Course Director: Eric Sobie
E-Mail: Eric.Sobie@mssm.edu
Course Description:
Time: M-F 10:00AM-12:00Noon (and various-contact Course Director)
Room: Annenberg 19-50
Start Date: 01/05/09
Course description: This course will provide students with a broad base of knowledge in cardiovascular and renal physiology. Lectures will describe the general functioning of these organ
systems, and paper discussion forums and interactive problem sets will be used to explore specific topics in detail. Emphasis will be placed on describing quantitatively the functioning of the heart
and kidney, and on illustrating underlying principles that are shared by the two organ systems. Both classical systems-level and contemporary cellular-level issues will be discussed. Topics will
include: 1) ionic balance in cardiac cells, 2) multidimensional electrical propagation in heart, 3) systemic control of cardiac output; 4) co-transport of ions and metabolites in renal epithelial cells,
and 5) a mathematical description of nephron function.
Goals and Objectives: The primary goal will be to teach cardiovascular and renal function in a rigorous and quantitative manner. Secondary goals will be to 1) introduce students to quantitative
methods used to analyze and model physiological processes, 2) draw parallels between the two organ systems to illustrate underlying physiological principles, and 3) provide an appreciation for
the similarities and differences between classical, organ-level and modern, cellular/molecular level approaches.
Format: Students will receive a broad base of knowledge in cardiovascular and renal physiology from attending the Medical Physiology lectures on these subjects (28 hours). These will be
supplemented by additional lectures (10 hours) of that will cover selected topics in more detail, and with an emphasis more appropriate for students pursuing a research degree. The remaining
sessions (10 hours) will consist of discussions of classic papers and interactive problem solving sessions in which students will use the software package Matlab" to simulate physiological
processes.
Evaluation: Grades will be based on the two Discussion Forums, the interactive problem sets, and two exams. Discussion Forum questions will be posted on WebEd, along with the papers to be
discussed, and students will be required to post answers to these questions before the classroom session. Students will write brief (1 page) reports and answer additional questions after the two interactive problem sets. Exams will be short answer-based and will require straightforward
algebraic calculations.
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