Exam will consist of students answering essay-style questions

Examination

Portfolio will consist of an assessment of the students practical work and an assessment of their ability to recognise histological specimens

Portfolio

Histology: Tissue preparation: fixation, tissue processing, paraffin wax and freezing.

Microtomy: for paraffin wax cryostat sectioning.
Histological staining: general tissue stains, stains to demonstrate connective tissues,
carbohydrates, lipids and microorganisms, principles of immunohistochemistry.
Functional histology: Common tissue structures – liver, kidney, respiratory system,
GI tract, pancreas.

Nerves: Overview of structure and function. The ionic basis of neuronal activity e.g.
action potentials, graded potentials, stimulus intensity and refractory periods.
Emphasis will also be made to synaptic transmission, looking at both electrical and
chemical neurotransmitters

Endocrinology: Endocrine control of body functions. Hypothalamic releasing factors, anterior pituitary hormones. Regulation of the secretions of the hypothalamic, pituitary, adrenal, thyroid and gonadal axes. Control of blood glucose. Comparison of steroid and peptide hormone action. Neuroendocrine control mechanisms. Regulation of growth. Deficiency/excess diseases (as appropriate).

Reproductive science: The processes that occur during development of an embryo including the stages from fertilisation to neurulation and the signalling events that occur to form a blastula from a single cell. Detection of hormone levels and fertility.

Histology and Physiology - 5105BMBMOL

Histology and Physiology

Discuss the structure, function and integration of the endocrine and nervous systems.

Discuss important topics within reproductive science such as embryology and fertility.

Demonstrate knowledge of how to prepare tissues for histological examination and use microscopy to recognise the gross structure and ultrastructure of tissues selected from the major organ systems.