VETERINARY PHYSIOLOGY I AND ETHOLOGY
Learning outcomes of the course unit
he course aims to provide students with the general principles of the organization of physiological functions, integrating knowledge acquired in previous courses.
Examples of integration of regulatory processes will be also provided.
The student will have to acquire the basic principles of ethology and gain insight on the applications in Veterinary Medicine, expecially as regards to animal behaviors, including wild ungulates, and animal welfare.
.Knowledge and understanding. The student will gain knowledge of the main principles of cellular and general veterinary physiology, functions of the organs and systems in domestic animals, taking also into account comparative aspects. The understanding of integration odf the varous functions will also be necessary.
.Applying knowledge and understanding. The student will gain capacity to use knowledge in order to identify and evaluate experimental data and descriptive graphs of functional characteristics of organisms.
.Making judgements. The student will acquire ability to understand and critically and independently discuss data and different research topics.
Communication. The student should be able to correctly use specialized terminology during his speech and should gain capacity to analyze logically and sequentially cause/effect sequences of physiological processes
Course contents summary
The concept of homeostasis and its implications for the study of physiology will be introduced in the initial part of the course. The course will continue with the description of the main functional aspects of cells, paying particular attention to the description of the eletrical phenomena, to introduce the descrition of neuron physiology. The next part of the course will be devoted to discuss blood physiology, illustrating the main features and describing in detial the events of hemostasis.
In the next part a general overview of the nervous system functional organization will be made, including general aspects of sensory, motor and integrative functions. The physiology of sensory receptors, sensory organs will be illustrated and an explanation of the somatic sensory pathways, as well as a description of the pain pathways will be provided. The control of voluntary and reflex motor activity will be also studied. A description of autonomic nervous systems, as regards to organization, functions and neurotransmitters will be provided. Homeostatic and behavioral functions of hypothalamus will be also studied. In the final part of the module, some aspects of animal behavior will be studied.
A general overview of digestive functions and their control mechanisms will then be given. Thereafter, secretion and motility throughout the gastrointestinal tract will be described, as well as the digestive functions of pancreas and liver. Digestion and absorption of the nutrients will also be studied. A description of fermentative processes in herbivores and motility of forestomachs will also be provided.
-"Fisiologia degli animali domestici",Sjaastad, Sand, Hove, Edizione italiana,Casa Editrice Ambrosiana.
-"Manuale di Fisiologia Veterinaria",Cunningham, Antonio Delfino Editore.
-"Fisiologia medica", Guyton and Hall, Piccin, Padova.
-"Fisiologia degli animali-dai geni agli organismi", Sherwood, Andorf, Yancey, Zanichelli.
Course topics will be addressed in lectures. In addition, practical training, seminars and educational visits will be proposed to integrate teorical lectures.
Students will be also required to work in a group to manage and prepair an oral presentation of a research paper, available in scientific literature, on different aspects of ethology. A seminar lesson will deal with the main aspects of the physiology and ethology of wild ungulates.
All course material will be made available to students.
Assessment methods and criteria
The acquisition of knowledge and understanding of the issues covered by the course will be tested by means of an oral examination of about 40 minutes which will be structured in 3 questions . During the exam, the student must also demonstratates the ability to make connections among
the various topics proposed.