Metabolism

The unit aims to enable students to make progress towards meeting some of the learning outcomes described in Outcomes for Graduates (2018) relevant to 'The Doctor as a Scholar and Scientist' and 'The Doctor as a Professional'. The specific aim is to enable students to develop an understanding of the tissue metabolism and the chemical processes which go on within cells in order to maintain their proper function, and how these are controlled by the endocrine system. You will consider how these processes are controlled and what happens when this control breaks down. There are three major areas of study and at all stages clinical presentations that arise as a consequence of metabolic or hormonal disorders will be discussed.

• Nutrition and whole body metabolism, considers the energy and nutrient requirements of the whole body, along with the regulation of body weight.
• Cellular metabolism, considers the chemical reactions and transformations that go on inside cells and tissues, and how they are controlled.
• Endocrinology, considers how the metabolism of cells and tissues is integrated to serve the needs of the whole body under different physiological conditions.