Learning objectives
The module of Biochemistry is part of the integrated course of ‘Veterinary Biochemistry’. The main objective of the course is to provide the student with the fundamental elements for understanding the metabolism in an integrated view. The metabolism is introduced through the concept of 'bioenergetics' combined with the study of the categories of chemical reactions that take place inside the cell. This introduction is followed by the study of the single metabolic pathways as well as of their regulation mechanisms, both in the catabolic and anabolic sense: glucose catabolism (glycolysis, fermentation, glucose oxidation), glycogen metabolism, gluconeogenesis, citric acid cycle and related reactions, respiratory chain, oxidative phosphorylation, lipid metabolism (oxidation of fatty acids, ketone bodies, biosynthesis of fatty acids, lipoproteins and cholesterol), metabolism of amino acids (transamination reactions, urea cycle, biosynthesis of some amino acids) and notes on the metabolism of nucleotides. The course is completed with an integrated study of the individual metabolic pathways that are presented as related through the activity of substances with hormonal activity, both in physiological situations (fasting, abundance of energy sources) and pathological (diabetes) .
With regard to the expected learning outcomes, the student should be able to:
1. Acquire metabolic knowledge understood as the integration of numerous chemical processes that occur simultaneously.
2. show autonomy of judgment, demonstrating the comprehension of the subjects of the course, as well as the ability to integrate them with each other.
3. demonstrate to be able to communicate clearly what he studied, using the appropriate language of the subject. The student must be able to expose the learned contents in a logical and appropriate manner to the interlocutors.
4. to connect the knowledges learned in the present module with those acquired in the other courses, developing skills to apply what has been learned in an organic way (translating the knowledge from the molecular to the cellular, to the systemic).