Biology 128 – The Biological Basis of Modern Medicine

TENTATIVE COURSE SYLLABUS – Spring 2006

Instructor: Richard Hengst, Ph.D. rhengst@pnc.edu 219 785-5251 Office: 120 Schwarz	Secretary: Mrs. Karen Palm 219 785-5298 120 Schwarz Hall
Text: _ Biological Basis of Modern Medicine – BIOL 128 – Composite book derived from chapters in Mader’s Human Biology. 9^th ed. Web Page: http://www.pnc.edu/dino/biomed

Course Assignments: - These may be changed in class; please pay attention when in-class announcements and changes are made. Also, always check my web site a couple of hours before class. Lab instructions, announcements, and supplemental information will be on the site so that you can run off copies before arriving in class. If I decide to hold lab before lecture, this will show up on the web site directing you to go directly to Schwarz 118 rather than the lecture hall (Schwarz 239). If you need help, use your PNC E-mail account to reach me. Many Internet Providers have spammers, so I sometimes do NOT get E-mails from non-PNC sources.

Week	Day	Wk of	Chapter/Assignment	Topic or Activity
1	T	1/9	Ch 3 –pg 1- 20	Basic Structure of Cells and what they do for the human body
	R
2	T	1/16	Ch 4 – pg 21- 42	What do body systems regulate? How are they organized and regulated?
	R
3	T	1/23	Ch 16 – pg 43- 66	How do we change from a single zygote cell to a fully formed human being? Where do tissues come from? Why do we age?
	R
4	T	1/30	Exam 1 Ch 22 – pg 67 - 88	Exam 1 - What causes disease and how does our body deal with these challenges?
	R		Ch 21 – 89 – 108	How does the body use its cells and their products to defend itself in injury and disease? - This takes about 3 meetings to cover.
5	T	2/7
	R
6	T	2/14	Ch 24 – pg 107 - 122	What is Cancer, what options are there? And, why is it so hard to prevent?
	R		Exam 1I Ch 10 - pg 123 - 143	Exam II, Skeletal System – largely taught in Lab – Body support, Protection, and Movement system.
7	T	2/21
	R		Ch 11 – pg 143 – 162	Muscles – the system that creates forces for the body
8	T	2/28
	R		Ch 12 - pg 163 - 188	Nervous System and controls – how do neurons work?
9	T	3/7		No Classes – Spring Break
	R
10	T	3/14		How is the brain organized? How does this control our nervous system?
	R
11	T	3/21	Ch 13 - pg 189 - 210	How do we gather information about our environment?
	R		Ch 14 – pg 211 - 234	How do hormones control the body and its response to stresses of life and of growth?
12	T	3/28	Exam III Ch 5 – pg 235 – 254	Exam III, What allows the heart to work so hard? Where does it move blood?
	R
13	T	4/3
	R		Ch 6 – pg 255 – 272	What is blood and how does it conduct O2 and CO2?
14	T	4/10	Ch 8 – pg 273 - 290	How do we obtain and lose respiratory gases
	R
15	T	4/17
	R		Ch 9 – 291 - 308	How do we control electrolytes and pH in our bodies?
16	T	4/24	Ch 7 – 309 – 334	How is our digestive system able to break food down, absorb it, and move the residue from our body? Do NOT bother with metabolic pathways in the body!! I am concerned only with the breakdown of nutrients and the most basic of absorption.
	R
17	T	5/1	EXAM IV	EXAM IV

Some tips: Course concepts and ideas about body function do not readily fall into a regular sequence of chapters. So, many of these ideas will be developed and tied together through lecture. This means that you, as my student, must read each assignment prior to arriving in class. You do NOT need to have details, but you do need the vocabulary and the ideas so that you can follow my discussion and synthesis of information. If there is enough interest in a topic, I may adjust the lecture topics to accommodate some issues, but this automatically means a change in my syllabus. So, both we both need to be flexible in approaching this course and its material, and especially the syllabus. I am bringing material into lectures from scientific sources or the internet that may not be directly available to you. Because of this, if you do not understand why I am saying something, or what I mean by this, please speak up. I want you to learn this material, and, to question, both myself, and, your physician. After all, our goal is to increase your understanding of your own body and some understanding of how things sometimes go wrong.

My course web site is: http://www.pnc.edu/dino/biomed , my office phone is: 219 785-5251

I do hold review or discussion chats from time to time http://www.pnc.edu/dino/chat/chat.html

These chats have proven to be a good means of correcting misconceptions and, that, after all is what good learning is all about.

There will be four in Multiple Choice format with occasional short written answers – each exam is equal in weight and collectively make up 80% of your grade. The remaining 20% of your grade will be determined from two projects that will be assigned. You will have one week to prepare your project and presentation times will be assigned. Laboratory will be tested in the regular exams so remember to review what you learned in laboratory when studying lecture material.

If you have questions, take the time to call or e-mail me. But, if you E-mail me, you MUST use your PNC student account. I receive so much spam that I have E-mail filters on almost every internet provider imaginable. So, use your PNC E-mail account to reach me.