Module manager: Dr Christopher Watson
Email: c.m.watson@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
Successful completion of Year 1 MBChB
| MEDI2201 | Control and Movement |
| MEDI2202 | Individuals and Populations 2 |
| MEDI2209 | Integrated Summative Exam 2 |
| MEDI2218 | Innovation, Development, Enterprise, Leadership and Safety 2 |
| MEDI2221 | Essential Medical Science |
| MEDI2222 | Clinical Pathology |
| MEDI2223 | Clinical Assessment, Reasoning, Ethics and Patient Safety |
| MEDI2224 | Enquire 2 |
This module is not approved as a discovery module
On completion of this module, students should be able to ...
1) Acquire a body of factual knowledge and terminology of disease processes as a basis for current and future studies.
2) Recognise the mechanisms by which disease develops.
3) Link their knowledge and understanding of normal and abnormal structure and function.
4) Gain a perspective of the importance of given diseases: whether because they are common, of biological interest, related to occupation, have social implications, illustrate important principles or are of educational interest.
5) Appreciate how the application of pathological principles to the study of diseased tissue in the histopathology laboratory relates to patient management.
6) Describe the fundamental process of inheritance, how mutations lead to inherited disease, and be aware of how these affect individuals, their families and populations at large.
7) Describe the major categories of genetic disease, understand the principles and techniques of chromosome and gene analysis, and be aware of the ethical issues in the diagnosis and treatment of inherited disease.
The module is divided into two strands. By the end of the module students should have a clear knowledge and understanding of:
Mechanisms of Disease (MoD):
1) Basic pathology terminology.
2) Basic clinical immunology.
3) Cell injury and death.
4) Acute and chronic inflammation.
5) Healing and repair.
6) Cellular adaptation.
7) Micro-organisms and health.
8) Disease neoplasia.
Genetics in Medicine (GiM):
1) The mechanisms that underpin human inheritance.
2) The role of genetic factors in health and disease.
3) How to identify patients with, or at risk of, a genetic condition.
4) How to communicate genetic information in an understandable, nondirective manner.
5) The impact genetic information may have on an individual, family and society.
6) The uses and limitations of genetic testing.
7) How to obtain current information about scientific and clinical applications of genetics, particularly from specialised genetics services.
1) Basic histopathology
2) Use of genetic tests
This module provides students with an account of the basic mechanisms of disease that is vital for any understanding of clinical medicine. There is also an emphasis on the increasingly important role that genetics plays in medicine.
Mechanisms of Disease (MoD):
1) The basic terminology and definitions used in describing disease
2) The advantages of a post-mortem examination, how a post-mortem is performed, enabling consent for post-mortem to be sought and obtained
3) The medicolegal aspects of death and death certification
4) How cells and tissues respond to injury
5) The principles and processes of acute inflammation
6) How an overactive immune system causes disease
7) How an underactive immune system causes disease
8) The principles and processes of chronic inflammation
9) The processes of tissue repair and wound healing
10) The biology of vascular disease
11) The consequences of vascular disease
12) Shock & hypertension
13) Abnormal growth, differentiation and morphogenesis
14) The classification, structure and replication of micro-organisms
15) How micro-organisms interact with eukaryotic cells
16) The classification of neoplasms
17) How neoplasms develop
18) The relationship between genes and malignant neoplasms
19) The characteristics of neoplasms
Genetics in Medicine (GiM):
1) Cell cycle, DNA replication, mitosis, meiosis and recombination.
2) DNA damage and repair, types of mutation.
3) Genes in pedigrees.
4) Patterns of inheritance.
5) Genes in populations.
6) Recombinant DNA technology, gene cloning and mapping.
7) Genetic markers.
8) Applications in clinical diagnosis and forensic medicine.
9) Genome projects.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 43 | 1 | 42.5 |
| Panel Session | 16 | 0.9 | 14.5 |
| Tutorial | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Tutorial | 7 | 1 | 7 |
| Independent online learning hours | 52.5 | ||
| Private study hours | 20 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 72 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 144.5 | ||
Preparation for formal teaching sessions, on-line knowledge tests and examination.
Students will be monitored through regular tutorials and performance in online assessment for learning tasks:
Students will have 7 x 1 hour pathology tutorials and 4 x 2 hour genetics tutorials over the 10 weeks of the module.
The tutorials are designed to be interactive sessions that explore the learning topics covered in the lectures; they ensure that every student has a clear understanding of the important concepts and terminology covered that week. The genetics tutorials are designed to test student understanding of important concepts.
Crosswords, released fortnightly and completed using Minerva, are used to build student confidence and monitor progress.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Five in-course open book online knowledge tests | 0 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 0 | |
These are open book in-course online knowledge tests for each theme designed as formative practice for the Year 2 Integrated Summative Exam. Specific details are in the study guide. Students are expected to submit all 5 tests to demonstrate engagement with the course content. A record will be kept of any student who has not submitted any of the tests and their name will be passed on to the ICU and year level teams to follow up any need for further support and/or to explore how the student is professionally engaging with the course. *This module contributes questions to the Year 2 Integrated Summative Exam (MEDI2209).
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team