OVERVIEW

Pathology is the study (logos) of suffering (pathos). Is a bridging discipline involving both basic science and clinical practice and is devoted to the study of the structural and functional changes in cells, tissues and organs that underlie disease. Through molecular, microbiological, immunological and morphological studies, General Pathology investigates the different causes of disease and their pathogenic mechanisms to favor the development of effective therapies.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The learning outcome is the knowledge the main responses of tissues to injuries mediated by exogenous or endogenous agents.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures, with any possible dialectic interaction with students

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Innate immunity: cells and molecules, local and systemic inflammation, acute and chronic, histological variants of inflammation

Adaptive Immunity: generation, education and function of B and T lymphocytes

Type I hypersensitivity

Mention of immune system’s diseases (immunodeficiencies, autoimmunity and auto-inflammatory diseases)

Atherosclerosis and mention of cardiovascular disease and rheumatic fever

Oncology: benign and malign neoplasms, metastasis, local and systemic effects, paraneoplastic syndromes. Epidemiology (risk and prognostic factors). Molecular basis of tumor transformation: oncogenes, oncosuppressors and examples of tumors. Epigenetic mechanisms (methylation, miRNA). Cancer stem cells (CSC), Tumor-associated angiogenesis and tumor microenvironment.

Immune responses against cancer, tumor escape mechanisms, tumor-associated inflammation.

Environmental causes of disease: causes of physical origin (Radiations, Temperature and different kinds of trauma); causes of chemical origin.
Mechanisms of xenobiotic biotransformation.
Alimentary causes of disease.
Mechanisms of cell damage.
Pathological regressive processes: atrophy, degeneration and cell death.
Pathological progressive processes: hypertrophy/hyrperplasia, metaplasia
and neoplasia.
Pathogenesis of fever.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, Elsevier

Abbas & Lichtman Cellular and Molecular Immunology, Elsevier

The didactic material is available in pdf format for download (https://www.aulaweb.unige.it).

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

MARIA ADELAIDE PRONZATO (President)

CRISTINA BOTTINO

LESSONS

LESSONS START

2nd semester, 2nd year

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The students are evaluated in an oral examination. Two professors examine each student about any of the subject of the course program.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The oral examination consists in several questions, starting from more general questions to more precise ones, in order to assess the knowledge of the students. Students must know the requested pathogenetic mechanisms and demonstrate the ability to connect different subjects of the program.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

The didactic material is available in pdf format for download (https://www.aulaweb.unige.it)

Students can contact the teachers by mail  (information, appointment)