Course Syllabus
Sustainable Development Goals
Aims
The objectives of the course are to provide expertise in cytology, histology, and embryology, necessary to tackle the modules relating to macroscopic and microscopic anatomy of integrated teaching.
Contents
The primary goal of the course is to provide the fundamental principles of cell ultrastructure, tissues organization and embryonic development.
Some clinical correlations will also be addressed during the course.
Detailed program
CYTOLOGY
Introduction. Techniques employed in histology and histological staining.
Cell membrane (structure, ultrastructure and chemical composition).
Specializations of the cell surface (cilia, stereocilia, flagellum, microvilli).
Ultrastructure and functions of cell junctions (tight, adherent and gap junctions). Adhesion molecules.
Transport mechanisms across the cell membrane. Endocytosis and exocytosis.
Organization of the interphase nucleus: nuclear envelope and nuclear pores; nuclear lamina; nucleoplasm; chromatin; nucleolus.
Structure and ultrastructure of ribosomes. Notes on protein synthesis and the main post-translational modifications.
Structure, ultrastructure and functions of the endoplasmic reticulum (rough and smooth).
Structure, ultrastructure and functions of the Golgi complex.
Fate of the proteins produced.
Lysosomes: biogenesis, structure, ultrastructure and functions. Heterophagocytosis and autophagocytosis.
Peroxisomes, structure, ultrastructure and functions.
Mitochondria: structure, ultrastructure and functions.
Cytoskeleton: microfilamenets, microtubules and intermediate filaments.
HISTOLOGY
General characteristics and classification of huma tissues.
Structure, ultrastructure and functions of:
Lining epithelia;
Glandular epithelia. examples of exocrine glands and ways of secretion (merocrine, apocrine, holocrine and eccrine); examples of endocrine glands
Connective tissue proper. Extracellular substance of connective tissues (ground substance and fibres). Collagen biosynthesis. Cells of loose, dense and reticular connective tissue.
Adipose tissue (unilocular and multilocular);
Cartilage (hyaline, elastic and fibrous);
Bone tissue (non-lamellar and lamellar, compact and trabecular).
Muscle tissue (striated skeletal, striated cardiac and smooth). Ultrastructure of the sarcomere and mechanism of contraction.
Nervous tissue (neurons and glial cells). Myelin and myelination. Nerve fibres;
Blood and hematopoiesis
EMBRYOLOGY
Introduction. Gametogenesis (spermatogenesis and sperms, oogenesis and oocytes).
Capacitation. Fertilization. Cortical reaction. Zygote.
First week of embryonic development: segmentation, morula, cavitation, blastocyst (embryoblast and trophoblast).
Implantation.
First stages of development of the human embryo: formation of the epiblast and hypoblast, bilaminar embryonic disc.
III-IV week of embryonic development: primitive streak, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (human gastrulation), mesoderm formation, trilaminar embryonic disc, notochord and body axes, neurulation (neural tube and neural crest cells).
The three embryonic layers (ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm) and their derivatives.
Somites and their derivatives.
Embryo folding.
Development of the coelomic cavity..
Prerequisites
Scientific knowledge at high school level
Teaching form
6 Frontal lessons (4 hours each), in attendance.
Lessons will be in english.
Textbook and teaching resource
Wheater's Functional Histology (Sylvia Wright, Geraldine O'Dowd, Sarah Bell), Elsevier Health Sciences.
Junqueira's Basic Histology: Text and Atlas (Anthony L. Mescher), McGraw-Hill Education.
The Developing Human, Clinically Oriented Embryology (Keith L. Moore & T. V. N. Persaud & Mark G. Torchia), Elsevier/Saunders.
Semester
First semester
Assessment method
An extensive intermediate assessment (not mandatory) on this part of the Course is scheduled for the end of the first semester, for details see the General Syllabus of "Fundamentals of Human Morphology".
Office hours
every day (mon-fri), upon appointment.
Contact: valentina.carozzi1@unimib.it.
