Integrated Anatomy and Physiology I Course Descriptor

Course Overview

This course introduces students to key concepts and principles of human anatomy and physiology, with a focus on the structure and function of cells, tissues and organs. Students will explore the integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous, and endocrine systems, learning how to identify and describe their major structures and components using anatomical terms. Building on this foundational knowledge, students will explore the anatomical and physiological relationships between organ systems, how they maintain homeostasis, and the effects of disrupting this equilibrium. Additionally, students will discuss some of the clinical implications of anatomy and physiology in the context of health and disease. The course will be taught using a combination of lectures, demonstrations, hands-on experimentation, and simulations.

This is the first of two courses offered in the Northeastern University GlobalNetwork studying all body systems: in a subsequent course (namely, Integrated Anatomy and Physiology II), students will have the opportunity to explore the circulatory, immune, respiratory, urinary, digestive and reproductive systems.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject Specific Skills

Transferable and Employability Skills

Teaching and Learning

Teaching and learning strategies for this course will include: A minimum of 50 contact hours, typically to include interactive group teaching, co-curriculars, practical sessions, and in-class presentations and exams.

Course information and supplementary materials are available on the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Students will receive individualised developmental feedback on their work for this course.

Students are required to attend and participate in all the formal and timetabled sessions for this course. Students are also expected to manage their directed learning and independent study in support of the course.

Assessment

Formative

Students will be formatively assessed in class through class activities and practical exercises. Formative assessments do not count towards the final grade but provide students with developmental feedback.

Summative

Indicative Content:

Portfolio:

• Part 1 Post-lab worksheet
• Part 2 Patient education handouts

Further information on the structure of summative assessment elements can be found in the Summative Assessment Briefs.

Feedback

Students will receive feedback in a variety of ways: written (including via email correspondence); oral (within office hours or on an ad hoc basis) and indirectly through class discussion.

Feedback on examinations is provided through generic internal examiners’ reports and are made available to the student on the VLE. For all other summative assessment methods, feedback is made available to the student either via email, the VLE or another appropriate method.

Indicative Reading

Comprehensive and current reading lists for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students. The indicative reading list provided below is used as part of the approval/modification process only.

Books

Betts et al. (2022) Anatomy and Physiology 2e. OpenStax. ISBN-13 978-1-711494-06-7 (hardcover); ISBN-13 978-1-951693-42-8 (digital)

Indicative Topics

Students will typically study the following topics:

• Basic biochemistry and cell biology
• Human tissues and organs
• Skin
• Skeletal and muscular anatomy and physiology
• The Nervous system
• The Endocrine system