemical and electrical synapses - Sensory receptors - Reflexes - The muscle contraction - Renal physiology - Respiratory physiology - Cardiac and vascular physiology - Physiology of the digestive system.
Course Language
Italian
More information
For working students, students engaged in the care of their family members, students with civil disability, students with disabilities or with specific learning disabilities, parent students (until the child's first year), student athletes, students in prison, students in hospitalization or suffering from certified pathologies, up to 2 hours of reception with the teacher per week will be guaranteed (previously agreed via email).
