Biology 435 - Animal Physiology
Eric C. Toolson
Tentative Lecture Schedule for Fall Semester, 2007
Week / Dates / Topic / Reading Assignments1 / 8/21 & 8/23 / Thermodynamics; Neurophysiology / Chaps. 1, 2, 3,4
2 / 8/28 & 9/30 / Neurophysiology / Chaps. 5 & 6
3 / 9/04 & 9/06 / Neurophysiology / Chaps. 5 & 6
4 / 9/11 & 9/13 / Neurophysiology / Chaps. 5 & 6
5 / 9/18 & 9/20 / Neurophysiology; Sensory physiology / Chap. 6
6* / 9/259/27 / Sensory physiology, Midterm exam. / Chaps. 7 & 11
7 / 10/02 & 10/04 / Sensory physiology; / Chaps. 7 & 11, 10
8 / 10/11 / Nervous systems; / Chaps. 10, 8 & 11
9 / 10/16 & 10/18 / Muscle physiology / Chaps. 811
10 / 10/23 & 10/25 / Cardiovascular physiology / Chap. 12
11 / 10/30 & 11/01 / Cardiovascular physiology / Chap. 12
12* / 11/06 & 11/08 / Respiration / Chap. 13
13 / 11/13 & 11/15 / Respiration / Chap. 13
14 / 11/20 / Renal physiology / Chap. 14
15 / 11/27 & 12/29 / Gastrointestinal physiology / Chap. 15
16 / 12/04 & 12/06 / Gastrointestinal physiology / Chap. 15
*: Denotes planned week of midterm exam, subject to negotiation.
Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays,1400-1500, or by appointment. Or, whenever you can catch me. My office is Room 113 (old wing of Castetter Hall), my lab is Room 156 (new wing); E-mail is the best way to reach me: . My phone numbers is 277-3329. You can also leave me a message in the Biology Department office (277-3411).
Course Web Page( you should check the web set at least once per week for important announcements, homework assignments, sample exams, etc..
Goal of the Course: The overriding goal of this course is to give you a good understanding of physiology. We will approach the study of physiology from the perspective of problem-solving; i.e., what are the problems faced by organisms and how does their physiology help them solve those problems? I believe this approach provides for a more insightful and gratifying study of physiology than does the more typical factual approach. Most of the lecture examples will be drawn from mammals, especially humans. This is because our understanding of the function of mammalian systems is better than it is for almost any other animal species. However, there are situations in which presentation of non-mammalian systems will enhance our understanding of physiology in general. Throughout the course, we will stress regulation and integration of function of the various organ systems we discuss, one of the true delights in the study of physiology.
Basic Survival Information: I assume that you have had at the very least Biology 121, 122, 219, & 221 or the equivalent. Therefore, I expect that you will be familiar with basic cell biology and genetics, and the general anatomy of the various organ systems we’ll be discussing in class. The first four chapters of your text provide a good review of much of this material. I also assume you’ve had some physics (including electricity), and that you remember what a derivative is and what it means.
Speaking of exams, I've noticed is that one of the main disparities between A/B students and C/D/F students is not only in the amount of factual information they learn but also in their understanding of the information. Many of the students who get C/D/F grades in this class seem to feel that it's enough to memorize a few terms, and that they should get a good grade on that basis alone. Not the case! One of the criteria I use in my grading decisions is my assessment of how well the student seems to understand the material. This is necessarily based in part on how well a student is able to express himself or herself in answers to the short essay questions that are part of each exam. Therefore, I would highly recommend you practice answering the relevant questions at the back of each assigned chapter of your Eckert text. You might consider writing your answers, or even giving mini-lectures on a particular topic to someone else.
Finally, a disturbing number of students each year don’t take the course seriouslyuntil after the first exam, by which time their grade has been irreparably damaged because they got a gorilla score on the first midterm. Needless to say, you don’t have to let this happen to you.
Assigned Readings: The table below indicates which parts of each chapter directly relate to lecture material the about on the lecture exams (the “Study It!!” column), which parts you should read for a grasp of the concepts contained therein (the “Read It” column), and which parts you may safely ignore in this course (the “Skip It” column). I strongly recommend that you read the relevant portions of the textprior to the first lecture on a particular topic. Keep in mind, however, that test questions will come almost entirely from the notes, unless I have explicitly indicated that a particular part of your text will be covered on an exam. In other words, take thorough notes during lecture, using a tape recorder if necessary, and focus your study efforts on your notes.
Grading: The lecture portion of the course will comprise 70% of your final grade; your lab grade will comprise the other 30%. Lecture grades will be determined primarily on the basis of two (2) midterm exams and a final. The final will consist of a third midterm and some comprehensive questions, and will be worth 110% of one midterm, the ‘extra’ 10% being accounted for by the comprehensive questions. Final letter grades will be based on a curve, but the average final points total for the class will not necessarily be rewarded with a grade of "C" _ my subjective assessment of students’ level of knowledge and understanding of the material will be important in that determination.
Reading Assignments
Week(s) / Topic / Chapter(s) / Study It!! / Read It / Skip It1 / Review / 1, 3, 4 / 3-12, 41-77, 79-110 / 12-14
1 / Thermodynamics / 3 / 59-62
2-5 / Neurophysiology / 5 & 6 / All except pp. 196-198, 202-209
6 / Sensory physiology / 7, 11 / 215-230, 241-249, 252-254,258-272, 440-454 / 254-258 / 230-240, 249-252
7-8 / Muscle physiology / 10 / 361-394, 394-402, 411-421 / 394-411
9 / Nervous systems / 8, 11 / 277-280, 283-298, 425-431 / 458-468 / 432-440, 454-458
10-11 / Cardiovascular physiology / 12 / 473-488, 495-519, 512-519 / 488-495, 519-523
12-13 / Respiration / 13 / 525-553, 562-568 / 553-562, 568-576
14 / Renal physiology / 14 / 593-615 / 579-593, 624-628 / 615-624
15-16 / Gastrointestinal physiology / 15 / 652-665 / 631-651
Note: During your readings, always keep in mind that my overriding concern is that you learn and understand how things work. I am far less concerned that you learn lots of facts for their own sake. Thus, when you come across sections of text, figures, side-bars, or tables that don’t actually illustrate or refine your understanding of a key physiological concept as presented in lecutre, you may ignore them. If you’re not 100% comfortable with your assessment of certain text material’s relevance, ASK ME!
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