GENERAL PATHOLOGY, PHARMACOLOGY AND MICROBIOLOGY
cod. 1004759

Academic year 2024/25
2° year of course - First semester
Professor responsible for the course unit
Cristina POZZOLI
integrated course unit
5 credits
hub: PARMA
course unit
in ITALIAN

Course unit structured in the following modules:

Learning objectives

Knowledge of the basic elements concerning cell injury and death, tumors and, with greater detail, mechanisms of response to tissue injury (inflammation, hemostasis, tissue repair).
Knowledge of principles of general pharmacology. Knowledge of neuromuscolar drugs, of drugs used for central and pheripheral nervous system, and of drugs for osteoarticular disease.
Knowledge of basic elements of bacteriology, virology and transmission of infectious disease.
Capability of applying knowledge to conditions and drugs of interest for the physiotherapist.

Prerequisites

Adequate bases of biology, chemistry, biochemistry, physics, anatomy, physiology

Course unit content

PATHOLOGY:
Mechanism of response to injury (inflammation, homeostasis, tissue repair), Cell death; Tumors; Blood disorders; haemostasis and its alterations; Immunity.
PHARMACOLOGY. Elements of general pharmacology: pharmacodynamics and pharmakinetics. Factors modifyng drug response. Drug toxicity. Clinical pharmacology: neuromuscolar drugs, pain therapy, antiinflammatory drugs, antirheumatic and antigout drugs.
MICROBILOGY: General microbiology. General virology. Transmission of infectious diseases. Elements on infectious diseases of interest for physiotherapists.

Full programme

PATHOLOGY:
General Pathology and Physiopatology:
Cellular Pathology: Cellular alterations of growth and differentiation. Hyperplasia, hypertrophy, atrophy, metaplasia, dysplasia. Necrosis and apoptosis.
Oncology: classification and nomenclature of tumors; Benignant and malignant tumors; Fundamentals in molecular oncology; invasivity and metastasis; pathogenesis of neoplastic diseases. Grading and staging.
The blood: composition, cells, general pathophysiology. Anemia and Thalassemia syndromes. Leukemia and lymphoma. Phases and event of the
haemostatic response. Hemorrhagic disorders; thrombosis and embolism; infarction.
Inflammation: events of acute inflammation; the exudate; types of exudate; phagocytosis; chronic inflammation and granulomas; chemical mediators
of inflammation; systemic effects of inflammation and fever; tissue repair.
Immunology: General features of innate and adaptive immunity.
PHARMACOLOGY:
General pharmacology. What is pharmacology. Drugs. Basic pharmacodynamics: sites and mechanisms of action, agonists and antagonists, the dose-effect relationship. Basic pharmacokinetics: how drugs reach their site of action, routes of administration, drug adsorption. Drug-protein binding and drug biodistribution. Drug biotransformation. Drug excretion. Pharmacokinetic parameters: bioavailability, apparent distribution volume, plasma drug half-life, clearance. Conditions modifying drug effects: drug interactions, the importance of patient conditions. Tolerance and resistance. Drug toxicity: collateral and unwanted events.
Clinical pharmacology:
Neuromuscular drugs: depolarizing and competitive blocking agents, botulinum, central (GABAergic) and preripheral myorelaxant agents. Drugs for myasthenia gravis: anticholinesterase drugs, steroids, immunosuppressant drugs.
Anti-Parkinson agents.
Analgesic drugs: opiates and non-opiate analgesics; local anesthetics; gabapentinoid drugs for neuropathic pain.
Antiinflammatory drugs: NSAIDs, steroids (glucocorticoids).
Antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), antigout drugs (colchicine, allopurinol, uricosuric agents). Drugs used in bone disorders: Vitamin D, calcitonin and bisphosphonates.
Drugs for Arthrosis: condroprotective drugs.
MICROBIOLOGY:
The microorganism/host relationship: commensalism, symbiosis, parasitism. Microbial flora. Transmission of pathogens.
General bacteriology: the prokaryotic cell: general organization, morphology and physiology; bacterial reproduction; pathogenicity and virulence.
General mycology: general characteristics of fungi; structure of the fungal cell; yeasts and moulds; mechanisms of fungal pathogenicity.
General parasitology: general features of protozoa; life cycle of principal protozoa.
General virology: general characteristics of viruses; morphology, structural and chemical composition of virions; phases of the viral replication process.

Bibliography

PATHOLOGY:
Patologia Generale e Fisiopatologia per le professioni sanitarie Jeanette Anne Marie Maier, McGraw Hill, II ed.
Patologia Generale ed Elementi di Fisiopatologia Maurizio Parola, EdiSES, II ed
PHARMACOLOGY:
Karen Whalen "Le basi della farmacologia" 3° Edizione Italiana dalla 7° edizione americana, Zanichelli Editore, 2013.
PC Panus, B Katzung, EE Jobst, SL Tinsley, SB Master, AJ Trevor.
"Farmacologia in Riabilitazione" Ed. Italiana a cura di V. Locatelli 2014, edi ermes.
MICROBIOLOGY:
Richard A. Harvey, Pamela C. Champe, Bruce D. Fisher LE BASI DELLA MICROBIOLOGIA (con approfondimenti clinici) Edito da Zanichelli.
Didactic resources used during lessons (ie, power point slides) have to be considered integral part of the reference bibliography; they will be available on the Elly site, on the course page.

Teaching methods

The course will be held through lectures. Lessons will be carried out with the aid of iconographic material collected in PowerPoint files that, at the end of the course, will be made available to students on the Elly site at the course pages. Lectures will present the main conceptual frame of each subject, summoning questions or doubts from the audience.
Examples referred to conditions relevant for the physiotherapeutic practice will be provided so as to elicit interest for the subjects. Lessons will be open to wide discussion with the participation of the students.

Assessment methods and criteria

No interim evaluation is scheduled. The final evaluation will consist in an oral examination. Questions/student: at least 3 (at least one/discipline). Questions will concern subjects listed in the detailed program. Failure to answer to one question, or verified uncapability to define correctly the subject, will prevent the successful completion of the exam.
In such a case, the possibility of taking or considering the part of the examination related to the other subjects of the Integrated Course will be precluded, which will then have to be repeated in full.
After the questions concerning each discipline, the examiner will give an evalaution expressed in marks: A. Very good knowledge and understanding. Very good capability of applying knowledge to problems of interest for physiotherapists. Corresponding to 30/30. B. Good knowledge and understanding. Good capability to apply knowledge to problems of interest for physiotherapists. Corresponding to 27-29/30. C. Average knowledge and understanding. Average capability of applying knowledge to problems of interest for physiotherapists. Corresponding to 24-26/30. D. Sufficient knowledge and understanding. Sufficient capability of applying information to problems of interest for physiotherapists. Corresponding to 21-23/30. E. Barely sufficient knowledge and understanding (with evident pitfalls). Scarce capability of applying knowledge to problems of interest for physiotherapists. Corresponding to 18-20/30. Full marks with laude will be reserved to students exhibiting, together an overall evaluation of 30/30, capability of making judgments, good communication ability and autonomous learning skills. The final vote will be decided jointly by the examiners, who will have the possibility to decide a vote not higher or lower than two grades from the best or the worst vote derived from the CFU-weighted mean of the two individual votes.
DSA and BSE students must contact the Welcome and Inclusion University Center in advance: cai@unipr.it

Other information

The teachers are available for further explanations in office or by distance via Teams after e-mail appointment

2030 agenda goals for sustainable development

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