Medicine and Surgery "E" - Pontine Campus

Activity type

B_01. Discipline generali per la formazione del medico

SSD

BIO/13

Year

N/D

Semester

N/D

CFU

2

Hours distribution

25 classroom hours

Lecturers

VITTORIA CAMMISOTTO

Activity type

B_03. Morfologia umana, Tirocini formativi e di orientamento

SSD

BIO/17, BIO/17

Year

N/D

Semester

N/D

CFU

7

Hours distribution

100 classroom hours

Lecturers

CLARA NERVI
FRANCESCO FAZI

General Objective
The know the relationship between structure and function of the tissues and during the human organogenesis

Specific objectives To know the morphologic and functional organization of the histological structures of the human body and of the embryo.
To know the mechanisms regulating embryo development, the homeostasis and tissue regeneration
To be able to analyze, interpret and describe a histological preparation.
To be aware of the methodological and experimental pathways underlying the contents of the discipline and to know how to apply them prospectively to biomedical and physio-pathological topics

At the end of the course the student must know:
- The relationship between cellular structure and function in adult tissues and during human organogenesis.
- The organization of the different tissues within complex organs.
- the events underlying the formation of female and male gametes and the fundamental processes of human embryonic and fetal development (including the development of some organs and the major malformations).

At the end of the course the student must be able to:
-correctly use the specific terminology of cytology, histology and embryology
-recognize, analyze and describe the characteristics of differentiated cells and tissues in histological preparations.
identify the most suitable methods for the preparation and observation of tissues based on tissue characteristics and study purposes.

In order to understand the content of the course and achieve the educational objectives, by the beginning of the activities of the teaching module, the student must have acquired knowledge of inorganic chemistry (ions, molecules, chemical bonds, solutions, pH, osmolarity), organic chemistry (macromolecules of biological interest: proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids), and cellular and molecular biology provided by the courses of Chemistry, Biology and Biochemistry

Methods and tools for studying cells, tissues, and organs. Light and electron microscopy. Preparation of tissue for light and electron microscopy. Principal methods for staining tissues for light and electron microscopy. Histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques. Cell culture.

Cytology: structural and functional organization of the eukaryotic cell. Plasma membrane. Cytoplasmic organelles. Rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Golgi apparatus, vesicle and lysosome trafficking. Inclusions. Mitochondria. Cytoskeleton and centrioles. Intracellular transport and cell motility. Cell junctions. Nuclear membrane. Chromatin. Nucleolus. Cell death and division. Cell cycle. Mitosis and meiosis

Histology: Histogenesis of the tissues and cell differentiation: molecular mechanisms of regulation. Tissue progenitors and precursors. Adult and embryonal stem cells. Principles and potential applications for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
- Lining epithelia: Classification criteria. Structural specializations, functions, histogenesis. of cells surface and cell polarity.
- Glands. General organization and histogenesis. Stroma and parenchyma. Secretory cells characteristics. Cell polarity. Exocrine and endocrine glands: structure and classification criteria.
-Connective tissues: General structure and functions of connective tissue; extracellular matrix, fibers, ground substance and cells; Embryonic connective tissue. Connective tissue proper (loose and dense). Adipose tissue. Specialized connective tissues.
-Blood: plasma, morphology and function of formed elements of blood (erythrocytes, leucocytes, platelets).Coagulation process. General information on the mechanisms of immune response. Myeloid and lymphoid tissues. Hemopoiesis.
- Cartilage. Histogenesis, general structure, function and morpho-functional relationships among different types of cartilage (hyaline, elastic, fibrocartilage), Mechanisms of nutrition and growth of the cartilage. Perichondrium.
-Bone. Osteogenesis; bone remodeling and homeostasis. General structure, function and distribution of compact bone and cancellous (spongy) bone. The periosteum and endosteum. Osteogenesis. Bone remodeling.
Muscle tissues: morphology and functional characteristics of skeletal, cardiac muscle and smooth muscle. Ultrastructural characteristics of the muscle cells. Mechanisms controlling muscle cell contraction.
- Nervous tissue: Morphology and structure of neurons, nerve fibers. Synapses. Transmission of the impulse. Myelin sheats formation. Gray matter and white matter. Peripheral nerves. Ganglions.
- Neuroglial cells: distribution, embryonal origin, caracteristics and functions.
- Structural organization of male and female gonads. The germinal epithelium of the male and female gonads. Seminiferous epithelium and spermatogenesis. Ovarian folliculogenesis and ovogenesis.

Embryology: Introduction. Gametogenesis and fertilization. Early stages of the embryo development. Segmentation. Morula. Blastocyst and implantation. The embryonic disk. Timing and 3D development of primitive layers: endoderm, ectoderm and mesoderm. The notochord and its role in embryo development. Ectoderm development. Endoderm development. Mesoderm development. Placenta. Embryo annexes. Morphogenetic mechanisms. Interactions between primitive layers and organogenesis with some examples: nervous central system, circulatory and blood, digestive, respiratory, urogenital. Neural crest derivates. Experimental Embryology: In vitro fertilization. Reproductive and therapeutic cloning. Somatic cell reprogramming into pluripotent stem cells (iPS): concepts, definition and potentiality for tissue regeneration and repair.

Module: HISTOLOGY AND EMBRYOLOGY
ISTOLOGIA di MONESI (PICCIN)
ISTOLOGIA UMANA 2025 (Idelson Gnocchi)
ISTOLOGIA – Testo Atlante di M. H. Ross, W. Pawlina (Casa Editrice Ambrosiana)
Atlante a Colori e Testo di ISTOLOGIA di L.P. Gartner e J.L. Hiatt (Piccin)





Module: CELL BIOLOGY - CYTOLOGY
Embriologia ad Orientamento Medico :
De Felici M et al.: EMBRIOLOGIA UMANA (Piccin)
EMBRIOLOGIA UMANA 2025 (Idelson Gnocchi)
Moore-Persaud: LO SVILUPPO PRENATALE DELL’UOMO (Edra).
T.W. Sadler: EMBRIOLOGIA MEDICA di Langmann (Elsevier)

Course materials are available for download on the e-learning platform at: https://elearning.uniroma1.it/course/view.php?id=2966

Classroom lectures covering all the topics of the Course performed using power-point slides and audio-visual material. Seminars on specific topics of cytology, histology and embryology.

Interactive teaching activity: (Exercises): Observation, description and interpretation of histological samples by microscopy

Elective Teaching Activity: Multidisciplinary monographic course on clinical applications of topics related to the course.

Attendance is mandatory. Students are required to attend at least 60% of the total scheduled lecture hours. Attendance will be regularly monitored. Failure to meet the minimum attendance requirement may result in exclusion from the final exam or the assignment of additional coursework, in accordance with the program’s regulations.

The student's learning will be unitarily verified through an exam that consists of a written test and an oral test. The written test consists in 50 multiple choice questions. The duration of the written test is 50 minutes. A score equal to 1 is assigned to each correct answer. Those who correctly answer to at least 30 questions can access the oral test, which consists in the description and recognition of a histological preparation and in a verification of the outcome of the written test on topics of Histology and Embryology.
For students with specific learning disabilities (DSA), the modality and duration of the written and oral tests will be individually agreed.

Module: HISTOLOGY AND EMBRYOLOGY
N/D
Module: CELL BIOLOGY - CYTOLOGY
N/D

• Classroom lectures with slides and audio-visual material. Integrative teaching activity (exercise): observation of histological samples by optical microscopy