Accessibility statement

Physiology & Disease - BIO00023C

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  • Department: Biology
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: C
  • Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
    • See module specification for other years: 2023-24

Module summary

The field of biomedical science focuses on understanding how molecules, cells, organs and systems function in the human body. With this understanding we hope to better treat disease at the level of the patient and at the level of the population. This module will introduce you to the physiology and pharmacology of different body systems in health and disease.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 1 2024-25

Module aims

Within this module, you will be introduced to the anatomy and physiology of the human body, including the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, reproductive, and respiratory systems, and you will learn how pharmacological discoveries have transformed our understanding of the body and helped in the development of new treatments for disorders affecting millions of people. To support your learning, you will perform several physiological practicals including the measurement of electrical signals from your muscles and heart. You will also participate in group workshop sessions where you will be able to test and apply your understanding of the teaching materials.

Module learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:

Describe the structure and function of the major physiological systems in the human body.

Describe the physiological and pharmacological basis of exemplar diseases.

Analyse and interpret experimental data.

Solve problems related to experimental biomedical sciences.

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Online Exam -less than 24hrs (Centrally scheduled) 100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Online Exam -less than 24hrs (Centrally scheduled) 100

Module feedback

Marks for all summative assessments will be made available to you and your supervisor via e:vision. Feedback will be either individual or cohort-level, depending on the assessment format. You should take the opportunity to discuss your marks and feedback with your supervisor.

For exam-style summative assessment, model answers will be provided for all questions along with cohort-level feedback indicating how students answered questions in general. Marks achieved per question will be added to your script.

For coursework assessments (eg. reports or essays) you will receive individual feedback on your work. This will usually be in the form of a feedback sheet that will include suggestions for further improvement.

During the teaching of the module you will receive formative feedback that may be at a whole class or individual level. Such feedback may include: model answers and discussion of workshop questions, summaries of performance in practicals, VLE-based quizzes, individual spoken comments during workshops, individual written comments on formative work.

Indicative reading

These are available through the VLE module site.


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.