Laurea magistrale in Biologia dell'Ambiente

The course is organized in two units, aimed to give the students the basic information on the causes and the mechanisms responsible for the alterations of tissue, organs and apparatus and to provide the tools for laboratory data interpretation and management. The program of each unit is indicated below.
General pathophysiology unit.
Heart and circulation: cardiac metabolism and its alteration; cardiac output impairment. Ischemic hearth diseases: kinds and clinical symptoms. Myocardial infarction. Hypo- and hypertension. Shock: types and pathogenesis. Localized and systemic edema. Arterious and venous thrombosis. Pulmonary and systemic embolism.
Liver pathology: viral and alcoholic chronic and acute hepatitis. Jaundice: pathogenesis and classification. Fibrosis and cirrhosis. Clinical complications of cirrhosis. Liver failure.
Plasma lipoprotein alterations: lipid and cholesterol plasma transportation. Atherosclerosis: pathogenesis and different kinds of anatomo-pathological lesions. Epidemiology and risk factors.
Obesity: mechanisms of weight control. Body mass index and pathogenesis of obesity. Leptin deficiency and leptin resistance in the obesity onset.
Diabetes: classification and pathogenesis of the different forms of diabetes. Insulin resistance. Acute and long-term complications of diabetes.
Physiopathology of kidney and lung. Acute and chronic renal  and pulmonary failure; pathogenesis and consequences. Effects of renal and pulmonary pathologies on the acid-base equilibrium.
Clinical pathology unit.
Pre-analytical issues: blood withdrawal, sample storage. Biological and analytical variability. Internal quality control assessment and external quality verification system. Validation and interpretation of laboratory results: reference and decisional limits, critical values.
Laboratory of haematology: blood count, morphological patterns. Investigation of iron metabolism.
Laboratory of coagulation testing: first- and second-level analysis. Thrombophilc risk evaluation. Anticoagulant therapy monitoring.
Organization of a clinical pathology laboratory: flow and process observation. Laboratory informative systems.
Liver and renal function tests.
Laboratory of endocrinology: hypothalamus-pituitary-target organs axes.
Water and electrolytes. Blood gas analysis and other emergency tests.

Il corso si prefigge di fornire allo studente informazioni sulle cause e sui meccanismi delle alterazioni delle funzioni biologiche integrate di tessuti, organi e apparati alla base di alcune patologie umane, con particolare riferimento a: cuore e circolazione; metabolismo lipidico e aterosclerosi; metabolismo glicidico e diabete; funzionalità epatica, epatite, fibrosi e cirrosi; funzionalità renale ed equilibrio idro-elettrolitico; equilibrio acido-base.

G.M. Pontieri, “Fisiopatologia generale”, Ed. Piccin, Padova

Esame orale.

Non è richiesta nessuna propedeuticità.

La frequenza alle lezioni non è obbligatoria; per i corsi di laboratorio e le attività di esercitazione relative ai corsi la frequenza è obbligatoria e non può essere inferiore al 70% delle ore previste.