This unit examines the body’s defenses and regulatory systems—immune, integumentary, sensory, respiratory, and related blood physiology—highlighting human adaptations (e.g., opposable thumbs, lactation, hair) and host–microbe interactions. It builds on foundational anatomy and prepares students to interpret clinical and laboratory data relevant to infection, oxygen transport/toxicity, breathing control, and sensory/emotional processing.
Learning Objectives
- Analyze structure–function relationships in the immune, integumentary, sensory (olfactory), and respiratory systems to explain human anatomical adaptations and defense mechanisms.
- Apply principles of host–microbe ecology, lactation physiology, and hemoglobin/oxygen transport to predict effects on infant nutrition, systemic oxygen delivery, and susceptibility to infection or oxidative damage.
- Demonstrate the ability to interpret and communicate laboratory and research data (e.g., immune response assays, microbial population profiles, blood gas/hemoglobin measurements, respiratory control experiments) to support evidence-based conclusions.
- Evaluate clinical and public-health interventions that modify breathing, immune function, microbiome balance, or barrier defenses, and propose appropriate, evidence-based strategies for health promotion and disease prevention.
Curriculum
- 1 Section
- 11 Lessons
- 30 hours
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- Unit 4 — Defense and Physiologic Regulation11
- 1.1Defending Your “Self” with the Immune System20 mins
- 1.2Only Humans Have Opposable Thumbs20 mins
- 1.3Human Milk Is the Best Milk20 mins
- 1.4You’re (Surprisingly) as Hairy as a Gorilla20 mins
- 1.5You Can Process Fear and Emotion20 mins
- 1.6You Smell Like You See20 mins
- 1.7Your Mouth Is More Efficient Than a Chimp’s20 mins
- 1.8Millions of Microbes Owe You Their Lives20 mins
- 1.9Oxygen Can be Dangerous20 mins
- 1.10You Can Control Your Breathing but Fido Can’t20 mins
- 1.11Hemoglobin Dominates Your Red Blood Cells20 mins
Instructor
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