Face to Face:

Teaching of GENERAL MORPHOLOGY consists of lectures, seminars/tutorials, and laboratory practice. Attendance of Laboratory Practice and Seminars/Tutorials is obligatory.

The lectures’ content is described above.

Seminars/Tutorials (5 groups of students with 1 tutor per group) review and extend the lectures’ content. In each tutorial, students get familiar with the basic elements per unit and prepare for the laboratory exercises.

Laboratory exercises (in 5 groups of students, 1 tutor per group of 25-27 students) complementary to the lectures. They aim to familiarize the student with the application of techniques, the operation of simple laboratory instruments, and the experimental procedures that are often used in Morphology, as well as to help the students comprehend concepts not easily presented theoretically (learning based on practical experience).

Information and Communication Technologies are used for the preparation of the lecture material, the online information, and the provision of supplementary learning material to students.

Specifically:

• Common software (e.g. MS PowerPoint) is used to prepare lecture material and display slides and videos.
• The study guide (detailed supplementary material & additional bibliography), the tutorial material, the theory and protocols of the laboratory exercises, the slides of each lecture as well as relevant videos and scientific articles made available electronically and online to students through the e-class system of our university.
• Information about the course, tutors as well as their research interests and in general the Pathology Department are available online on the website of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Thessaly.
• Common software (e.g.MS Excel) is used to statistically process student assessment.

Announcements, information, etc. are available online and via e-class. Communication is also done via e-mail.

The language of assessment is Greek.

Evaluation methods.

A. For the laboratory practical: Written Examination at the end of the semester with short questions and problem-solving.

The participation of students in the laboratory exercises is mandatory. At the end of the semester, the students are examined in the content of the Laboratory exercises. The examination material consists of the theory, the methodology, and the ways that results are processed as included in the Guide of the Laboratory Exercises or presented by the tutors during the exercises. Only the students who have completed the laboratory exercises can participate in the written laboratory examination. Success in the laboratory examination is a prerequisite for participation in the course exams.

B. For the Tutorials: In each tutorial, students deepen into the theoretical background of the laboratory exercises that will follow. The performance of the students during in the tutorials is considered in the final evaluation. The material of the tutorials is examined together with the laboratory examination.

C. For the lecture material: Written Exams with multiple choice questions, true/false questions, short answers, and oral examination of students with special needs.

The course exams are written, last 2 hours, and consist of multiple choice or True/False questions and critical or short answer questions. The material to be examined is lectures and tutorial material as described above. Only those students who have successfully passed the Laboratory exams have the right to participate in the course exams.

Final Grade:

The final grade of the course is based 100% on the grade of the written course exams.

Aims of the course

The course material focuses on studying the structure of cells and tissues with an emphasis on humans. In addition, the course material focuses on examining the changes in cell and tissue structure in disease with a particular emphasis on inflammation and neoplasia.

The purpose of the course is to provide the background knowledge and skills so that the students will be able to study and comprehend various topics on anatomic pathology, internal medicine, oncology, and surgery.

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

• understand the basic principles of morphology, structure, and function of normal tissues of the human body.
• use basic laboratory equipment, especially the optical microscope to recognize characteristics of normal tissues with specific histological stains.
• focus on the structure of the main human body tissues and understand their role and function.
• collaborate with other fellow students to carry out basic laboratory research tasks

General Abilities

• Research, analysis, and synthesis of data and information, using the necessary technologies.
• Adaptation to new situations
• Decision making
• Autonomous and team-work
• Criticism and self-criticism practice
• Promotion of free, creative, and inductive reasoning

The content of the GENERAL MORPHOLOGY course includes the following major items:

A. The content of the lectures together with the relevant clinical insights the students need to learn/acquire per chapter.

B. The content of the tutorials/seminars together with the relevant clinical insights the students need to learn/acquire per seminar.

C. The content of the laboratory practice together with the relevant practical & clinical skills the students need to learn/acquire per exercise.

A.Content of Lectures and relevant clinical insights

1. Introduction to morphology
2. Basic principles of cytology
3. Structure-function correlation in cell morphology
4. Epithelial tissue
5. Connective tissue
6. Cartilage and Bone
7. Blood and hemopoiesis
8. Muscle
9. Nervous tissue
10. Circulatory system
11. Cell injury, necrosis, apoptosis
12. Acute inflammation
13. Chronic inflammation and repair
14. Basic principles of neoplasia-tumorigenesis                                                                                                                               

B. Seminar/Tutorial content and relevant clinical insights

Problem-based learning

Presentation, analysis, and discussion of normal tissues in the human body.               

Laboratory Practical content

Hands-on learning: Acquisition of general and specific practical & clinical skills:

General Skills

• Observation, recording, and experimental data analysis
• Handling of basic equipment, especially the use of the optical microscope
• Teamwork
• Safety in the laboratory
• Taking and following instructions
• Troubleshooting and clinical significance of laboratory results 

Specific Skills

– Handling of the optical microscope

– Use of objective lenses and magnifications

C. Knowledge – Lecture material 

1. Introduction to Morphology: basic histological techniques, tissue preparation, light microscopy, interpretation of histological sections, transmission, and scanning electron microscopy.
2. Basic Principles of Cytology: Subject of Cytology, methods for obtaining cytological material, techniques for preparation of cytological materials. General morphological criteria for the identification of neoplastic cells. Contribution of Cytology to the diagnosis of neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases. Contribution of cytology to the prevention and treatment of neoplastic diseases (immunocytochemical, molecular biomarkers)
3. Structure-function correlation of cell morphology: Cytoplasm, cell membrane, cell organelles and enclosed structures, transport proteins, cell signaling, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, protein synthesis, exocytosis, cell surface modifications. Nucleus, chromatin, epigenetics, cell cycle, mitosis. Extracellular matrix, fibers, basal membrane
4. Epithelial tissue: Surface epithelium, simple, pseudostratified, stratified, and transitional epithelia. Cell polarity, specific characteristics, villi, cilia, and epithelial cell junctions. Glandular epithelium: exocrine, endocrine glands, unicellular, multicellular glands.
5. Connective tissue: Functions, permanent and transient connective tissue cells, fibroblasts and collagen, mast cells, distribution and function of macrophages, connective tissue classification, white and brown adipose tissue.
6. Cartilage and Bone: Compact bone, endochondral bone formation, early embryonic and hyaline cartilage, elastic and fibrous cartilage, compact bone and intramembranous ossification, endochondral ossification, hyaline cartilage, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, types of bone tissue, Haversian systems, longitudinal and transverse bone growth, bone tissue remodeling.
7. Blood and hemopoiesis: Peripheral blood, erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets. Bone marrow, stem cells, progenitor and precursor cells, hemopoiesis.
8. Muscle: molecular structure of skeletal muscle, types of muscle tissue, skeletal muscle cell, structure of myofibrils, muscle contraction and relaxation, neuromuscular synapse, muscle spindle, Golgi tendon organs, smooth muscle tissue, cardiac muscle tissue, muscle tissue regeneration
9. Nervous tissue: Spinal nerve structure, nervous system cells, neurons, neuromuscular synapse. Central and Peripheral nervous system. Spinal cord, cerebellum, brain, blood-brain barrier, glial cells, sympathetic and sensory ganglia, peripheral nerve, choroid plexus.
10. Circulatory system: Blood vessel structure. Artery and vein, Types of capillaries. Elastic type artery, Muscular type artery and vein, arterioles, venules, capillaries, and lymphatic vessels. Heart, endocardium, myocardium, epicardium.
11. Cell injury, necrosis, apoptosis: cell stress, acute cell damage, degeneration, necrosis, apoptosis. Mechanisms of cell damage, death, hypoxia, ischemia, oxidative stress, and toxins. Cellular adaptation to stress, atrophy, hypertrophy, hyperplasia, metaplasia.
12. Acute inflammation: General characteristics of inflammation, causes, detection of microbes and damaged cells, acute inflammation, blood flow and vascular permeability changes, acute inflammation cells, adhesion molecules, chemotaxis, phagocytosis, extracellular traps of neutrophil cells, tissue damage, morphologic features of acute inflammation and outcome.
13. Chronic inflammation and repair: chronic inflammation causes, morphological features, cells and chemical mediators of chronic inflammation, cytokines and chemokines, complement system, granulomatous inflammation, tissue repair, regeneration mechanisms, scars, angiogenesis, fibrosis.
14. Basic principles of neoplasia-tumorigenesis: Introduction to neoplasms, nomenclature, differentiation, dysplasia, metaplasia, anaplasia, grade, invasion, metastasis. Precursor lesions, molecular carcinogenesis, oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, repair genes main pathways contributing to molecular carcinogenesis, chromosomal and microsatellite genome instability, and methods of laboratory cancer diagnosis. Epidemiological data, environmental factors. Molecular basis of carcinogenesis, genetic and karyotypic alterations, hereditary forms of cancer, radiation, chemical carcinogenesis, oncogenic viruses, and microbes. Cancer hallmarks, signaling molecules, autophagy, and metabolism reprogramming of cancer cells. 

Tutorials – Laboratory Exercises 

• Histological techniques
• Operation – Introduction to microscope use – observation of different types of cells
• Connective tissue: matrix and fibers, fibroblasts, adipocytes, macrophages, mast cells, loose and dense connective tissue, mucous connective tissue
• Various types of epithelia: in the bronchus, stomach, skin, urothelium (transitional epithelium), thyroid, and parathyroid glands
• Hyaline cartilage, Elastic cartilage, Fibrous cartilage, compact bone, spongy bone
• Aorta (H/E and elastic fibers staining), Muscle type artery (elastic fibers staining), Vein
• Skeletal muscle, Cardiac muscle, Smooth muscle
• Blood and bone marrow smears, blood cells
• Cortex, spinal cord, cerebellum, peripheral nerve, ganglion, choroid plexus

Α. Lecture Material

Main suggested textbooks:

1. “Histology” by L.P. Gartner,

3^rdgreek/ 4^thenglish edition (2018) ISBN: 9789605833022

2. “Histology and Cell Biology: An Introduction to Pathology” by A. Kierszenbaum

2^nd Greek/5^thenglish edition (2023) ISBN: 9789925350490

Further reading:

General pathology lecture notes (inflammation/neoplasia) 

Β. Laboratory Exercises Supplementary Material

GENERAL MORPHOLOGY LABORATORY GUIDE

Relevant Scientific Journals:

None