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The Soccer Mom

A Case Study on the Nervous System

By Jennifer Bolognese, Misti Coronel, Anita Intorre, Philip J. Stephens

The Soccer Mom


 

Abstract

Phyllis Jackson has fainted on the soccer field. She thinks she is just dehydrated, but her husband is worried. He has noticed that she has been having difficulty concentrating at work and is forgetful at times at home. At his suggestion, Phyllis goes to the doctor, where a series of tests reveal that she is suffering from a neurological disorder. In this interrupted case study, students are presented with Phyllis’s signs and symptoms, which they must interpret in order to diagnosis her problem. The case was developed for use in a one-semester animal physiology course taken by sophomore and junior science majors. It could also be used in an anatomy and physiology course or in a freshman general biology course.

   

Date Posted

04/19/2005

Overview

Objectives

  • To appreciate the role of myelin and the implication of myelin degeneration.
  • To understand how action potentials are conducted along an axon.
  • To understand the function of chemical synapses.

Keywords

Myelin; chemical synapse; action potential; corticosteroid; auto-immune disease; neurodegenerative disease; nervous system

  

Subject Headings

Biology (General)
Physiology

EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

Undergraduate lower division, Undergraduate upper division

  

FORMAT

PDF

   

TOPICAL AREAS

N/A

   

LANGUAGE

English

   

TYPE/METHODS

Interrupted

 

 

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