BIO 221 Human Physiology I Jeff Walker Office location: Science 476C E-mail: walker@maine.edu (I have a phone but e-mail is preferred) Fall 2017 1 Course Information Room Science 105 Class meetings are Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:15 11:30AM Office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays, after class to 12:30PM, or by appointment Prerequisite(s): BIO 107 or permission of instructor. Credit Hours: 3 2 Course Description This course is the first of a two-semester sequence that introduces how the human body functions from the sub-cellular to the whole-individual level. The content and presentation is designed for Biology majors and students wanting to enter graduate programs in medicine or physiology (Note that this course is not a sequel or follow-up of BIO 111/113). In this course, we will frequently apply elementary principles of physics and chemistry to understand function. The focus will be on the regulation of the different physiological systems to maintain health and performance with only limited attention to disease, which is the focus of BIO 345 Pathophysiology. The course will emphasize the vocabulary and language of physiology, which is necessary for any kind of professional communication including reading from the literature or discussion of a case-history. The course will emphasize principles instead of factual detail. The knowledge of principles can be applied to many different systems. While incredibly important for understanding the any one system, knowledge of specific facts are limited to that system. Finally, the course will emphasize the nature of scientific knowledge and what is good science. This will allow you to address the many misconceptions on human health and performance both in the lay public and in the professional community 2.1 Textbook Text(s): Vander s Human Physiology: The Mechanisms of Body Function, 14 th Edition Author(s): Widmaier, Raff, and Strang; ISBN-13: 978-0077350017 1
Note on the text. I do not assign mandatory homework from the text but sometimes refer to pages or figures. Note that if you choose to use another textbook it will be up to you to figure out the relevant readings. This is a good skill to acquire anyway. A note on Wikipedia. Wikipedia contains all of the information that you need for this class. It is very reliable, despite a few mistakes (probably from students entering information as parts of poorly edited projects). But textbooks also contain mistakes. Indeed, doctors are now using Wikipedia to rapidly find reliable information. While Wikipedia is an excellent supplementary resource, I would not recommend it as your sole resource. There is too much detail. It takes skill to scan through wikipedia and focus on the relevant material and to not click your way down a path of irrelevancies. But I highly highly recommend using Wikipedia as a supplementary study source. 2.2 Objectives At the completion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Explain physiological mechanisms using the language of physiology and principles of chemistry and physics 2. Explain the goals and limits of science, especially applied to human health, performance, and disease 3. Recognize reliable sources of information relevant to human physiology, health, performance, and disease 4. Apply the principles learned to correct misconceptions that are common in both the lay public and the professional community 3 Work Involved 3.1 Grade Distribution Assignments 20% Exams 80% 3.2 Letter Grade Mapping Note: final average will be rounded to the nearest integer >= 85 A 60-64 C+ 82-84 A- 55-59 C 77.00-81 B+ 50-54 C- 70-76 B 40-49 D 65-69 B- <= 40 F Grades in the C range represent performance that meets expectations; Grades in the B range represent performance that is substantially better than expectations; Grades in the A range represent work that is excellent. 2
3.3 Assignments 1. Better know a... You will create two wiki entries at the course wikispaces (www.wikispaces.com) site. The first will be on any signaling molecule. The 2nd will be on a neurotoxin. Instructions to follow. 2. BS detector training You will create three wiki entries highlighting recent advertisements, blog posts, news accounts etc. on any topic related to health that you believe is BS based on knowledge from Human Physiology and related sciences. Instructions to follow. 3.4 Exam Policies Missed Exams. I cannot evaluate legitimate from non-legitimate excuses for failing to take an exam and so I implement a limited makeup/drop lowest exam policy. 1. I will drop the lowest exam score for everyone. Use this opportunity wisely. If you choose to use this opportunity at the beginning because you had a slight cold and didn t feel up to an exam and then something happens during a later exam, such as missing an exam due to an unexpected death in the family, then you will get a zero for the second missed exam. 2. You can avoid an early missed exam by taking a make-up exam, but there will be limited make-up exam opportunity. The make-up for a Tuesday exam is Wednesday at Noon. The make-up for a Thursday exam is Friday at 9. To take a make-up, you must request this by e-mail the day of your missed exam, otherwise you must count this as missed. What if you have a scheduling conflict with an exam. IF you know you must miss an exam because of some important conflict then we can re-schedule a make-up ideally the day before the exam or the day of the exam but at another time. You must contact me prior to the exam to schedule this or your exam will count as a missed exam. Exam Courtesy. You may not leave the room during the exam. This means you need to empty your bladder and/or bowel prior to the start of the exam. You may not wear a hat, wear headphones, or use your phone during an exam. 3.5 Course Policies: Lecture attendance. No points are added/subtracted for attendance. Some people make an A in this class without attending many lectures. But, students who are successful in this class, in other classes, and in life in general, practice behaviors that are common among the successful and less common among the non-successful. Attending class is one such behavior. I dont give bullet point power points that simply re-iterate the reading in your textbook. Instead I draw on the blackboard. A lot. I spend the lecture constructing the scaffolding that will allow you to organize your growing knowledge of human physiology. My drawings and lectures may make little sense unless you prepare extensively by studying for the lectures. The lecture is a pretty good guide to what will be on the test. 3
Lecture courtesy. Excessive noise among students does not bother me but it does distract other students that are paying money and taking the time to learn the content. If you do not want to listen to my lecture then please do not attend it! It is not mandatory. You may use a computer to take notes in class. If you cannot stay away from distracting websites during class time, then do not attend, or at the least, sit in the back row. These distractions keep other students from focusing on the lecture. Please remember to turn off cell phones and pagers before entering unless you have good reason to keep it on. You may not text during class. 4 Disability and Learning Services Disability accommodations The university is committed to providing students with documented disabilities equal access to all university programs and services. If you think you have a disability and would like to request accommodations, you must register with the Disability Services Center. Timely notification is essential. The Disability Services Center can be reached by calling 207-780-4706 or by email at dsc-usm@maine.edu. If you have already received a faculty accommodation letter from the Disability Services Center, please provide me with that information as soon as possible. Please make a private appointment so that we can review your accommodations. Learning services The following are resources on campus for students. 1. For writing skills or time management, you can make an appointment to see a student tutor at the Learning Commons located in both the Portland and Gorham libraries. For more information, visit http://www.usm.maine.edu/learningcommons. The Writing Center at LAC is also available to all USM students and is a great option for students living in the greater Lewiston/Auburn area. For more information, please visit http://usm.maine.edu/writingcenter. 2. If you need accommodations due to a disability, please contact the Disability Services Center for confidential assistance and accommodation authorization. Timely notification of accommodations is essential. For more information, visit http://usm.maine.edu/dsc. 3. University Health and Counseling Services is a student resource that promotes the health and well-being of the USM community. More information can be found at www.usm.maine.edu/uhcs. 4
Table 1: My caption Date Day Lec Topic Chapter 29-Aug T 1 organization, tissues, homeostasis, black box 1 31-Aug R 2 cells 3A 5-Sep T 3 water 2 7-Sep R 4 protein structure 3B-D 12-Sep T 5 protein function 3B-D 14-Sep R 6 diffusion 4 19-Sep T 7 transport 4 21-Sep R 8 transport & literature lookup methods 4 26-Sep T Test 1 28-Sep R 9 signaling 5 3-Oct T 10 endocrine 11A 5-Oct R 11 excitable cells, resting & action potentials 6B 10-Oct T Fall Break 12-Oct R 12 the synapse and local potentials 6C 17-Oct T 13 organization of N.S. 6A,D 19-Oct R 14 Intro to sensory 7 24-Oct T 15 ANS 6.18 26-Oct R Test 2 31-Oct T 16 muscle contraction 9 2-Nov R 17 excitation-contraction coupling 9 7-Nov T 18 Muscle Function I 9 9-Nov R 19 ATP synthesis 3E, 9 14-Nov T 20 Muscle Performance 9 16-Nov R 21 Muscle Performance 9 21-Nov T Test 3 23-Nov R Thanksgiving 28-Nov T 22 skeleton I - materials handout 30-Nov R 23 skeleton II - joints 5-Dec T 24 skeleton III - growth 11E,F + handout 7-Dec R 25 skeleton IV - remodeling 11E,F + handout 12-Dec T Test 4: 10:45 AM - 12:45 PM 5