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PHYL0120-1

General physiology

[ version française ]

Duration :30h Th, 10h Pr, 5h SEM
Credits/ECTS :
2nd year of a Bachelor's degree in dental sciences5
2nd year of a Bachelor's degree in medicine4
2nd "candidature" in dental sciences5
2nd "candidature" in medicine4
Holder(s) :Jean‑Olivier Defraigne
Course contents : General Physiology, according to the definition given by Claude Bernard, consists of the study of the general properties common to all cells, without distinguishing between type or family. This principally involves the study of the hierarchies and the interactions which govern the functioning of biological systems, and ecosystems in particular, from the molecule to multicellular living organisms. The principles of evolution will necessarily be considered as well.

This field aims to answer a number of questions:

-How, considered from the standpoint of cellular theory, does a cell consisting of molecules keep its individuality and how does it control its anabolic and catabolic processes?

- How does a cell become integrated within a living organism and what are its relationships with the other cells (close by or distant) which make up a multicellular organism?

- Within a living organism, how is inter-cellular and extra-cellular caracteristics maintained and regulated?

- What are the modes of communication between cells which allow for the maintenance of a tissue’s or organism’s coherence ? What are the integration and homeostatic processes which guarantee the maintenance of the interior environment? What evolutional significance do these processes have?

General physiology is equally interested in the relationships between the organisms or species which make up an ecosystem. It also looks at the ways an organism perceives its environment in order to become integrated with it, and at the existing continuities between biological regulation and behavioural phenomena.

The answer to these questions, or attempts to answer them, means that general physiology is a discipline situated at the intersection of other fields (biochemistry, morphology, electro-physiology, molecular biology); general physiology aims to provide a synthesis of the knowledge of these areas by focusing on general mechanisms.

For second candidature students in Medecine the general physiology course will aim to provide the basic knowledge necessary for an understanding of the answers to the above questions. Another course objective is to provide a methodological framework enabling students to understand the principles underlying the learning of physiology.
Course objective :
  • Grasp the notion of biochemistry and physiological continuums.
  • Grasp the general organisation of cellular compartments and the multiple activities involved and to define the notion of internal environments and homeostasy.
  • Grasp that cells and organisms comprise of different membranes separating differently constructed environments, and to relate the particular structures of membranes to specific physiological processes.
  • Explain how the structure of a cell is maintained and how it carries out specialised functions (the permeability of a plasmatic membrane, regulation of cell size, muscular contraction, the conduction of nerve impulses, etc)
  • Understand the mechanisms and the characteristics of transporting matter within an organism, the nature of exchanges within liquidien compartments and the composition of an organism’s biological solutions.
  • Understand the mechanisms which govern the distribution of charges and to concentration gradients between compartments in the organism, and determine the significance of using ionic concentration gradients and potential differences within the organism.
  • Understand the importance of membrane rest potential and the physiological significance of its variations.
  • Understand the consequences of differences in the composition and arrangement of carrying systems: membrane and cell polarities, osmosis, energy expenditure, variations in cell size, etc.
  • Understand the general principles of cell communication and to identify different types of communication between cells, understand the idea of the receiver and the ligand and grasp the mechanisms of cell transduction.
  • Examine certain aspects of cell specialisation, in particular the general principles of how neurons work, as well as muscular cells (smooth muscles, striated skeletal and cardiac muscles).
Prerequisites : Logically enough, first candidature courses, in particular physics, chemistry and biology, make up the prerequisites for the course on physiology. For each part of the course, specific prerequisites will be gone over again without going into too much detail. For example, notions of thermodynamics, electricity (membrane potential), laws governing gases (breathing), etc. In other words, the 1st candidature courses as a whole provide the basis for analysing physiology proper for each different area.
Workshops : a. Test exercises

This work will be run by department assistants (‘personnel scientifiques’) and student assistants. A timetable will be drawn up and posted later. These exercises aim at providing students with supplementary information and explanations concerning both theory and applied work. Questions are welcome at any time during the course and on its completion.

b. Applied work

In practical terms, the technical sophistication of contemporary physiology, as well as other practical constraints (number of students in relation to number of teachers), means that it is no longer possible to set up applied work which would cover in real (or ‘real-life situation’) terms every aspect of general physiology. For this reason some applied work will be carried out in ‘virtual laboratory’ situations, where several practical aspects of general physiology will be examined with the aid of computer simulations and multi-media teaching. Aspects examined by means of the virtual laboratory include:

1) Transport / conveying permeability and membrane potential
2) Cells’ electrical properties: passive properties, active potential, electro-physiological techniques, etc.
3) Ionic canals, conduction along excitable membranes, transmission
4) The link between contraction and excitability

Finally, sessions featuring hands-on applied work will be organised and will examine the transportation of material through membranes, muscular contraction, and nerve conduction.

The aspects considered at these applied sessions in no way constitute an appendix to the course but specific and integral teaching which will be directly examined at the exam. In other words exam evaluation will cover both the course’s theoretical and applied aspects.
Organization : The 30h concerning theory will be given in blocks of 3 to 4h a week according to the timetable established in coordination with the general biochemistry course. Consult the general timetable to discover the time and location.
Written notes : Course notes will be available, as well as texts related to slides used throughout the course. Participation and note taking at each session is strongly recommended. Exercises and question responses can also be found on the internet: http://www.biphygenhum.be
Assessment : The exam will consist of three parts: multiple choice questions; 3 to 4 open short and larger questions. An specific session on the exams will take place in December in the Anatomy Institute’s ampi-theatre. This will involve multiple choice questions, open questions and focused argument questions, and look at problems which have arisen in earlier years. Answers to these – with comments – will be gone over with the students.
In January the students who have failed the written test will be asked to participate in a session looking at the answers to the questions posed (timetable to be arranged). Each student will also have the chance to look over their corrected test.
Contacts : Jean-Olivier Defraigne, Chargé de Cours
Bâtiment B35, CHU Sart-Tilman, B-4000 Liège
Tél. 04 366 7163 Fax 04 366 7164
email : JO.Defraigne@ulg.ac.be
Secretary : Mme Amormino (tél. 04 366 7163)




ULg : Students and Studies Administration - Academic Affairs
Contact : Monique Marcourt, direction A.E.E.
Date of data : 27/02/2006
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