Tamatha Barbeau, Ph.D. Professor of Biology Coordinator: Veterinary Studies Program Coordinator: Program for Undergraduate Research (PURE)

Lecture Textbook: Updated Aug 27, 2025. The lecture textbook will be a free, open source, downloadable PDF (Human Physiology, by Wikibooks Contributors, 2017). This PDF textbook will have comments made by me, in pop-up boxes associated with highlighted parts of the text. In these comments I will tell you which sections you need to read and study, as well as which sections we will not be covering. I recommend downloading the PDF onto your computer (iPad, etc...) in order to view my embedded comments, as they don't show up well when viewing the document online.

Manual : There is no published lab manual for this course. Lab exercises will be posted as a downloadable PDF on the online course syllabus (Look further down below on this page!). You must print these out, or have them on your electronic device, and review them before coming to lab. Lab quizzes are based on these handouts.

Course Description: In this course we will investigate human physiology covering aspects of most of the major organ systems. The nature of physiology is to understand how different organ systems of the body are regulated by nervous and endocrine control, and this primarily involves negative feedback systems in order to maintain homeostasis. This course is tailored specifically towards pre-nursing students but is also relevant to students in related allied health programs. [**See comment below this section.] This course involves A LOT of memorization of vocabulary along with more conceptual-based learning. Furthermore, this course will involve cumulative knowledge - meaning you will apply material covered earlier in the semester towards each successive newer concept and topic. Most importantly, this course involves learning many physiological pathways, and learning these pathways is often a new and challenging subject to master.

I will provide you with MANY resources online to help you practice and learn these pathways. Take advantage of the blank and key flow diagrams, chapter outlines, and practice exams. I will also post blank PowerPoints online, which I will annotate over in class, so print these out or have them on your computer for class. Be prepared to study! You should spend about 1-3 hours outside of lecture studying for each hour in lecture that material is covered. Keep up with your reading of the textbook and review of lecture notes frequently. You must complete a course in Human Anatomy before taking this course, as we aim to build upon a pre-existing knowledge of anatomy.

**If you are Pre-Vet, Pre-Med, or plan to apply to a similar program, please check with your academic advisor if this is the correct physiology course for you. Some programs require a minimum of a 300 level or higher physiology. This course is tailored to the needs of Pre-Nursing, Pre-Physician Assistant programs, and some other health programs. Just check with the program you are hoping to apply to after this course, and see if this physiology course meets their prerequisite requirements. This online syllabus is very thorough, and you can send this link to your program of choice, and they can examine it and let you know if it meets their requirements.

Course Conduct : This course consists of three lectures per week and one 3-hour lab. Lecture material is covered at a rapid pace so print out the lecture PowerPoints and look them over before lecture. Be prepared for in-class discussions and laboratory activities by reading the assigned material prior to class. Students will be evaluated by their performance on lecture exams and quizzes, and laboratory quizzes and lab reports. Attendance of both the lecture and the laboratories is mandatory. Notification of the instructor prior to an absence is strongly recommended, and absences are excused only for valid reasons (e.g. medical or legal reasons, or emergencies). No more than 6 excused absences from lecture and 3 absences from lab are permitted. Absences exceeding this limit can result in you being dropped from the course. You will be responsible for making up any missed material. Material from the lab can and will be included in the lecture portion of the course.

Lecture Exams: There are 4 exams in the semester, based on material covered in each quarter of the course; thus, exams are not comprehensive. Attendance at exams is mandatory. Make-up exams will be given only to students with documented excuses for an absence, and make-up exams will include fill-in-the-blank and short answer questions. If you miss an exam you must provide me with an official excuse and take a make-up exam within 1 week. Failure to do so results in a zero for that exam. There will be no exceptions to this rule. The final exam time and location is given by the Course Schedule. You must take your final exam when it is scheduled, and there will be no exceptions and no makeup final exam unless you have a verifiable emergency. If you schedule a vacation or trip during that time you will have to decide between the trip or receiving a zero for the final exam. If you have multiple exams on that day you simply must budget your time wisely and start studying well ahead of schedule.

Lecture Quizzes: There are 3 lecture quizzes consisting of 25 questions given during the first 25 min of lecture. Quizzes contain multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks, and matching questions. If you come late to lecture on these days you do not take the quiz. If you miss a quiz, or arrive late on the day of a quiz, you must provide an official excuse and make up the quiz within 1 week, or you will receive a zero. There will be no exceptions to this rule.

Lecture Writing Assignment: There will be 1 writing assignment in lecture, worth 35 pts. Click HERE for details, and an example writing assignment.

Lab Reports: There will be two lab reports due during the semester. Spelling and grammar counts! Click HERE for guidelines on writing lab reports and see example lab report included within. Click HERE to see an example of a nursing article published using this format. Click HERE for blood pressure lab report grading guidelines. Click HERE to see how blood glucose regulation report is graded. Click HERE for kidney lab report grading guidelines.

Lab Quizzes: There are 6 lab quizzes during the semester consisting of 10 - 15 questions given during the first 15 min of lab. Quizzes contain multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks, and matching questions. If you come late to lecture on these days you do not take the quiz. If you miss a quiz, or arrive late on the day of a quiz, you must provide an official excuse and make up the quiz within 1 week, or else you receive a zero. There will be no exceptions to this rule.

Attendance: There are no points given for attendance, BUT attendance is recorded throughout the semester. Students that attend lecture regularly, and follow any online supplements, tend to do better in the course. I often present material during lecture that is not found in the textbook. Furthermore, if you are receiving financial aid or are on academic warning the FMU registrar, financial aid office, or other administrative offices might contact me to ascertain the date of your last attendance in the course. Laboratory attendance/participation is mandatory! You are allowed no more than 6 absences from lecture, and no more than 3 excused absences from lab (with official excuse). Any further absences can result in your being dismissed from lab and the course. There is no way to make-up missed labs.

Student Performance : In this course performance is assessed based on percentage of total possible points as shown below. The lab is worth 25% of the course. There are no extra credit assignments in this course, so every quiz, exam, and practical counts!

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT APPLYING TO FMU'S BSN NURSING PROGRAM:
ContactClinical Coordinator - Nursing, Kelly Heavner, Office: LNB 144 Phone: 843-661-1226, E-mail

LECTURE SCHEDULE: The following is a tentative lecture schedule of the subject material, exam, quiz, and writing assignment dates.

This syllabus was last updated on Aug 27, 2025