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Course Detail

Course Name Cardiac Biology
Course Code BIO531
Program M. Sc. in Microbiology, M. Sc. in Biotechnology
Semester Elective
Credits 3
Campus Amritapuri

Syllabus

Unit 1

Heart: structure and function
Position of the heart; chambers of the heart: right atrium, left atrium, right ventricle,
left ventricle; aorta, pulmonary arteries, coronary circulation; cardiac conduction
system: sinus node, atrioventricular conduction system.

Unit 2

Types of cells in the heart:
Cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells

Unit 3

Development of the human heart:
formation of heart chambers

Unit 4

Cardiac contraction: excitation – contraction coupling
Initiation, calcium-induced calcium release, muscle contraction, termination of
contraction, heart rate

Unit 5

Cardiac abnormalities and diseases:
Arrhythmias; Cardiomyopathies: hypertrophic, dilated and restrictive;
Hypertension- induced cardiac hypertrophy; Myocardial infarction; Congenital
heart defects

Unit 6

Research techniques in cardiac biology:
Experimental models and their applications – in vitro and in vivo

Course Description and Outcomes

Course Description:
Cardiac biology as a course will deal with the basic structure and function of the heart, pathophysiology as well as the various research techniques employed in the field of cardiovascular disease biology.

Course Outcomes (COs): 3

  1. The course will enable the students to understand the basic concepts of heart structure and function, the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved as well as the pathophysiological aspects.
  2. The course aids the students to apply their knowledge to pursue a PhD in cardiac biology after their Master’s.
  3. The course will enable the students to analyze their findings in research /projects based on the knowledge they have acquired.

Learning Objectives:
Cardiac disease biology is currently a major research area due to the increasing burden of heart diseases globally. Research in this area mainly focuses on pathophysiology, cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying various cardiovascular diseases, etc. The course provides the postgraduate students with the basic knowledge of how the heart functions, the mechanisms involved at the cellular and molecular level, major diseases associated with the cardiovascular system and their underlying mechanisms.

Pedagogy:
The pedagogy adopted will be lecture classes as well as active learning methods such as student presentations of recent research papers relevant to the syllabus.

CO-PO Mapping

Evaluation Pattern: The students will be evaluated based on a written examination (external component) as well as based on presentations, assignments (internal component).

PO1 PO2 PO3 PO4 PO5 PO6 PO7 PO8 PO9 PO10 PSO1 PSO2 PSO3 PSO4
CO1 3 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 3 2 1 1
CO2 3 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 3 3 3 3
CO3 3 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 3 3 3 3

Employability: After completion of the course, the students shall be equipped with basic knowledge of cardiac biology which can be employed in the field of research in cardiovascular biology, especially in the analysis of the research findings. Cardiac disease biology is currently a major research area in India as well as abroad, due to the increasing burden of heart diseases globally.

Reference

  1. Cardiovascular Physiology concepts
    Author- Richard E. Klabunde
    Lipincott Williams and Wilkins, 2005
  2. Pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease
    Editors-Naranjan S. Dhalla, Heinz Rupp and Aubie Angel.
    Springer, 2004

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