University of Technology Sydney

91830 Human Pathophysiology

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Science: Life Sciences
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks

Requisite(s): 91400 Human Anatomy and Physiology
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 91239 Human Pathophysiology

Description

This subject aims to provide an overview of the essential elements of the disease process as it occurs in some common disorders of each of the major body systems. This information is provided in the context of how the commonly seen disorders affect healthy tissue structures and functions, and so reinforces basic anatomy and physiology previously studied. Students learn the knowledge in a clinical practice-oriented mode. Topics include abnormal nutritional status and metabolic, endocrine, digestive system, respiratory, cardiovascular, renal and body fluid, nervous, musculoskeletal and reproductive disorders.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1. Recognise changes in physiological function and organ structure of common disorders in each of the major body systems and the interactions between different systems
2. Use the pathophysiology concepts to analyse disease in different scenarios using appropriate inquiry methods with a ‘patient’ in a clinician’s style
3. Understand the unique health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
4. Select the appropriate diagnostic measures of the disorders, and use physical examinations and laboratory methods to make correct diagnosis as per practice by the clinicians.
5. Use the appropriate knowledge of pathophysiology to educate the general public without a medical background using creative approaches (presentation, short film, social media, talk show etc).

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject also contributes specifically to the development of following course intended learning outcomes:

  • Explain how diseases arise and disrupt normal physiological function and appraise the technologies used to diagnose, treat, and cure diseases. (1.1)
  • Collect, accurately record, interpret, and draw conclusions from data to solve real-world medical problems, and infer how the results of medical research can be translated to improve patient outcomes. (2.1)
  • Evaluate ethical, social, and cultural issues in medical science in local and global contexts and work responsibly, safely and with respect to diversity and regulatory frameworks. (3.1)
  • Reflect upon, independently evaluate, and critically appraise current evidence-based literature to identify medical problems or unmet medical needs and creatively translate medical research results to improve the clinical care of patients. (4.1)
  • Effectively communicate medical science knowledge and research information, and the importance thereof, to a range of audiences using a variety of modes, independently and collaboratively. (5.1)
  • Acquire or Develop knowledge of Indigenous Australian contexts to inform professional cultural capability to work effectively with and for, Indigenous Australians within the medical science context. (6.1)

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

This subject addresses the following Graduate Attributes:

1. Disciplinary Knowledge

You will have the opportunity to develop this attribute via lectures, practicals and online modules. You will be encouraged to interact with each other, the lecturer or your tutors, so that basic concepts in physiological changes in a disease setting are well understood. You will also have the opportunity to gain a mastery of the terms and terminology used to describe the disorders of the different body systems and their impacts on the other systems and organs. In doing so, it will encourage you to appreciate how knowledge and understanding of diseases can serve society. Quizzes are designed to provide you with an opportunity to consolidate your learning and let you assess your developing mastery of the subject. The group presentation will allow you to apply your knowledge to explain the disease or health concept to meet the needs of society.

2. Research, inquiry and critical thinking

In order to achieve academic success with both the case analysis tasks and the group presentation, you will need to perform independent but supported research using sources appropriate to professional medical and health communications. In order to solve the specific problems in authentic patient case studies, you will learn to use an inquiry-oriented approach, such as logical thinking, problem solving, data analysis and determining an appropriate solution/conclusion.

3. Professional, ethical and social responsibility

You will be able to develop and apply professional skills (e.g. blood pressure measurement, specialised diagnostic methods, laboratory tests, and treatment principles) to the “patient” in the form of case studies, with professional, ethical and social responsibility. You will develop your knowledge of the current needs of society through lectures, workshops, and practicals by gaining insights into current applications of pathophysiology in the clinical arena, particularly towards returning a patient to health. You will also be able to demonstrate such skills through the group presentation.

4. Communication

Oral communication skill is the most highly ranked graduate attribute desired by employers from new graduates. You will have two opportunities to develop your skills. Firstly, you are encouraged to interact with your peers and teaching staff during the lectures and workshops/practicals, ensuring you can understand and communicate the basic concepts of disease physiology in a scientific setting. Secondly, you will choose a health-related topic that affects our community and prepare a short presentation in any format to communicate the ideas, explain the idea, explain the misperceptions, and warn the general public about the risks in a way that a general audience without a science background can understand.

5. Reflection, Innovation, Creativity

Through the workshops and practicals, you will learn to use several information sources, such as family history, laboratory test results, the latest medical practice guidelines, and cutting-edge peer-reviewed research papers. You are encouraged to use innovative methods to deliver your solution or ideas in a creative way during your group presentation. You can improve your own presentations by analysing those from students submitted in previous years.

6. Understand the unique health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

You will be able to understand the history and unique health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through lectures, to increase your disciplinary knowledge. Through the group presentation, you can demonstrate your understanding of how this theoretical knowledge is applied to these populations.

Teaching and learning strategies

In this subject, you will participate in a range of teaching and learning strategies that are designed to encourage you to gain an understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of human diseases in a clinical setting, master the skills to perform physical examinations on yourself and peers, and learn the techniques to operate laboratory test and equipment for physical functions.

Lectures and online learning materials

The pathophysiology of commonly seen diseases in the major organ systems (such as endocrine, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, muscular-skeletal, renal, and respiratory) and the principles of medical care and pharmaceutical treatments are covered. In this subject, learning occurs through both the real-time delivery of content, and access to online resources such as videos, screencasts, podcasts, and learning notes. The use of videos and problem-based progressive questions means the content is delivered to suit your learning style.

The online lectures are built on pre-learning materials to enable you to quickly clarify complex descriptions and terminology, and engage with complicated topics.

Workshops/Practicals

You are required to complete pre-workshop learning activities to familiarise yourself with essential content on pathophysiology. Content will be delivered via the abovementioned online lectures and online materials (including learning notes and videos), supported by the recommended textbook and consultations with the tutors and lecturers. You will learn how to apply this knowledge to authentic patient cases of the related disease and analyse this in groups during the workshops/practicals.

You are introduced to a range of authentic case scenarios, based on the pathophysiology of disorders in a certain system. Patient cases are used to help you learn the inquiry-orientated analysis of diseases within the major body systems in clinical situations. You will work in small teams and engage in real-time, shared decision-making activities based on the pre-work. This enables you to regulate and monitor your own learning, articulate your own learning processes and identify what you have learned and what needs to be improved. You will use these scenarios to learn concepts, interpret information, form clinical judgments and documentation, and develop creative solutions. Critical thinking is developed through analysis, interpretation and reflection on issues or situations.

In the Science Teaching Laboratory, you will have hands-on experience performing laboratory examinations on each other using the equipment commonly used in the hospital, such as an electrocardiogram (ECG) to measure cardiac rhythm, blood pressure metre to measure blood pressure, and a spirometer to measure lung function, and Multistix to analyse urine chemical compositions, to make an initial medical diagnosis of the patient. You will gain the basic professional skills from these practices as a medical technician or a health care professional.

Online modules for self-learning and assessment

Online materials (patient cases and lecture concepts) using an interactive video are introduced, allowing you to study at your own pace, self-assess, and access instant feedback. This is an inquiry-orientated and interactive learning model. Guided self-evaluation experiences help you reinforce your understanding of discipline knowledge, reasoning, problem-solving and decision-making skills.

Collaborative group assignment and peer marking

You are required to produce a short presentation to a group of selected audience who has NO science/medical background (also called "lay person"). The topic of the presentation should be of interest to the general public. The audience can be of any age and any occupation (eg. housewife/househusband, administrative staff in a remote medical centre). The format can be a classical PowerPoint presentation, talk show, short movie, or any innovative means that can promote the development of creative minds, communication skills, and being a team player.

The assignment will be presented at the end of the sessions and marked by your tutors in your workshop/practical activities. The marking rubric for the assignment will be provided for you to understand the marking process using a sample presentation. You will mark your team member's performance during the assignment preparision.

Content (topics)

Topics covered in Human Pathophysiology include (each with some examples of pathologies):

  1. Nutrition disorders – undernutrition and overnutrition; etc.
  2. Endocrine disorders – diabetes mellitus, hormone dysfunctions; etc.
  3. Cardiovascular system disorders – myocardial infarction, vascular disease and hypertension; etc.
  4. Gastrointestinal system disorders – vomiting, diarrhoea, dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract and accessory organs; etc.
  5. Musculoskeletal disorders – arthritis, osteoporosis, ankylosing spondylitis, gout, and muscular disorders; etc.
  6. Kidney and Body Fluid disorders – glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome, diabetic glomerulosclerosis; etc.
  7. Respiratory disorders – asthma, bronchitis, emphysema; etc.
  8. Reproductive disorders – STDs, cancer, PCOS, prostatic disorders; etc.
  9. Disorders of the nervous system – neural trauma, neurodegenerative disorders, pain; etc.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Quizzes

Intent:

This assessment task contributes to the development of the following graduate attributes:

1. Disciplinary knowledge

2. Research, inquiry, and critical thinking

3. Professional, ethical and social responsibility

6. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledges and Connection with Country
Objective(s):

This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s):

1, 2, 3 and 4

This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s):

1.1, 2.1, 3.1 and 6.1

Type: Quiz/test
Groupwork: Individual
Weight: 60%
Length:

15 min
Criteria:

The underlying premise for the assessment is accuracy of the your disciplinary knowledge (GA1), analysis of inquiry-oriented patient case (GA2), as well as interpretation and application of disciplinary knowledge to meet the needs of different populations, such as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (GA3, GA6). Each quiz is assessed by the correctness of answers to questions that draw on the application of knowledge to: the principles of pathophysiology and treatment of disorders of different body systems, the medical scenarios associated with these body systems, and the unique health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Questions range from basic knowledge recall to inquiry-oriented patient case analysis and data interpretation. Development of professional skills is assessed through the directed application of calculations and determination of appropriate conclusions.

Assessment task 2: Group presentation

Intent:

This assessment task contributes to the development of the following graduate attributes:

1. disciplinary knowledge

2. research, inquiry, and critical thinking

3. professional, ethical, and social responsibility

4. reflection, innovation, creativity

5. communication

6. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledges and Connection with Country
Objective(s):

This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s):

3 and 5

This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s):

4.1, 5.1 and 6.1

Type: Presentation
Groupwork: Group, group and individually assessed
Weight: 40%
Length:

6-8 minutes presentation
Criteria:

The underlying premise for the assessment is your understanding of disciplinary knowledge (GA1), the interpretation and application of the disciplinary knowledge (GA3), the ability to provide information beyond the learning material in this subject (GA2) according to the need of the society especially the unique health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (GA3, GA6), the ability to translate discipline knowledge into easy to understand concept and communication with your proposed audience (GA2, GA3, GA4, GA6), and the novelty of communication format (GA4, GA5).

The presentation weighs 25% of the total mark. The presentation will be marked using the same rubric provided for the Bench Marking exercise against the following aspects, 1) Engagement with the needs of Society by the relevancy of content to the topic and the needs of the audiences (GA1, GA3, GA6), 2) Communication skills by the clarity and easy to understand (GA5), 3) Ability and motivation for continued intellectual development by critical Analysis of Key Information (GA1, GA2), and 4) Referencing (GA1, GA2), 5), Initiative and innovative ability by Structure, Organisation Presentation, and within the time limit (GA4, GA5). The following scale will be used to assess the various criteria: 1 = Poor; 2 = Satisfactory; 3 = Good/Reasonable but still contains some flaws; 4 = Excellent.

The team contribution mark weighs 5% of the total mark. You will provide the mark to all the other members of your team, ranging from 0 - no contribution (including the contribution that is impossible to be considered for the final product, neglecting emails, and failing to attend or contribute to team meetings), 1 - minor, 2 - acceptable, 3 average, 4 - significant, 5 - excellent. The average mark from the teammates will be used. A "0" team contribution mark will result in "0" marks for the presentation mark. The presentation mark will be proportional to your team contribution. eg. if your team mark is 3/5=60%, the presentation gets 20, and your presentation mark will be 20 x 60% = 12.

Peer marking weighs 10% of the total mark, which is you give marks to your group members. "0" will be awarded if a student fails to submit the peer marking sheet by the due date. Incomplete marking will be subjected to a scale-down mark accordingly.

Minimum requirements

Students must participate in the quizzes and group presentation.

Required texts

Any text book on pathophysiology is acceptable.

Recommended texts

Bullock S, Hales M. Principles of Pathophysiology. Pearson. (ebook available at UTS https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uts/detail.action?docID=5495513; e-book purchase via http://www.pearson.com.au/9781442510456)

OR

Porth CM. (2011) Essentials of Pathophysiology. Concepts of Altered Health States. 3rd Edition. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

OR

Porth CM. (2005) Pathophysiology. Concepts of Altered Health States. 7th Edition. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

OR

Huether, SE & McCance, KL (2008) Understanding Pathophysiology, 4th Edition. Mosby.

OR

Craft, Gordon, Huether, McCance - Australian & NZ adaptation. ebook available online https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uts/detail.action?docID=1722500

References

  • Marieb, EN and Hoehn, K. (2007) "Human Anatomy and Physiology", Ed 6, Pearson - Benjamin Cummings.
  • Seeley, Stephens, Tate. (2008) "Anatomy and Physiology", 8th Edition, McGraw Hill.
  • Harris P, Nagy S, Vardaxis N. (2006) Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions. Mosby - Elsevier.