The course aims to provide knowledge about:

1. the functioning of some organs of the human body;

2. the nervous and hormonal mechanisms of control of their integrated working under normal conditions.

The program includes the following topics, listed in the order as they will be presented during the course:

1. Gastrointestinal system: Motility: electrical and mechanical activity of smooth muscle cells, propulsive movements – peristalsis – mixing movements, mastication, swallowing, esophagus motility, stomach motility, movements of small and large intestine, defecation; Secretory functions: salivary secretion, esophageal secretion, gastric secretion, pancreatic secretion, biliary secretion, intestinal secretion; Digestion and absorption.

2. Nervous and hormonal control of gastrointestinal functions; nervous control of the energy balance.

3. Cardiovascular system: Physiologic anatomy of heart; Electrical activity of cardiac cells: action potentials and its conduction, electrocardiography; Mechanical activity of heart: cardiac muscle cells, excitation-contraction coupling, length-tension relationship; the cardiac cycle: diastole, presystole, systole, function of the valves, blood pressure and volume curve, heart sounds, arterial pulse, venous pulse, cardiac output; Blood circulation: overview of the circulation, histo-functional characteristics of vessels; arterial system: elasticity of arteries, blood pressure; microcirculation: morpho-functional organization, microvascular exchange, regulation of microcirculation; venous system: morpho-functional organization, venous return mechanism.

4. Nervous and hormonal control of cardiovascular function: regulation of cardiac activity (chronotropism; bathmotropism; dromotropism; inotropism); regulation of arterial and venous pressure.

No bridging courses are reported

According to Dublin descriptors, at the end of the course and for passing the exam, students are expected to fulfill the following requirements:

D1- KNOWLEDGE AND CAPACITY OF UNDERSTANDING: to possess good knowledge and understanding of the human physiology topics, so as to be able to set a logical and complete discussion about theoretical aspects of the discipline, being also able to make connections among the treated topics;

D2- CAPACITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: to apply the acquired knowledge to the discussion of different issues within the human physiology;

D3- JUDGEMENT AUTONOMY: to have acquired autonomy in the application of knowledge, making independent decisions and choices in the face of different aspects inherent human physiology;

D4- COMMUNICATION  SKILLS: to be able to communicate, clearly and comprehensively, the acquired knowledge, exposing with language property and scientific terms, elaborating an autonomous thinking using the provided information about the diverse issues presented during the course;

D5- LEARNING ABILITY: to analyze and understand scientific texts/articles, also in English, about the topics inherent human physiology and to use them for study and research.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

No supporting activities

Teaching

Lectures

Attendance

Class attendance is recommended.

Students need to have adequate knowledge of cellular physiology.

Course books

In alternative:

- Guyton and Hall, Textbook of Medical Physiology,Thirteenth Edition, 2020, Elsevier

- Berne & Levy, Physiology, Seventh Edition, 2018, Elsevier Inc.

Assessment

Oral exam addressed to monitor compliance with Dublin Descriptor requirements. The exam will consist of 3 questions throughout the course program topics and particular attention will be paid to the verification of the student's ability to make connections among the topics. 

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.