General information on cells, on tissues. Optical and electronic microscopy. Resolution limit.

Epithelial Tissue: classification and structure. Intracellular junction. Basal membrane. Skin: structure and function. Glandular epithelia: classification and structural organization of endocrine and exocrine glands. Types and methods of secretion.

Connective tissue: Cells, fibers and fundamental substance. Classification. Mucous and serous membranes. Adipose tissue

Cartilaginous tissue: cells. Composition of the extracellular matrix. Classification.

Bone tissue: Structure. Composition of the extracellular matrix and cell types. Periosteum and endosteal. Mechanisms of ossification. Bone remodeling.

Blood: Plasma and serum. Morphology and functions of corpuscular elements. Main blood values. hematopoiesis.

Lymphatic system and immune system: Lymphatic vessels. B-lymphocytes, T and NK lymphocytes. Lymphopoiesis. Primary and secondary lymphoid organs. The immune response.

Muscle tissue: Structure of skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle cell. Characteristics of the three types of muscle.

Nervous tissue: the neuron. Glial cells. Myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibers. General structure of the nerves.

Concise Histology - 1st Edition – Elsevier
Fundamentals of Anatomy & Physiology- 11st Edition - Pearson

LOCOMOTOR SYSTEM. Skeleton: generalities regarding the bones of the skull (neuro-cranium and splancno-cranium). Bones of the vertebral column, trunk, superior limb, inferior limb, pectoral and girdle and pelvis. Joints structure, classification and movements. Joints: intervertebral joints and shoulder joint. Muscolar system. Generalities on muscle organization and respiratory muscles.

CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM. Heart, thoracic aorta, aortic arch, abdominal aorta. The Willi’s polygon. Coronary circulation. Main arteries of superior and inferior limbs. Venous system. Superior vena cava, inferior vena cava and their main branches in the thorax and abdomen. Main veins of the superior and inferior limbs. Generalities on the lymphatic system.

SPLANCHNOLOGY. Basic systemic and microscopy anatomy of digestive, respiratory, urinary, reproductive and endocrine systems.

1) Martini Nath: Anatomy & Physiology, or
2) Martini, Timmons, Tallitsch: Human Anatomy, or
3) Tortora: Human Anatomy, or
4) Gray's Basic Anatomy

Students are strongly encouraged to make use of an atlas of human anatomy of their choice

 General characteristics of living organisms (autotrophic and heterotrophic, aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, unicellular and multicellular, eukaryotic and prokaryotic). Cell theory.
 chemical constituents of cells: water; hydrophilic, hydrophobic and amphipathic molecules
 Structure and function of biological macromolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids.
 Organization of the fundamental eukaryotic cell and prokaryotic. Viruses
 Cellular compartments and related functional specialization (core; ribosomes, mitochondria, chloroplasts, endoplasmic reticulum; the Golgi complex, lysosomes, cytoskeleton; vacuoles).
 Structure and general functions of cell membranes
 Diffusion, passive transport and active transport (channel protein, sodium-potassium pump, secondary active transport)
 From genotype to phenotype: DNA as genetic material, structure and function
 DNA transcription, RNA maturation.
 The genetic code: property (universality, non-ambiguity, continuity, redundancy or degeneracy) and reading mode.
 Protein biosynthesis.
 Regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes
 Cellular reproduction: cell cycle, DNA replication and mitosis.
 Regulation of the cell cycle, tumor suppressor, oncogenes
 Sexual reproduction: Meiosis

-Essential Cell Biology-Alberts-Fourth Edition-Garland Science/Taylor and Francis Group

Basic Genetics:Definitions of Key Terms, Polymorphisms and mutations; Blood groups Genetics
Principles of Genetic Transmission: Mendel's Genetic Hypothesis, The Monohybrid Crosses, Segregation of Two or More Genes, Segregation in Human Pedigrees
Monogenic Inheritance Models: Autosomal inheritance,Autosomal recessive inheritance, X-linked inheritance
Genetic Risk calculation and pedigrees
Genomic Imprinting
X chromosome inactivation
Chromosomes: Structure and Analysis, Chromosome Pathologies
The genetics of complex diseases: Concept of Genomic biomarker, inter-individual variability, Genetic approaches to investigate complex diseases.
Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics: The role of genetic variability in the response to drugs, both in terms of efficacy and toxicity. Personalised Medicine
Genetic tests and Counselling
Old and new technologies in Genetics: Methods and databases

"Medical Genetics" by Jorde - Carey – Bamshad.