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Course Details

Course Department: Department of Physics
Course Code: PHY 137
Course Title: Physics for Medical School
Number of ECTS: 6
Level of Course: 1st Cycle (Bachelor's Degree) 
Year of Study (if applicable):
Semester/Trimester when the Course Unit is Delivered: Fall Semester 
Name of Lecturer(s):
Panos Razis
 
Lectures/Week: 2 (2 hours per lecture) 
Laboratories/week: -- 
Tutorials/Week: -- 
Course Purpose and Objectives:
The aim of the course is to bring together students of medicine with a broad set of physical concepts in the fields of Mechanics, Fluids, Wave, Geometric Optics, Electricity, Nuclear Physics and Molecular Biophysics. Particular importance is given to linking these concepts to specific applications in the human body's Medicine. Successful attendance of the course requires a strong background in Physics at the level of three years of Lyceum education.
 
Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • Apply equilibrium to transport and rotational movement to describe forces in the human body.
  • Classify types of levers in the human body.
  • Explain damage to the human body due to impacts, based on the maintenance of momentum and energy.
  • Describe the characteristics of the stress-strain curve of a material.
  • Distinguish the materials to durable, flexible, brittle and hard.
  • Apply elasticity concepts (Young measure, maximum tensile stress, compression, shear and torsion, maximum deformations) in body and body organs.
  • Apply continuity equations, Bernoulli and Poiseuille to blood flow problems in vessels.
  • Describe the reflection and propagation of sound in different materials based on the concept of acoustic impedance.
  • Describe the stimulation of the ear by sound waves.
  • Discuss the use of ultrasound and Doppler in diagnostic tests.
  • Know the distribution of ions inside and outside the cells.
  • Link ion concentrations with the potential difference inside and outside of the cell via the Nernst equation.
  • Describe the creation of action potential in a nerve cell.
  • Be aware of the laws of reflection and refraction in Geometric perspective.
  • Explain the phenomenon of total internal reflection and its applications in diagnostic methods.
  • Apply the lens equation and the lens manufacturer's equation to the different lens types.
  • Describe the focus of light on the human eye.
  • Explain correction of vision imperfections using lenses.
  • Describe the interaction of photons with tissues of the human body.
  • Understand the basic phenomena of photon scattering by a person (Compton effect, Photoelectric phenomenon, twin generation).
  • Describe the attenuation of radiation through matter, using concepts such as linear and mass coefficients of attenuation and half-thickness thickness.
  • Describe the interaction of photons with tissues of the human body.
  • Know the processes of emission of α, β-, β + and γ-particles from cores.
  • Describe the use of radioactive tracers in diagnostic methods.
 
Prerequisites: Not Applicable 
Co-requisites: Not Applicable 
Course Content:
Elements of Mechanics (Newton's Laws, Forces and Displacement Equilibrium, Torque and Rotational Movement, Work and Energy, Shocks, Theory of Elasticity, Statics of the Human Body, Kinematics of the Human Body, Mechanical Properties of the Human Body). Liquid Flow (Density and Pressure; Archimedes and Pascal Authority; Continuity Equation; Bernoulli Equation; Viscous Flow and Flow Poiseuille; Fluid Flow in the Human Body). Harmonic motion and waves (Characteristics of the sound; Doppler phenomenon; Ultrasound; Hearing).
Electricity Elements (Insulators and Pipes; Coulomb Law; Electric Field; Electrical Capacity; Capacity; Dielectric; Electric Current and Ohm Law; Nerve Pulse Propagation; ECG; Medical Imaging). Geometric Optics (Diffusion of Light, Refractive Index, Hollow and Spherical Mirrors, Refraction, Snell Law, Lens Equation, Camera, Magnifier, Microscope, Lens Errors, Human eye, Corrective Lenses). Elements of Nuclear Physics (Nuclear forces; Radiation; Radiation α, β and γ; Radiation through radiation; Radiation Measurement - Dosimetry; Radiotherapy Elements). Medical Applications of Molecular Biophysics (Structure, dynamics and action of biomolecules; Applications in drug design).
 
Teaching Methodology:
Each module (Mechanics, Elasticity, Fluid Flow, Waves and Sound, Geometric Optics, Electricity, Nuclear Physics, Molecular Biophysics) has a duration of 1 - 2 weeks. Each week includes:

  • a two-hour lecture, in which the relevant theory is presented.
  • a two-hour tutorial time, during which the teacher discusses with the students applications of the theory on specific problems of medical interest. Often, students are divided into groups and they discuss the answer to a problem. Lectures use Powerpoint files and word files, which are available to students.
 
Bibliography:
  • Douglas Giancoli. Physics, Principles with applications 7th Ed, Prentice Hall. Τranslated in Greek (Φυσική για επιστήμονες και μηχανικούς, Εκδ. Τζιόλα).
  • Irving Herman. Physics of the Human Body. Eds Springer-Verlag. Τranslated in Greek (Φυσική Ιατρική του ανθρώπινου σώματος, Εκδ. Πασχαλίδης).
  • Russell K. Hobbie and Bradely J. Roth. Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology. Eds. Springer-Verlag.
  • John Cameron. Physics of the Body., Eds. Medical Physics. Translated in Greek (Φυσική του σώματος, Εκδ. Παρισιάνου).
  • Richard McCall. Physics of the Human Body. Johns Hopkins U. Press.
 
Assessment:
The evaluation is done through two exams (December and May of next year). Each exam contains multiple choice questions and short questions. Questions and problems are related to one of the topics of medical interest that were studied in the course.
 
Language of Instruction: Greek
Delivery Mode: Face-To-Face 
Work Placement(s): Not Applicable