The course provides the general principles and general characteristics of General Pathology and, Immunology, Clinical Pathology and Microbiology and with them the appropriate scientific terminology for communicating these disciplines.
At the end of the course the student will be able:
1) to know and understand the principles of innate and acquired immunity, their dynamics and their functioning in health and illness;
2) to develop understanding and description capabilities of resistance mechanisms to the immune system that the various pathogenic microorganisms implement;
3) to know and understand the characteristics of major hereditary diseases, pathologies that reduce the efficiency of defense mechanisms, and inflammation;
4) to understand the notions of cellular pathology, cell growth and differentiation alterations, amyloidosis, spongiform encephalopathy and cell death (necrosis, apoptosis and autophagy);
5) to understand the etiology and pathogenesis of tumors, differences between benign and malignant tumors, nomenclature and classification criteria for tumors, their gradation and staging, and the study of oncogenes and oncosuppressor genes;
6) to know and understand the units of measurement, the importance of collecting and conserving biological samples, pre-analytical variability, sensitivity, specificity and predictive values;
7) to know and understand the characteristics of the major circulating cancer markers, their classification and clinical use, as well as indications of the use of such markers;
8) to develop understanding and description of hematology diagnostic mechanisms; of coagulative and fibrinolytic system; of liver function; of exocrine pancreas; of proteins; of cardiovascular disease; of diabetes and thyroiditis; of renal function; and associated with bone remodeling;
9) to understand the notions and principles of vaccination; acute and chronic inflammation, their chemical mediators, and systemic manifestations of inflammation;
11) to acquire the knowledge in the disciplines that contribute to the definition of the class of Diagnostic Medicine and Laboratory, and those useful for the characterization of the training path common to the various types of professional training in the Nursing and Obstetric field;
12) to acquire the knowledge about the morphology, physiology, taxonomic and genetic position of bacteria and viruses, and the cellular and molecular bases in the interactions that they establish with each other or with host cell. These interactions will represent simple models for the study and understanding of fundamental biological processes.
The student will also acquire autonomy of judgment and scientific terminology for communication in the field of reference and the correct use of laboratory diagnostics terminology.