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for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.
| Unit name |
Health sciences: Biochemistry |
| Unit code |
ORDS10008 |
| Credit points |
30 |
| Level of study |
C/4
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
|
| Unit director |
Professor. Jan Frayne |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department |
Bristol Dental School |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Health Sciences |
Description including Unit Aims
Year 1 of programme.
Element 1: Proteins: Structure and function
Element 2: Nucleic acids and genetics
Element 3: Cellular Metabolism
Element 4: Cells and cell regulation
General aims of the Unit:
- To provide an introduction to biochemistry and to emphasise its relevance to the subject of dentistry.
- To provide a foundation that will enable students to understand biochemical techniques and their relevance to clinical science.
- To provide a foundation upon which other pre-clinical and clinical units will build later in the programme.
- To demonstrate how biochemistry has advanced the study of both normal and diseased states.
- To demonstrate that biochemistry is concerned with the chemical basis of normal biological structure and function and is essential for the understanding of living processes in health and disease.
- To show that fundamental events in biology involve molecular change and provide the dental undergraduate with a scientific foundation for dentistry as well as an awareness of how science advances biomedical knowledge.
- To provide practical experience in laboratory techniques and training in the interpretation of results, calculation and the use of scientific units.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Students should obtain a knowledge and understanding of the following:
- The structure and function of macromolecules within the cell and in the extracellular environment.
- The basic concepts in nutrition and cellular metabolism, including details of important pathways.
- The co-ordinate regulation of biochemical pathways and the mechanism of hormone action.
- The role of nucleic acids in directing protein synthesis an understanding of the acquisition of new genetic information by mutation and viral transformations
- Molecular genetics and molecular biology techniques.
- The fundamentals of medical biochemistry.
- The basic biochemistry of the oral cavity and its relevance to dentistry.
- Basic biochemical techniques and their use in disease diagnosis.
A student should acquire the skills necessary to:
- Perform basic numerical manipulations and scientific calculations.
- Carry out practical work using standard laboratory apparatus and demonstrate the proper use of scientific units.
- Relate the biochemistry they have learnt to the practice of dentistry.
Teaching Information
Lectures, workshops, laboratory sessions.
Assessment Information
Formative assessments:
- Essay writing, data handling and calculation questions performed during workshops.
Summative assessments:
- Laboratory pre and post lab tests and write ups – contribute 5% of end of year mark.
- Midsessional paper (1.5 hr) contributes 15% of end of year mark.
- End of year paper (3 hr) contributes 80% of end of year mark.
- Midsessional and end of year examination papers comprise MCQs, essays, data handling and interpretation questions.
Reading and References
- Baynes & Dominiczak. 3rd Edition (2009) Medical Biochemistry. Mosby.
- Devlin TM. 7th Edition. (2009) Textbook of biochemistry with clinical correlations. Wiley and Sons.
