There will be 12 laboratory sessions in the course, each lasting approximately 2 hours. | Lab 1: Cells and Tissues - Part I | To develop a basic understanding of cells and major subcellular structures.
To be able to identify major subcellular structures on an electron micrograph.
To become familiar with the appearance of cell on "routine" light microscopy. | | Lab 2: Cells and Tissues - Part II | To examine the structure and function of representative epithelial tissues.
To examine common patterns of epithelial injury and disease. | | Lab 3: Infection and Immunity | Infectious diseases are extremely common causes of morbidity and mortality in "normal" individuals, and an even more important clinical problem in immunocompromised hosts, including organ transplant recipients. Through a set of small clinical vignettes in the setting of organ transplantation, this lab will introduce you to the histopathology of some common infectious diseases. | | Lab 4: Transplantation and Biomaterials | | | Lab 5: The Heart | The heart is a duplex pump that in an average adult delivers ~4 liters/min of venous blood to the lungs (the right heart) and an equal amount of oxygenated blood to the systemic circulation (the left heart). Although detailed study of the heart is beyond the scope of this course, a basic understanding of cardiac anatomy and function is essential for understanding the patterns and consequences of major cardiac diseases. | | Lab 6: Kidneys and Blood Vessels | Kidneys are structurally complex organs that are designed to (1) excrete metabolic waste, (2) regulate body salt and water content, (3) regulate pH, and (4) secrete hormones and other regulatory substances.
Diseases of the kidney are as complex as its structure. In this lab, however, we will focus only on the classical abnormalities of the glomeruli. By the end of this lab, you are expected to be able to identify the normal glomerulus and its structural components, and develop a basic understanding of the patterns of glomerular damage in classical diseases of the glomerulus. | | Lab 7: Lungs and Liver | The goal of these labs is to highlight the major patterns of disease in the liver. | | Lab 8: The Gastrointestinal Tract | The goal of these labs is to highlight the major patterns of disease in the GI tract. | | Lab 9: Red and White Blood Cells | The bone marrow is the site of production of the cellular blood elements, any many pathological processes that affect the blood or the reticuloendothelial system have morphological manifestations in the bone marrow. The goal of this lab is to introduce you to the basic morphology of the bone marrow, and to highlight a basic approach for identification of bone marrow abnormalities. | | Lab 10: The Nervous System | In spite of the enormous complexity of the CNS, some of the most common abnormalities of the brain can be understood with simple clinicopathological correlation. The goal of this lab is to build on the material presented in lectures to demonstrate the pathology of some common CNS disorders. For this purpose, you will only need a basic understanding of the morphology of the cell types that constitute the brain. | | Lab 11: The Clinical Laboratories | Site visit to the clinical laboratories, including hematology, microbiology, chemistry and anatomic pathology labs. | | Lab 12: Autopsy Conference | An autopsy conference in which 2-3 recent autopsies are presented and discussed in one or more of the participating hospitals. |
|
The first two laboratories are designed to familiarize you with the common structures of cells and tissues, the subsequent eight laboratories are focused on specific organs and organ systems pathology, and the final two laboratories are designed to introduce you to two specialized and important areas of hospital pathology. The web-based materials for each lab will be posted just-in-time for the corresponding lab, but will remain available through the course Web site for the remainder of the course.
Although the web-based laboratories are largely "menu-driven," you are expected to use the materials presented to you to formulate your own thoughts and to ask questions. It is extremely important that you actively interact with the faculty during the laboratories. The images, cases and other materials presented to you contain a wealth of information that will only be accessible to you if you wonder and ask questions!
Minicases
The minicases are small case-studies designed to help you integrate the materials covered in class and in your readings. You are expected to review the minicases ahead of time and to formulate your opinion about each case. Although you are not expected to hand-in your responses to questions posed in each minicase, you should have spent enough time on each case to be able to participate in class discussions about each case. The minicases will be distributed approximately 1 week before each scheduled session.
The purpose of these exercises is to give you an opportunity to consider mechanisms and morphology of disease in an actual clinical contest. You should not dwell on trying to find out the exact meaning of particular clinical signs, symptoms or lab results. Your primary responsibility is to try to understand how a particular disease process interferes with normal structure and function of the body, and how these changes may manifest themselves in diagnostic tests.
| Case 1 | A 50-year-old nurse presents to his physician because he has noticed becoming more and more breathless after short periods of physical exercise. He is in generally good physical condition with no known cardiovascular risk factors. He explains that his shortness of breath started only a couple of weeks ago, and he denies having had fevers, chills, chest pain, or any other significant symptoms. The physician finds no significant abnormalities on physical exam. He prescribes a bronchodilating inhaler to be used as needed, and instructs the patient to return for a follow-up in a couple of months. | | Case 2 | A 25-year-old man is brought to the ER with severe, acute onset chest pain. The patient is short of breath and and is coughing up large amounts of frothy, blood-tinged sputum. He is too sick to tell you about what happened, and right after an emergency chest X-ray he goes into respiratory arrest and must be intubated. | | Case 3 | A 55-year-old women seeks medical attention for recent onset weakness in her left arm. She has also experienced recent episodes of dizziness, but is otherwise is reasonably good health. On physical exam, she appears somewhat overweight, and she does indeed have left arm weakness. In addition, her face appears somewhat asymmetrical (the left side of her face is a little lower than the right). Her blood pressure is mildly elevated, and she has been smoking since she was a teenager. | | Case 4 | A 65-year-old retired shipyard worker presented to his doctor complaining of several weeks of increasing coughs and sputum production. On further questioning, he reveals that he is a heavy smoker and that has become increasingly short of breath over the past 5-6 years. On physical examination, both his lungs are dull to percussion (i.e., tapping sounds do not resonate over his lung fields) and he has abnormal breath sounds. On coughing, he brings up copious amounts of thick sputum. The sputum is sent for culture and a chest X-ray is obtained. |
|