THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELING

Course objectives

General objectives: Aim of the course is to provide students with the basis for the knowledge of the molecular and cellular etiopathogenetic mechanisms responsible for the alterations of homeostasis leading to pathological events and to the development and progression of diseases in humans, as well as of the reactive processes carried out by the organism to restore equilibrium. In particular, the fundamental aspects of general aetiology, congenital and genetic pathology, damage mechanisms, cellular adaptations and cell death, inflammation, reparative processes and oncology will be explored. The course also aims at explaining selected models, based or not based on lab animals, that are available for biomedical research progress in etiology, pathogenesis and therapy of diseases. Specific objectives: At the end of the course the student will know the basic principles related to the etiology and pathogenesis of pathological processes and be able to use an appropriate scientific language; moreover, he must be able to use the acquired knowledge to recognize and classify, from the etiopathogenetic point of view, the main diseases of interest of his profession and identify appropriate experimental models for their study.

Channel 1
MARELLA MARODER Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
General concepts of general pathology: Health, homeostasis, pathological process, disease, etiology and pathogenesis General etiology: Extrinsic and intrinsic causes of diseases Environmental pathology: injury due to physical and chemical agents, nutritional imbalances Non-hereditary congenital disease Genetic disorders Genetic disorders Molecular basis of genetic diseases Chromosomal abnormalities Mendelian disorders Multifactorial disorders Mitochondrial inheritance Genomic imprinting Cellular Pathology: Cell injury- mechanisms and effects Cell response to injury - cellular stress, degenerative processes, cellular adaptations (hypertrophy, hyperplasia, atrophy, metaplasia) Cell death- necrosis and apoptosis Oncology: Benign and malignant tumors Definition, nomenclature and classification of tumors Molecular basis of cancer Etiology of cancer - carcinogenetic agents Steps of neoplastic transformation Invasion and metastasis Inflammation and tissue repair: Causes of inflammation Acute and Chronic inflammation Cells involved in inflammatory processes Chemical mediators of inflammation Phases of the inflammatory process Granulomas Systemic effects of inflammation, thermoregulation and fever Tissue repair, regeneration and fibrosis Disease models: Main alternatives to animal testing (3D cell cultures, tissue engineering, organ-on-chip). Definition of animal models and main features of the most used species. Induced models and genetic models. Examples of surgical, genetic and induced models of cardiovascular pathologies, such as myocardial ischaemia, atherosclerosis, and hypertension, with elements of physiopathology. Examples of small animal models for cell transplantation in regenerative medicine and oncology.
Prerequisites
A basic knowledge of biochemistry and molecular biology, biology and genetics, human histology and embryology, microbiology, human anatomy and physiology is required. For requested preparatory exams refer to the course regulation.
Books
Pontieri GM Elementi di Patologia Generale. Ed. PICCIN Selected chapters from: Animal models for the study of human disease. Edited by P. Michael Conn. Elsevier.
Teaching mode
The course takes place with lectures in which students are required a continuous interaction by favoring questions on the topics discussed during the lesson.
Frequency
The frequency of the course is optional even if strongly recommended.
Exam mode
The test related to the General Pathology with disease models module consists of an oral discussion of topics covered during the lessons taking into account the understanding of the course contents and the student's critical and reasoning skills. The final score of the exam (expressed in thirtieths) will take into account the evaluations of the two different modules of the course (equal weight).
Lesson mode
The course takes place with lectures in which students are required a continuous interaction by favoring questions on the topics discussed during the lesson.
ISOTTA CHIMENTI Lecturers' profile
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • CourseBiotechnologies
  • CurriculumSingle curriculum
  • Year3rd year
  • Semester2nd semester
  • SSDMED/04
  • CFU6