This course is fundamentally a survey course on human disease.

It is organized by into ten modules covering the major organ systems: Cardiology, Pulmonary, Renal, Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary, Endocrine, Reproduction, Dermatology, Hematology, Infectious Diseases, and Rheumatology. Within each module, several disciplines (e.g., Medicine, Radiology, Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Pathology, and Pharmacology) contribute to presenting an integrated view of clinical disorders. The course content includes material contained within traditional Pathophysiology, Pathology, and Pharmacology courses, and required and recommended texts have been selected from just such sources. The course organization has been designed specifically to enable examination of problems that cut across traditional disciplines and thus more approximate clinical problem solving.

Basis of Disease utilizes several learning modalities including lectures, problem-based learning (PBL), laboratories, and small group sessions.

Course Goals

The specific course objectives can be accessed by the link on the upper right of this page. Course objectives will be distributed for each module of BOD. For some modules, the objectives are general and apply to the entire block; for others, the objectives are specific to each lecture or class exercise.

The primary overarching goals of the course are summarized below. At the end of each module, the student should be able

1. To describe the normal function of the organ system of interest
2. To describe the important pathological processes, which can affect the organ of interest, including genetic abnormalities, ischemia, inflammation, neoplasia, anatomical derangement, autoimmune attack, and infection.
3. To describe the impact of organ pathology on organ function, i.e., pathophysiology.
4. To identify the pertinent diagnostic tests, which would be useful to define the pathophysiology, and ultimately identify the pathological processes at work.
5. To identify treatments and medications, which could be brought to bear to ameliorate the disease process.

Course Leadership

Course Director		Alan M. Weinstein, MD
Associate Course Director		Roger N. Pearse, MD
Heart Module		Robert J. Kim, MD
Lung Module		Abraham Sanders, MD
Kidney Module		Alan M. Weinstein, MD
GI/Liver Module		Mark B. Pochapin, MD
Endocrine		Julianne Imperato-McGinley, MD
Reproductive		Pak Chung, MD
Infectious Disease		Kristen Marks, M.D.
Heme/Oncology		David Posnett, MD
Rheumatology		Edward Parrish, MD
Dermatology		Patricia Myskowski, MD
Pathology		Richard Minick, MD
Pharmacology		Roberto Levi, MD
Radiology		Robert Zimmerman, MD
Peds/Genes		Jessica G. Davis, MD
PBL		Richard Minick, MD
PBL		Tessa Cigler, MD