Passaic County Community College
Science Department
BS-205, Physiology of Disease
Course Syllabus
I. Course Code #
BS-205
II. Course Title
Physiology of Disease
III. Prerequisite
BS-104
IV. Number of Credits
3 credits lecture
V. Instructor Information
Course Coordinator:
Prof. Anne LaGrange Loving
aloving@pccc.edu
973-684-6093
Office location: A-321-A
Office hours: to be announced during the first class meeting
VI. Catalog Description
Introduces the study of disease pathology. Includes description, etiology, signs and
symptoms, diagnostic procedures, current medical treatment including
pharmacology, progress and prevention of diseases of the major body systems, with
emphasis on basic concepts and the terminology of pathology.
3 hours lecture
Prerequisites: BS 104, HIT 104
VII. Course Objectives
At the end of BS-205 the students will be able to:
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Define and explain essential terms that apply to pathophysiology.
Define cancer and list treatment and prevention techniques.
Describe the primary pathophysiological conditions affecting the major systems of
the body.
Explain the symptoms, diagnostic tests, and pharmacological treatments for the
primary pathophysiological conditions of the body.
Conduct an Internet search about a disease involving one or more of the organ
systems studied in this course, and write a 5-8 page case-study paper based on these
findings.
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The objective of this course is to introduce the student to the study of pathophysiology.
This course will expand on the foundations of normal physiology that were introduced in
BS-103 and BS-104, Anatomy & Physiology I & II. The purpose of this course is to give an
overview of the prevalent clinical conditions that affect the major organs systems of the
body along with the current treatment regimens being followed to deal with conditions.
Pharmacological aspects of disease intervention will also be introduced.
VIII. Tentative Course Outline
This class has one meeting per week, on Wednesday evenings from 5:40 – 8:10 PM.
There is no laboratory component to the course. The table below shows the
tentative schedule for the course, which may be altered slightly depending on the
pace, and other variables. A tremendous amount of material is covered in this
course, so students should prepare for class by reading ahead. Classes at the college
begin on Thursday September 6th; our first meeting is Wednesday September 12th.
Week
Date
Lecture Topic/s
Chapter
1
2
3
September 12
September 19
September 26
1
2
3
4
5
October 3
October 10
5
18
104-127
302-361
6
7
8
9
October 17
October 24
October 31
November 7
19
20
21
22
362-421
422-491
492-521
522-569
10
11
12
13
14
15
November 14
November 21
November 28
December 5
December 12
December 19
Introduction to Cellular Injury
Inflammation and Healing
Review of Normal and Abnormal
Immunity
Neoplastic Disorders
Cardiovascular
Exam #1 tentatively scheduled
Respiratory
Digestive
Urinary
Neurological
Exam #2 tentatively scheduled
Endocrine
Musculoskeletal
Skin
Pregnancy Complications
Exam #3
Comprehensive Final Examination
Textbook
Pages
2-17
18-43
44-75
25
26
27
9
612-643
644-669
670-689
188-199
IX. Required Texts and Materials
Pathophysiology for the Health Professions, 3rd Edition, by Barbara E. Gould.
Saunders Elsevier Company, 2006
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X. Methods of Evaluation
a) Summary
Exams (3 exams at 20% each)
Case Study
Final Exam
60%
15%
25%
Grade Scale
A=93-100%
A-=90-92%
B+=88-89%
B=83-87%
B-=80-82%
C+=78-79%
C=70-77%
D=60-69%
F=<60%
b) Exams
The three exams will cover the material indicated in the Course Outline and
in the lectures. All three of these exams count; that is, none of these grades
will be dropped. They will be worth 20% each, for a total of 60% of the
overall course grade. Each will be announced one week in advance, and the
format and material to be included will be clearly explained. They will
include a variety of questions, including multiple-choice, mini case studies,
and some writing. There will be no make-up exams.
c) Case Study
Each student will have to write one complete Case Study. The topic (disease)
will have to be approved by me. Topics will be due to me in writing on
September 19th, the second class meeting. Go online, read your textbook,
and use any other sources you wish to find a disease that you find interesting
(perhaps a condition that you, a friend, or a family member has experienced).
There is no point in choosing a topic that is of no interest to you. The
Internet should be your primary source of information.
Case Studies will involve details about the disease, as well as creative writing.
Your writing will count – papers that are written in very poor English will
not be graded. If you are unsure of your writing, find a trusted friend or
family member who can help you. However, make sure the paper is
written in your own words – I will easily be able to see if you have
plagiarized someone else’s words from a textbook or from the Internet.
A paper that includes plagiarized work will be graded as a ZERO, and
this may result in dismissal from the course.
When you write a Case Study, you should initially gather information about
the disease, including symptoms, pertinent diagnostic tests and laboratory
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and physical findings, treatments, and prognoses. Acquire this information
from the Internet, as well as textbooks and any other pertinent literature.
After you have your facts in front of you, then you will “create” an imaginary
patient. You get to decide the patient’s profile; however it must correspond
with the disease you have chosen. For example, if you are going to write a
paper on osteoporosis, you would not have the patient be a one-year-old
child.
The format of the Case Study will be as follows:
Background
In this section, you introduce the patient and describe his or her
symptoms and the course of the illness. For example, you might begin
as follows: “Mary B., a 41-year-old Caucasian female, came to the clinic
complaining of recurrent episodes of diarrhea, abdominal pain, and nausea that
had persisted for 2 weeks. She is a school teacher, but during a vacation one
month prior she traveled to Montevideo, Uruguay.” You would go on to add
any other information that might pertain to the disease, such as: does
she own a pet? is she married? does she have small children? does she live in the
city? does she have any other diseases? etc. Make sure that you include
information that pertains to the disease. If the patient’s profession
puts him at risk for your disease, be sure to include that. You can
also add information or symptoms that do not necessarily relate to
the disease; for example you might add that Mary B. suffers from
alopecia, even if this ultimately has nothing to do with the case at
hand.
Physical Findings
In this section, include the patient’s weight, blood pressure,
temperature, pulse rate, chest sounds, abdominal sounds, or whatever
seems to apply to the disease you have chosen. In this section you will also
include any tests that were ordered, such as an EKG or blood work,
and what the results were. You will have this information available
from your research of the disease – for example, if the disease you
have selected is characterized by obesity, make sure that your patient
is overweight. If anemia is a symptom, make sure the laboratory
results for the hemoglobin and hematocrit are appropriate.
Diagnosis and Discussion
In this section, explain how the diagnosis was determined – from
laboratory findings, symptoms, patient history, and other parameters.
Give a brief summary of the disease, now that it has been named.
For example, if your “patient” has rheumatoid arthritis, include a
one-paragraph description of this disease, the prevalence in the
United States, etc.
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Treatment
In this section, explain the course of treatment. Make sure you select
appropriate drugs, exercises, surgery, or whatever fits for your
disease. For example: The patient was put on a course of XXXX drug for
30 days, and was instructed to alter his diet to include XXXXX.
Outcome
In this final section, describe what happened to your patient.
Perhaps you will decide to have your patient die. Maybe your patient
has a chronic condition, and you summarize how he or she is doing,
and that continued supervision will be necessary. Perhaps it
appropriate to include that you have referred the patient and his
family to a support group. Maybe the patient is completely cured,
but then gets hit by a bus on the way home from the hospital. This is
all up to you.
References
References will be listed at the end of the paper. The References
page does not count toward the 5-8 pages. The paper must include
at least five electronic references. Please note that if you provide
only five references, this will be considered “fair” in terms of the
grading rubric. Each listed reference should include the exact web
address, the date it was posted, the date you accessed it, and as many
other details as possible. The site must be available, as I will be spotchecking these references. The following example shows how a web
reference should be listed:
Washington State Department of Ecology (1998). Chemical testing
methods for designating dangerous waste (Publication No. 97-407).
Retrieved September 23, 2007, from
http://www.ect.wa.gov/biblio/9740-7.html.
Presentation
The Case Study should be typed. If you do not own a computer, you
can use one of the many that are available for students in the library
and in Hamilton Hall. The paper should be typed in double-space,
which makes it easier for me to read and to insert any comments. I
cannot give you an exact length, but it should be in the range of 5-8
pages. Length is not as critical as quality; papers that are very long
may not even be read. In other words, if you submit at 20-page
document, I might just grade it as a ZERO. The criteria I will use to
grade your paper include: accuracy, thoroughness, and creativity.
Yes, I will be including creativity as part of your grade – that is, did
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you make the “story” interesting, as well as accurate? Make sure you
include all the sections that are defined, above. It will be worth 15%
of your overall course grade.
Grading for the Case Study Paper
This paper will be worth 15% of the grade for this course. The grade for the paper will be
based on the following rubric:
Unacceptable
Poor
Fair
Good
Above
Average
Excellent
Background of the
patient
Physical Findings
(0)
(2)
(5)
(7)
(10)
(13)
(0)
(2)
(5)
(7)
(10)
(13)
Diagnosis and
Discussion
Treatment
(0)
(2)
(5)
(7)
(10)
(13)
(0)
(2)
(5)
(7)
(10)
(13)
(0)
(2)
(5)
(7)
(10)
(13)
(0)
(2)
(4)
(6)
(9)
(12)
(0)
(2)
(5)
(7)
(10)
(13)
(0)
(2)
(4)
(6)
(8)
(10)
Maximum possible grade = 100%
Outcome
Creativity
References
Presentation –
overall appearance of
the paper
The Case Study will be due on Wednesday November 14th. You will have put a
tremendous amount of work into your papers; I, therefore, need plenty of time to read them
and grade them. No papers will be accepted late, for any reason whatsoever.
Therefore, I suggest that you plan to submit your paper early, in order to avoid
complications of last-minute “disasters” such as problems with a printer or a dog eating your
Case Study. I will not give extra credit for papers that are submitted ahead of time, but the
benefit to your peace of mind may be immeasurable!
d) Final Examination
The final examination will be comprehensive, covering all of the course
material from the semester. This will be worth 25% of your overall course
grade. It will be given during the last scheduled class meeting, which will be
Wednesday evening December 19th. Please do not make holiday travel
plans that will prevent you from being in Paterson through 8:10 PM on
December 19th.
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e) Attendance and Punctuality
Students are expected to attend all lectures. Simply copying the lecture notes
from a classmate, or reading the textbook will not suffice. My exams are
heavily based on in-class lectures, discussion, and current news stories that
apply to the course material. I will not reduce your grade if you miss class,
but your potential for success in the class will be compromised.
Regarding punctuality, I place a high priority on starting class promptly. I
find it distracting and annoying when people wander in late, shuffling books
and coats. Please figure out your commute, your parking situation, and other
variables, and get to class on time. I will really appreciate this.
f) Cheating
Cheating will absolutely not be tolerated in this class. Every student will have
to sign a disclaimer on each exam, indicating that s/he has not cheated
during the exam. Plagiarism, likewise, will not be allowed in the Case Study.
You must use your own words when you write the Case Study. Any student
who is caught cheating or plagiarizing will get a ZERO on that assignment or
exam, and may be dismissed from the course.
XI. Portal
Assignments, outlines, the course syllabus, and other information for this course are
posted on the portal. The information is accessed by following these simple
directions:
1. go to the PCCC homepage: http://www.pccc.edu
2. click on “my PCCC account” at the bottom of the page
3. click on “log in”
4. enter your log-in ID and your password, and click “login”
5. enter the correct semester under “term”, for example “07/FA” is the Fall
2007 semester
6. click on the course name and section number
7. click on “shared files”
8. click on whatever file you need
XII. Disabilities
If you have a disability and believe you need accommodations during this course,
please contact the Special Needs Counselor in the Center for Student Success. If
you require testing accommodations, I must be notified by official channels in
writing in advance of the test.
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XIII. Cellular Telephones
Please turn your cell phone off before you come to class. Even “vibrating” phones
are extraordinarily distracting, especially when followed by a hurried exit from the
class by someone who “has to” take an “urgent call.” I don’t even bring my phone
with me. There will be a break in the middle of our 2½-hour lecture, during which
time you can check your messages. Thank you for respecting this.
XIV. Children
Children will not be permitted to come to class or laboratory sessions. Material
discussed during lecture may be inappropriate for children, children may cause a
distraction during an exam, and laboratories are completely unsafe for children.
Rev. 7-2007, A.L.L.