FM1003 Foundations of
Medicine – GI, Nutritional
and metabolic biology.
Some Tips/Q&A!
Physiology
• Understanding is really
key here.
• GOOD BOOKS:
Costanzo’s Physiology
(especially for
secretions/absorption),
Berne and Levy’s
Principles of
Physiology and Boron
and Boulpaep’s
Textbook of Medical
Physiology (both of
which are good for
looking at things on a
molecular level),
Guyton (is ok).
Physiology
•
•
•
•
Look at old exam questions.
Secretions are a popular
question so ensure that you
are able to reproduce the
diagrams. (Along with
absorption, thryoid hormone
regulation and GIT motility).
Be accurate in your answers
as you will be docked more
for inaccuracies here!
Keep things simple! I know
some of this stuff seems a
bit vague and is hard to get a
handle on at first but once
you grasp the core concept,
all the weird looking
transporters/arrows will
make much more sense!!! 
Biochemisty
• New lecturer! 
• Traditionally,
emphasis is usually
on the clinical
correlations in
relation to the
metabolic
processes covered.
• Find out the types
of questions that
he plans on asking.
Biochemistry
•
•
•
GOOD BOOKS: Baynes
Medical Biochemistry (is
okay in terms that it’s quite
specific to medical
students), Lehninger (is what
your lecturer seems to be
using so is probably the best
companion – although be
careful not to go into things
in too much detail), Devlin’s
Textbook of Biochemistry
with Clinical Correlations (an
alternative).
In general, know the
processes/cycles and the
related diseases.
Focus on your lecture notes
Anatomy
• Watch out for the
pharynx/larynx area – it
can get a little confusing!
• Know Fraher’s notes/DR
notes really well!
• Use Gray’s Anatomy (She
seems to be operating
from it a little in terms of
some of her questions)
• For histology, know the
layers and linings! (Very
clinically relevant)
Anatomy
• Focus in DR – if you make
mistakes in the flag tests,
learn from them. This is a
good opportunity to
familiarize yourself with
the prosections for the
exam.
• Studying anatomy is an
art – you learn to filter all
the theory and pick out
the things you are more
likely to be asked
• e.g. retroperitoneal
structures, portosystemic anastomoses,
arterial supply, biliary
tree, femoral region etc.
Retroperitoneal
Structures
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Duodenum (2nd, 3rd, 4th parts)
Descending colon
Ascending colon
Kidney and ureters
Pancreas (except tail)
Aorta
IVC
Adrenal Glands
Rectum
Femoral Region
• Organisation: Lateral to Medial:
Nerve-Artery-Vein-Empty spaceLymphatics (NAVEL)
• Femoral triange: contains femoral
vein, artery, nerve
• Femoral sheath: Fascial tube 3-4cm
below inguinal ligament. Contains
femoral vein, artery and canal (deep
inguinal lymph nodes) but NOT
femoral nerve.
A Final Note….
• Your lecture notes are your first port of
call (nearly) always.
• Ensure you leave yourself a day or 2 before
the exam to get a look back over
everything (especially for
physiology)…even if it’s only for a few
minutes.
• Keep things simple. It’s better to know a
little about a lot than a lot about a little.
• Check out www.ucc.ie/medstud for
resources and some cool new website
links including
www.medicalmneumonics.com!
And remember….
• “A good set of bowels is worth
more to a man than any quantity
of brains” – Josh Billings.