510-112 Nutrition Digestion & Metabolism

This subject focuses on the fuels and other nutrients needed for good health and how the body absorbs, digests, metabolises, stores, uses and then excretes these substances. There will be an emphasis on the development, structure and major functions of the organ systems involved in these processes, namely the gastrointestinal system, the hepatobiliary system and the renal system. Fuel and energy are stored in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue, and students will be expected to develop an understanding of how these fuels are mobilised and preferentially used under differing circumstances and stresses. Other content areas include the metabolism of pharmaceutical agents, the anatomy of the abdomen and the diseases that affect the gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary and urinary systems.

Laboratory skills, data acquisition, deduction from evidence, communication.

Mid-semester test(s) (10%); PBL tutor assessment (10%); practical examination (15%) two end-of-semester examinations (total five hours) (65%). Hurdle requirement: 75% attendance at lectures, tutorials and practical classes and 100% attendance at clinical placements and field visits.