JoinAll Case Studies
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In keyword search, list the criteria you would like to find cases. Multiple criteria can be listed separated by commas (i.e. directed, high school)
Educational levels are defined as follows: Elementary, Middle, High School, College
Types of cases are defined as follows: Analysis/Issues, Clicker, Debate, Intimate Debate, Demonstration, Dilemma/Decision, Directed, Discussion, Interrupted, Jig-saw, Journal Article, Laboratory, Student Presentations, Mini-case, Problem-Based Learning, Public Hearing, Role-Play, Trial, Flipped, Game
By Eric Ribbens
This autobiographical case study presents the story of Eric as he learns that he has a genetic eye disease, which progresses to the point that he becomes legally blind. The story is true and, in this respect, similar to another case by the same autho...
By Giovanni Casotti
This case study presents a fictional story in a realistic setting to teach aspects of human cardiovascular and respiratory physiology as they pertain to decompression sickness and its treatment options. Specifically, students learn about the partial ...
By Susan D. Hester
This case study presents three true stories of people who suffered fatal hyponatremia (low sodium concentration in their body fluids) after consuming excessive amounts of water. Students examine the tonicity of the extracellular environment created b...
Diabetes and Insulin Signaling
By Kristy J. Wilson
Cellular signaling, otherwise known as signal transduction, is the mechanism by which cellular context and environmental situation are used to regulate or adjust cellular behavior. Multicellular organisms use cellular signaling to coordinate response...
By John T. Ripple, Stephen E. Marcaccio, Daniel R. Sherman, Philip J. Stephens
This interrupted case study in gastric physiology follows the story of Frank, a businessman under a lot of stress who has a car accident while driving home from work one night. Frank has low blood insulin levels and high blood sugar levels that his d...
Pharmacogenetics: How Genetic Information Is Used to Treat Disease
By Maureen Knabb
In this clicker case, two teenagers are diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), a cancer of the bone marrow where there is an abnormal overproduction of lymphocyte precursors. The girls' reactions to treatment are very different, however, ...
By Jennifer E. Schaefer
Cholera is a commonly explored disorder when teaching transmembrane transport....
Under the Knife and Completely Aware
By Patrick R. Field, Gabrielle Gangemi, Taylor Kinsley
This case study is based on a newspaper article about the suicide of Sherman Sizemore shortly after he underwent an exploratory laparotomy (abdominal surgery). After his surgery, Sherman experienced symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress dis...
By Philip J. Stephens
Scallops are bivalve mollusks that live on the seabed. This way of life makes them susceptible to predation and so they have evolved the ability to escape by swimming. This interrupted case study is based on a few observations and simple experiments ...
From Cow Juice to a Billion Dollar Drug, With Some Breakthroughs in Between
By Justin F. Shaffer
Before the discovery of insulin in 1921, being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes was a death sentence. Despite the successful management of diabetes with purified animal insulin, potentially severe side effects were abundant, and alternative ways to pro...
By Maureen Knabb
This "clicker" case presents the true story of a 20-year-old athlete who developed a life threatening reaction to anesthesia during a simple elective surgical procedure. His response was unexpected, but not unusual for individuals who possess an inhe...
By Nancy M. Boury
In this "clicker case," students assume the role of pre-med students participating in a summer internship. As interns, they diagnose several different genetic deficiencies of glycolytic pathway enzymes based on the biochemical activity of blood sampl...
By Nancy M. Boury
This case is a variation of a longer case in our collection titled "Murder or Medical Mishap? Death on the Metabolic Ward," which has a "murder-mystery" aspect to it. In both versions of the case, students assume the role of pre-med students pa...
By Lynn Diener
In this interrupted case study, good friends Sara and Mallory discuss Sara's recent healthy weight loss and her difficulty in maintaining her desired weight. Sara recently heard about a hormone, ghrelin, and wonders if that chemical may have somethin...
The Case of the Jamaican Fisherman
By Joyce A. Shaw
Designed for a first- or second-semester Anatomy & Physiology course, this directed case study involves a 48-year-old Jamaican fisherman who suffered a cerebrovascular accident. He was taken to a hospital, where he stayed for three days bef...
By Tonya Laakko Train
This case centers on a fictional group of young adults who studied abroad together in Scotland as college students. A number of them develop disease symptoms and die a few years after the trip. The cause of death is determined to be a prion disease. ...
It's All Greek to Me: Physiology Edition
By Leslie G. Wooten
Stephania and Nikolaus Stamos are concerned about their baby daughter. They take her to her pediatrician, who immediately notices that the once bright and active child is small for her age, pale, lethargic, and has a swollen abdomen. Students ex...
The Soccer Mom: Hebrew Translation
By Jennifer Bolognese, Misti Coronel, Anita Intorre, Philip J. Stephens
In this case study, translated from the original English into Hebrew, students read and interpret the signs and symptoms of a woman suffering from a neurological disorder and make a diagnosis. The case was developed for use in a one-semester animal p...
I've Fallen Over and I Can't Get Up
By Ashley L. Madern, Michael D. Hood, Jeffrey C. Paul, Jr., Philip J. Stephens
Greg Myron is playing the last football game of his career as the high school’s star running back. As the clock counts down the final seconds, Greg rushes 70 yards down field until he is tackled out of bounds. When the kicking team comes out to try...
By David F. Dean (rr)
The pancreas is the source of the bulk of digestive enzymes that act upon the contents of the small intestine. The normal function of the pancreas can be studied in the context of acute pancreatitis, an inflammatory disease with a sudden onset. In th...
By Keith K. Schillo
This case is designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of negative feedback regulation. Basic principles of negative feedback systems are illustrated by focusing on the effects of anabolic steroids on the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicu...
Newsflash! Transport Proteins on Strike!
By Dianne W. York
This role-play case study teaches students about plasma membrane transport and the functions of transport proteins in the phospholipid bilayer. Students act out the parts of molecules and structures in a fantastical cellular world where the unionized...
An Unusual Case of Animal Reproduction
By Joann B. Powell, Elethia W. Tillman
This case study in human reproduction follows Andrea, a college biology student who discovers she is pregnant with twins, but is not sure who the father is. Students are presented with a variety of signs, symptoms, and physiological information that ...
Lost in the Desert! Hebrew Translation
By David L. Evans
In this directed case study, translated from the original English into Hebrew, students read about a man who sets out on a three-hour drive across the Arizona desert to meet his fiancee in California but never shows up at his final destination. ...
Diagnosis of a Congenital Disorder
By Patrick R. Field, Paula Cobos, Cheylena Williams
This progressive disclosure case study explores the medically-related issues of a female infant born with the congenital disorder Sirenomelia, more commonly known as "Mermaid Syndrome." The case starts with a high-risk mother participating in prenata...
By Keith K. Schillo
This case explores the question of whether gender identity is determined strictly by genetics (nature) or social variables (nurture). It is based on a true story about a man who was raised as a girl and later rejected the female gender identity...
By Karin Grimnes (rr)
This interrupted case study is a story about Carrie and her infant daughter Hayden who share similar symptoms: weight loss, metabolic abnormalities, and endocrine glands that just won't quit - as well as autoimmune complications. Students will eventu...
Mini Cases in Psychoactive Drugs and Their Effects on the Brain
By Darlene A. Mitrano
Designed for an upper-level psychology class titled Brain & Behavior, this series of mini-cases can be used in any undergraduate course that covers the major classes of commonly abused legal and illicit psychoactive drugs from a biological standp...
By Tamar L. Goulet
This clicker case introduces the human menstrual cycle and its associated misconceptions by following the story of Ann, a newlywed college student. Ann worries that she is pregnant and confides in her friend, Karen, a biology major. By following thei...
Resistance Is Futile, Or is It? The Clicker Version
By Steven L. Telleen
This clicker case is an adaptation of a case by Annie Prud'homme-Généreux that was originally published by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science titled "Resistance Is Futile ... or Is It? The Immunity System and HIV Infection." It ...
Osmosis is Serious Business! Hebrew Translation
By Troy R. Nash
This directed case study, translated from the original English into Hebrew, involves two “stories,” each concerned with some aspect of osmosis in living cells. Part I is centered around the effects of a hypertonic environment on plant cells, whil...
By Kathleen G. Brown, Sharon S. Ellerton
This case study is designed to integrate important aspects of the nervous and muscular system portions of an anatomy and physiology course. Students follow the story of “Kathy,” whose symptoms involve both sensory and motor components of the nerv...
By Sheri L. Boyce
In this case, students assume the role of a fictitious space explorer captured by aliens. To win their release, they must correctly explain the neurophysiology underlying some of the punishments used by the aliens to deter attempts at escape. The pur...
A Case of Respiratory Distress
By Brahmadeo Dewprashad, Geraldine S. Vaz, Sharon A. Vaz (rr)
This clinical case study was developed to engage students by making connections between core concepts in chemistry and physiological processes in the body. The case pertains to medication-induced methemoglobinemia, its etiology, diagnosis, and treatm...
Girl Pulled Alive from Ruins, 15 Days after Earthquake
By Susan B. Chaplin
This case examines the integrated physiological response to dehydration and starvation from the real-life report of a girl discovered 15 days after an earthquake devastated Port Au-Prince, Haiti, in January 2010. From the meager scientifically releva...
The Mystery of the Seven Deaths
By Michaela Gazdik Stofer
In this interrupted case study, students learn about the function of cellular respiration and the electron transport chain and what happens when that function is impaired. The case is loosely based on the real-life 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders where ...
A Perfect Storm in the Operating Room
By Kelley W. Grorud
In this interrupted case study, a high school biology student shadows her uncle, an anesthesiologist, at a hospital for a school assignment. She witnesses a patient who has an unusual reaction to his anesthesia and nearly dies. As they try to d...
Resistance is Futile - Or Is It?
By Annie Prud’homme-Genereux
While the majority of people are prone to HIV infection, some individuals remain uninfected despite repeated exposure. This case study is based on the landmark paper by Paxton et al. (1996) that uncovered some of the mechanisms of protection against ...
By Kristina Hannam
This "clicker case" is based on the General Biology edition of James Hewlett’s “Bad Fish” case in our collection. The case follows the story of biologist Dr. Westwood, who is accidentally poisoned, first while traveling in Asia and then in the ...
By Sheri L. Boyce
An Amish infant suddenly dies and law enforcement officials suspect the parents of child abuse. But experts who advocate for the parents argue that an underlying genetic disorder common among the Amish may have resulted in the baby’s death. Student...