Medicine and Surgery

Main Objectives The course aims at providing students with theoretical and practical knowledge needed to identify main digestive diseases and provide evidence-based pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapy. Expected outcomes: competent and critical knowledge of signs, symptoms, diagnostics and therapy of digestive diseases. Traditional lessons will allow students to properly identify and diagnose main digestive diseases. Practical lessons will provide students with clinical skills needed to understand signs, symptoms and diagnostics of digestive diseases. Specific Objectives Knowledge and Understanding: At the end of the course, students should be able to recognize the relationships between: a) changes, both macro- and microscopic, in the anatomic structure, and b) the signs and symptoms determined by these changes; Have acquired a systematic knowledge of the digestive diseases listed in the core curriculum, as far as concerns natural history, pathophysiological, cellular and molecular mechanisms causing the disease itself and those triggering the signs and symptoms; Applying knowledge and understanding: At the end of the course, students should be able to effect a critical evaluation and correlate the clinical symptoms, physical signs, as well as the most important functional alterations with the anatomic and pathological features, as well as the lesions localized in cell, tissue and organs, interpreting the trigger mechanisms and understanding the clinical significance of the various pathological conditions; Use appropriate drugs, with a good knowledge of the therapeutic effects, the principles and methods of clinical pharmacology. Making judgment: passing the exam implies the ability of appropriately judging and putting in context medical history, signs and symptoms for appropriate diagnostic work-up and therapy. Communication skills: passing the exam implies mastering the ability to expose clinical reasoning and decision-making from signs and symptoms collection to appropriate diagnosis and therapy. Learning skills: passing the exam implies mastering the ability to learn the rational basis of differential diagnosis in digestive medicine.