Entry requirements

General entry requirements and Biology level 2, Physics level 1b or level 1a2, Chemistry level 2, Mathematics Further level 1b or level 1c, or Biology 2, Physics 1a or 1b1+1b2, Chemistry 2, Mathematics 3b or 3c/Mathematics C

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

After completing the course, the student should be able to:

• Recall and identify structures and factual knowledge in anatomy and physiology at the cellular, tissue, organ, organ system, and whole-body levels.
• Explain and describe normal physiological processes at the cellular, tissue, organ, organ system, and whole-body levels.
• Apply their knowledge to interpret and explain changes in physiological processes under altered external and/or internal conditions.
• Master basic anatomical and medical terminology to describe parts of the human body, their locations, and their relationships to each other.

Skills and ability

After completing the course, the student should be able to:

• Handle a physical light microscope, perform Köhler illumination, and use a virtual microscope on a computer.
• Identify commonly occurring cells, tissues, and organs in histological diagnostics at the microscopic level.
• Perform basic cell culture and immunohistochemical staining with limited supervision.
• Prepare and present knowledge and laboratory results graphically to fellow students and instructors.

Judgement and Approach

After completing the course, the student should be able to:

•  Discuss knowledge within the course's subject areas with other students and instructors, and identify their own need to improve their knowledge.

Content

The course is given during semester 2 of the Biomedical Laboratory Science program and consists of theoretical studies and practical skills training.

The aim of the course is for students to acquire the fundamental knowledge and methods necessary for understanding later courses in the program.

• The human body: the chemical environment of cells, transport over short and long distances in the human body.
• Levels of organization: organ systems, organs, tissues, cells, and the extracellular space.
• The eukaryotic cell: organelles, membrane transport, cellular communication, the cell cycle, cell division, and cell differentiation.
• Tissues, including cell junctions, tissue subtypes, and the structure and function of the skin.
• The anatomy and physiology of the nervous system, including membrane potential, action potential, synapse, and reflex arc.
• The anatomy and physiology of the circulatory system, including heart function, mechanisms regulating blood flow and blood pressure, capillaries, and the lymphatic system.
• The anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system, including gas transport in the blood and regulation of breathing.
• Blood cells and the general structure and function of lymphatic organs.
• The musculoskeletal system: structure and function of bone tissue and skeletal muscles, joints, anatomical planes and positional terminology, names of major individual bones and muscles.
• The anatomy and physiology of the digestive system, including hormonal and neural regulation.
• The kidneys and urinary system, including renal filtration, reabsorption, and secretion, as well as the kidneys’ role in regulating blood pressure and fluid and electrolyte balance.
• Endocrinology: hormonal signaling, endocrine organs and their hormones, circadian variation.
• Homeostatic regulation, including acid-base balance, temperature regulation, regulation of electrolyte and fluid balance, and blood glucose regulation.
• The reproductive systems, including oogenesis, spermatogenesis, fertilization, erection, and menopause.
• Cell culture: basic theory and laboratory work.
• Immunohistochemistry: basic theory, laboratory work, and database searching.
• Light microscopy of cells, tissues, and organs: theory and practical virtual and physical microscopy, including Köhler illumination.

Instruction

Teaching is conducted through lectures, group exercises in seminar form, microscopy sessions, and laboratory work.

Assessment

Assessment is conducted through an individual practical exam and an individual theoretical exam. For a passing grade, approved seminars, laboratory work, and other mandatory assignments are also required.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.

Students who have not passed the examination have the right to take the examination 4 additional times (= total of 5 examinations). If special circumstances apply, the program committee may admit additional examinations. Every time the student participates in an examination counts. Submission of so called blank exam is counted as an examination.