Basic Science Component

Basic Sciences consists of four semesters of classroom curriculum and the application of Basic Sciences to clinical medicine. As part of our hospital-integrated program, first and fourth semester students attend teaching rounds at the general hospital conducted by our faculty. Students are exposed to patients of all age groups. In addition, students practice history taking and physical examinations with patients at our on campus laboratory.Third and fourth semester students also attend autopsies at the hospital as part of their pathology course.

The curriculum is similar at KMCIC where students are exposed to patients and attend teaching rounds at the nearby 1,750 bed Kasturba Hospital.

In addition to the Basic Sciences curriculum,AUA aims to have every student certified in Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support according to American Heart Association standard, during the first four semesters.

(The first five Basic Science semesters follow the new paradigm in medical education. All of the traditional didactic classroom and lab work is conducted in modern facilities, and clinical experiences begin at the hospital in the first semester.)

First Academic Period
Semester I

Gross Anatomy/Embryology (9 credits)
Structure of the human body and the anatomic principles that provide the basis for physical examination, diagnostics, and therapy in clinical practice. Complete dissection of the human body.

Histology/Cell Biology (7 credits)
Properties of cells , in particular their interaction with one another as components of the tissues and organs of the body. Correlation between structure and function at both the light and electron-microscopic levels as a basis for understanding the physiological and biochemical activities of cells and tissues.

Doctor, Patients, and Society (3 credits)
Conceptual and practical perspectives of the doctor-patient relationship. The basics of medical history, physical examination, and the relationships between patients and disease are explored both individually and jointly. Basic experience in medical interviewing of patients' physical and mental status, examination, human behavior, illness, medical ethics, public health, risk-factor assessment and intervention, and clinical epidemiology. Doctor-patient interaction in both hospital and ambulatory-care settings.

First Academic Period
Semester II

Neuroscience (5 credits)
Organization of the human central nervous system, with an integration of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and neurochemistry. Neurological diseases and their impact on the patient and the family.

Medical Physiology (6 credits)
This course provides the student with a sound understanding of the mechanisms upon which life depends. Course incorporates an integrated study of all the body's control systems as the regulation of these mechanisms. Somatic and visceral systems are reviewed both as unique functioning entities as well as a single interrelated system.

Biochemistry (9 credits)
Genetics (4 credits)
Basic principles of biochemistry as they relate to the practice of medicine. Mechanisms of biochemical reactions in energy production, biosynthesis, and degradation, and their relationship with disease. Biochemical roles of the major organs, biochemical impact on major pathways, and an overview of the metabolic interplay between organs. Chromosomes, their aberrations, and the disorders that result from them. Molecular and clinical genetics, including prenatal diagnosis and genetic screening. An overview of modern genetics, cancer genetics, and gene therapy.

Second Academic Period
Semester III

Behavioral Science (6 credits)
Analysis of human behaviors that bear most heavily on the practice of medicine. The social science of medicine and social science in medicine. A solid foundation in behavioral medicine and psychopathology.

Microbiology (7 credits)
Immunology (2 credits)
Comprehensive look at microbiology and immunology, encompassing the molecular cell biology of microbial agents and the human immune system, and presenting a review of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, and parasites.

General Pathology (6 credits)

Second Academic Period:
Semesters IV

Pharmacology (6 credits)
Action of drugs , chemicals, and other biologically active agents on biological processes. Drug action; prototype drugs and their co-agents, and how each effects the biochemical and physical process; manner and mechanism whereby drugs can ameliorate or correct pathological processes; clinical toxicology; drugs used in emergency situations.

Systemic Pathology (8 credits)
Anatomic changes in body tissue occurring in diseased states. Relationships between anatomic changes and clinical signs and symptoms under disease conditions.

Introduction to Clinical Medicine (8 credits)
This course explains in detail about the damaging effects of infectious, inflammatory and neoclassic processes
in individual organ systems. After successful completion of both general and systemic pathology the students of AUA will have sufficient knowledge about cause, mechanisms, clinical features, diagnosis and prognosis of most common diseases of mankind.