2022/2023

2022/2023

DM270

BIO/16 (HUMAN ANATOMY)

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY "LAZZARO SPALLANZANI"

PERCORSO COMUNE

1°

1st semester (26/09/2022 - 13/01/2023)

6

48 lesson hours

English

WRITTEN AND ORAL TEST

ROSSI DANIELA MARIA CARMELITA (titolare) - 3 ECTS
TALPO FRANCESCA - 3 ECTS

Basic knowledge of Human Neuroanatomy

The course has the objective of enabling the acquisition of the basic knowledge of the microscopic structure of the human nervous tissue and the organization of the human nervous system from the anatomotopographic point of view. Students are further meant to achieve competence on the neuronal pathways suitable for studying the localization of the brain and the peripheral nervous system functions.
They are intended to develop communication skills on the subject, using appropriate neuroanatomical terminology and organized descriptive
ability.

Notions of histology of the nervous tissue: subcellular organization of the neuron with particular reference to the structural and ultrastructural
features of soma, axon, dendrites and synapses. Heterogeneity of neurons: morphological, neurochemical and functional classification
criteria. Glial cells: morpho-functional characteristics of the different glial cytotypes of the central and peripheral nervous system. The myelin sheath.

Organization of the central and peripheral nervous system.
The spinal cord: external conformation; subdivisions, organization and structure of the grey and white matter; spinal reflexes. Spinal ganglia and spinal nerves.
The brainstem: external and internal conformation of medulla oblongata, pons and midbrain. The nuclei of the cranial nerves, the brainstem nuclei,
the reticular formation; the IV ventricle. Cranial nerves and basal ganglia.
The cerebellum: structure, cytoarchitecture, functional subdivisions and related archi-, paleo- and neo-cerebellar connections.
The diencephalon: topography and subdivisions; the thalamus and the metathalamus, the epithalamic formations, the periventricular
hypothalamus and its neuroendocrine relations, the subthalamus. The III ventricle.
The telencephalon: external and internal conformation. The neopallial telencephalic cortex: cytoarchitecture, regional differences, cortical areas
and functional correlations; the paleopallial cortex and the olfactory pathways; the archipallial cortex. The white substance: the associative,
commissural and projection systems; the internal capsule. The grey nuclei of the telencephalic base: the extrapyramidal circuits of motor control. The limbic system. The lateral ventricles.
Main nerve pathways: pyramidal pathways, extrapyramidal pathways, somatic sensitivity pathways, olfactory pathways, optical pathways, taste
pathways, acoustic pathways.
Organization of the autonomic nervous system. Orthosympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
Receptors and sense organs. Anatomy of visual function, taste and smell sense (individual variability of taste and olfactory functions; sensory
mechanisms implicated in individual eating behavior); anatomy of hearing and balance.
Vascularization of the central nervous system, ventricular cavities, meninges, blood-brain barrier.

The course lasts about 12 weeks (4 hours of lessons per week). Lessons will be performed by using Power Point presentations.

One of the following books is recommended to study:

Richard S. Snell
Clinical Neuroanatomy
Wolters Kluwer - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

John Martin
Neuroanatomy Text and Atlas
McGraw-Hill Education

F.H. Martini, M.J. Timmons, R.B. Tallitsch
Human Anatomy
Pearson

D.L. Felten, M.K. O'Banion, M.S. Maida
Netter's Atlas of Neuroscience
Elsevier

Examination:
Exam consists into 2 intermediate written tests in itinere or a single final written test including:

• true / false questions and/or multiple choice questions;

• questions requiring the recognition of images and / or patterns and / or the definition of specific neuroanatomical terms;

• questions requiring a brief description of the gross anatomy / histological organization of specific brain structures and /or the description of the anatomical relationships between different brain areas.

Questions evaluate the knowledge of the topics of the course, the ability to link different subjects, the expressive capacities, the use of an appropriate terminology, the consequentiality in the content connection, the ability to synthesize the concepts.

The final grade of the exam is expressed in thirtieths. For the students taking the 2 in itinere tests, final grade is the mean of the individual grades awarded in each test (a score of at least 18/30 must be achieved in each test to pass it).

Students will be given the opportunity to take an additional oral exam (optional), upon their request.

Knowledge and comprehension:
Acquisition of the critical tools and familiarity with issues related to the general organization of the nervous system, topographic neuroanatomy
and neuronal systems.

Application skills:
Self-directed and guided activities for the systematization of the knowledge by recognizing the different nervous structures through the
use of atlases and schematic illustrations of sections of the central nervous system.

Autonomy of judgment:
Autonomous and guided recognition of regions and nuclei in sections of human brain.

Communication skills:
Acquisition of the ability to describe in essential, complete and appropriate lexicon the organization of the subdivisions of the central and
peripheral nervous system and the immediate relationships between the functional activity of the nerve components and the peripheral
innervation territories by using specific language (nomenclature and terminology) of neuroanatomy.

Learning skills:
Essential theoretical knowledge of the structure of neurons and glia, and of the organization of the different neuronal systems, acquired by
advanced neuroanatomy books.