Assignments

1. Esophagus and Stomach
2. Intestines
3. Neoplasms
4. Pancreas and Biliary Tract
5. Liver

All of the laboratory activities require active participation on your part. Each lab session begins in the classroom with review of the laboratory assignment for the day. The assignments are distributed a few days before each lab session, and consist of a small set of questions related to the topics under discussion in the course. You are expected to answer the question before each session. Hand in your answers. And be prepared to discuss each question in class. Please make sure you allow yourself enough time to complete these assignments because some questions may require additional reading or examination of microscopic slides. Although your responses will not be individually graded, the quality of your work and the level of your participation in the labs will be considered in the final evaluation for the course.

Following the review of assignments, the class will be divided into two groups in the adjacent Skills areas. Here you will have an opportunity to examine and discuss collections of surgical resections and autopsy specimens related to laboratory topics. Examination of specimens is valuable both for recognizing the extraordinary severity of disease which can develop in any living person, and for developing a clear idea of what you may be up against when conducting non-invasive diagnostic procedures (including history and physical examination). Keep in mind that the goal of these sessions is not to come up with a precise clinical or pathological diagnosis for each specimen, but to develop an appreciation for the spectrum, severity, and complications of gastrointestinal diseases in general. No prior preparation is required for this part of the labs.

• Lab Assignment 1 (PDF)
• Lab Assignment 2 (PDF)
• Lab Assignment 3 (PDF)
• Lab Assignment 4 (PDF)
• Lab Assignment 5 (PDF)

Seminar # 1: The Alimentary Tract

Mucosal barrier

• General topics
• Tight junctions
• The glycocalyx
• Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue
• M-cells
  Molecular biology of colorectal carcinogenesis
  DNA mismatch repair genes and cancer
  Chemical, radiation, and drug-induced mucosal damage
  Microbial pathogenesis in the GI tract
  • Shigella
  • Sahnonella
  • E. Coli
  • H. pylori

Seminar # 2: The Pancreatobiliary Tracts

Biology and physical chemistry of bile and bile salts
Structure and function of biological membranes
Mechanisms of hereditary and acquired pancreatic disease

• Acute and chronic pancreatitis
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Shwachman-Diamond syndrome
  Gallstone disease
• Genetics
• Biochemistry

Seminar # 3: The Liver

Mechanisms of liver detoxification

• Microsomal enzymes
• Drug-induced liver disease
  Immunology of the liver
• Viral hepatitis
• Autoimmune liver disease
  Mechanisms of acute and chronic liver damage
• Alcoholic liver disease
• Fibrosis and cirrhosis
  Inherited/metabolic disorders of the liver
• Alphal-antitrypsin deficiency
• Tangier disease
• Glycogen storage disease
• Mucopolysaccharoidosis
• Lysosomal storage disease