Lecturers have reverted to using a "blended" approach when teaching anatomy and physiology. Student responses as to how this contributes to their learning satisfaction were investigated using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of closed- and open-ended questions that were based on three determinants of learning satisfaction: perceived course learnability, learning co...

To modernize its stagnant, traditional curriculum and pedagogy, the Medical School of Wuhan University in China adopted (with modifications) the University of Chicago's medical curriculum model. The reform effort in basic sciences was integrating histology and physiology into one course, increasing the two subjects' connection to clinical medicine, and applying new pedagogies and assessment met...

This article is intended for instructors who teach cardiovascular physiology. In our physiology course exercise physiology is used as a tool to review and integrate cardiovascular and respiratory physiology. It is assumed that the students already have mastered the fundamentals of cardiovascular and respiratory physiology. Because this paper is part of a cardiovascular refresher course, I have ...

The explosion of knowledge in all of the biological sciences, and specifically in physiology, has created a growing problem for educators. There is more to know than students can possibly learn. Thus, difficult choices have to be made about what we expect students to master. One approach to making the needed decisions is to consider those "core principles" that provide the thinking tools for un...

Physiology may play an important, if not essential role, in a liberal arts education because it provides a context for integrating information and concepts from diverse biological and extra-biological disciplines. Instructors of physiology may aid in fulfilling this role by clarifying the core concepts that physiological details exemplify. As an example, presented here are the core principles t...

T his article is intended for instructors who teach cardiovascular physiology. In our physiology course exercise physiology is used as a tool to review and integrate cardiovascular and respiratory physiology. It is assumed that the students already have mastered the fundamentals of cardiovascular and respiratory physiology. Because this paper is part of a cardiovascular refresher course, I have...

Extended periods of population lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic required many university courses to be delivered completely online, and for a student, this can lead feelings isolation, disconnectedness, disengagement. This article proposes hypothetical modification an undergraduate course in physiology address possible student disengagement when studying remotely. Through contextualisation...

It is challenging for biomedical engineering programs to incorporate an indepth study of the systemic interdependence of cells, tissues, and organs into the rigorous mathematical curriculum that is the cornerstone of engineering education. To be sure, many biomedical engineering programs require their students to enroll in anatomy and physiology courses. Often, however, these courses tend to pr...

An important challenge for both students and teachers of physiology is to integrate the different areas in which physiological knowledge is didactically divided. In developing countries, such an issue is even more demanding, because budget restrictions often affect the physiology program with laboratory classes being the first on the list when it comes to cuts in expenses. With the aim of addre...