Unit 1 sets the stage for the theme of the Principles of Biomedical Science course and is meant to introduce you to the world of biomedical science. You will be introduced to a woman, Anna Garcia, who is found dead in her home. In this lesson, you will investigate the scene, gather evidence, and then move to the lab to analyze your findings in order to determine her manner of death. In each subsequent unit of the course, you will obtain additional medical history information for Anna as well as details from her autopsy report as you explore the various illnesses she encountered throughout her life. You will maintain a case file for Anna Garcia, compile your ideas and findings over the duration of the course, and ultimately determine her cause of death in the final unit.

In this unit you will explore the personal side of life with diabetes. You will design a guide to help patients cope with a new diagnosis as well as explain possible complications of the disease. You will also examine what happens inside the body of a diabetic as you simulate how the body reacts to varying blood glucose concentrations. Finally you will design an innovation that helps diabetics treat, manage, or even cure their disease and present their idea to a panel offering a research grant.

In this unit you will examine Anna’s blood with a microscope and complete a blood test called a hematocrit in order to explore the biology of an illness called sickle cell disease. You will learn about what it is like for a person dealing with this serious condition and write diary entries from the point of view of a sickle cell patient. The entries will detail how the patient is feeling, describe the treatment being given, and include a narrative of all of the biomedical professions the patient encounters during their treatment journey.

In this unit you will explore what happens to the body when blood vessels fail to deliver oxygen to the tissues. You will investigate medical procedures used to treat blocked blood vessels and prevent events such as heart attack and stroke, and build a model to demonstrate one of these techniques. You will then return to both Anna’s medical history documents as well as her autopsy report and brainstorm how issues of the heart may have played a role in Anna’s final demise. You also will be able to test your own hearts ability to respond to stimuli and dissect a heart to learn about internal and external anatomy.

The medical examiner who performed Anna Garcia’s autopsy pulled copies of Anna’s medical records before proceeding with the autopsy. Interestingly, the medical examiner discovered that Anna had been hospitalized just ten days prior to her death for a sickle cell crisis and subsequently was treated for an infection that was most likely acquired during her hospital stay. The medical examiner then noted that a page of the medical history is missing. Throughout this lesson, you will play the role of medical detectives in order to investigate Anna’s mystery infection. Ultimately, you will need to identify the exact pathogen, or infectious agent, responsible for Anna’s illness.

This is the culminating unit of the course. You will put together all you have learned throughout the course to determine Anna Garcia’s cause of death. Throughout the course you have been compiling an Anna Garcia file with any information you have learned about her and her case. In this final lesson, you will investigate the structure and function of key human body systems and relate all of the ways Anna’s various illnesses affected each body system, potentially resulting in her premature death. In the last activity of the course, you will receive one final part of the autopsy report and put together all you know to determine Anna’s cause of death. You should think about the interventions or innovations that may have saved Anna on the day she died and reflect on the power of prevention in keeping the body well and safe from harm.