Anatomy and Physiology I

Course Description

BSC2085C – Anatomy and Physiology I is a 4-credit-hour combined lecture and laboratory course that introduces the structure (anatomy) and function (physiology) of the human body. The course covers the integrated nature of body systems through the integumentary, skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems, with foundational coverage of cellular and tissue-level organization. The "C" lab indicator denotes that lecture and laboratory components are integrated, with substantial hands-on work using anatomical models, microscopy, dissection (typically cat or fetal pig in some institutions; sheep brain and other isolated organs at others), and physiology lab equipment.

BSC2085C is the foundation course for nursing, allied health, and pre-professional health programs across Florida and is one of the most heavily enrolled courses in the Florida College System. It is required for admission to virtually all Florida nursing programs (ADN, BSN, accelerated BSN), most allied health programs (radiologic technology, respiratory care, dental hygiene, occupational therapy assistant, physical therapy assistant, paramedic), and many pre-professional pathways (pre-medicine, pre-dental, pre-veterinary, pre-physician assistant).

BSC2085C is a Florida common course offered at approximately 36 Florida institutions and transfers as the equivalent course at all Florida public postsecondary institutions per SCNS articulation policy. Together with BSC2086C (Anatomy and Physiology II), it constitutes the standard two-semester A&P sequence required by Florida's allied-health programs.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Apply anatomical terminology, including directional terms, body planes, body cavities, and regional terms used in clinical practice.
• Describe the levels of structural organization from chemical to organism and explain the principle of homeostasis as the unifying concept of physiology.
• Apply foundational chemistry concepts relevant to physiology, including atomic structure, chemical bonding, water properties, pH, and biological macromolecules.
• Describe cell structure and function, including organelles, membrane transport, the cell cycle, and protein synthesis.
• Identify and describe the four primary tissue types (epithelial, connective, muscle, nervous) and their classifications, locations, and functions.
• Describe the integumentary system, including skin structure, accessory structures (hair, glands, nails), functions, common pathologies, and burn classification.
• Describe the skeletal system, including bone tissue and types, axial and appendicular skeleton identification, joint classification, and bone development/remodeling.
• Describe the muscular system, including skeletal/cardiac/smooth muscle differences, the sliding filament mechanism of contraction, neuromuscular junction physiology, and identification of major skeletal muscles.
• Describe the nervous system, including neuron structure and function, action potentials, synaptic transmission, organization (CNS/PNS, somatic/autonomic), brain anatomy, spinal cord and reflexes, and the special senses (introductory).
• Demonstrate laboratory skills, including microscopy, model identification, dissection (where included), and basic physiology measurements (e.g., reflexes, EMG, sensory testing).
• Apply concepts of homeostasis and feedback regulation to interpret normal and pathological scenarios.

Optional Outcomes

• Apply clinical correlations and case studies that connect course content to common patient presentations.
• Use digital anatomy tools such as Visible Body, Complete Anatomy, BioDigital Human, or virtual cadaver platforms to supplement learning.
• Perform cat or fetal pig dissection at institutions where dissection-based labs are included.
• Apply concepts to exercise physiology contexts (skeletal muscle adaptation, motor unit recruitment).
• Examine the special senses (vision, hearing, smell, taste, equilibrium) in greater anatomical and physiological depth.

Major Topics

Required Topics

• Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology: Levels of organization; characteristics of life; homeostasis; anatomical position and terminology; body planes; body cavities; regional terminology.
• Chemistry for Physiology: Atomic structure; chemical bonds; water and its biological importance; pH and buffers; carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids; ATP.
• Cellular Level of Organization: Plasma membrane structure; membrane transport (diffusion, osmosis, active transport, vesicular transport); organelles and their functions; the cell cycle and mitosis; protein synthesis (transcription and translation).
• Tissues: Epithelial tissues (classification by cell shape and layers, glandular epithelium); connective tissues (loose, dense, specialized — cartilage, bone, blood, adipose); muscle tissues (skeletal, cardiac, smooth); nervous tissue; tissue membranes.
• Integumentary System: Skin layers (epidermis, dermis, hypodermis); accessory structures (hair, sebaceous and sweat glands, nails); functions; thermoregulation; burns and burn classification (rule of nines); skin cancer overview.
• Skeletal System — Bone Tissue: Bone classification by shape; gross and microscopic structure (osteon); osteogenic cells; bone development (intramembranous and endochondral ossification); bone remodeling; calcium homeostasis.
• Skeletal System — Axial Skeleton: Skull (cranial and facial bones, sutures, paranasal sinuses); vertebral column (regions, vertebra structure); thoracic cage (sternum, ribs).
• Skeletal System — Appendicular Skeleton: Pectoral girdle and upper limb; pelvic girdle and lower limb; bone identification with major landmarks.
• Joints: Structural classification (fibrous, cartilaginous, synovial); functional classification (synarthroses, amphiarthroses, diarthroses); types of synovial joints; movements at synovial joints.
• Muscular System — Microanatomy and Physiology: Skeletal muscle structure (fascicles, fibers, myofibrils, sarcomeres); the sliding filament mechanism; excitation-contraction coupling; neuromuscular junction; motor units; muscle metabolism (aerobic, anaerobic, creatine phosphate); muscle fatigue; muscle fiber types.
• Muscular System — Gross Anatomy: Muscle naming conventions; origin, insertion, action; identification of major muscles of the head/neck, trunk, upper limb, and lower limb.
• Nervous System — Histology and Physiology: Neuron structure; neuroglia; resting membrane potential; graded potentials and action potentials; conduction (continuous and saltatory); synaptic transmission; neurotransmitters.
• Nervous System — Central Nervous System: Brain organization (cerebrum, diencephalon, brainstem, cerebellum); meninges; ventricles and CSF; the limbic system; major functions of brain regions; spinal cord structure and tracts.
• Nervous System — Peripheral Nervous System: Cranial nerves (12 pairs and their functions); spinal nerves and plexuses; reflex arc components; somatic vs. autonomic nervous systems; sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions.
• Special Senses (Introduction): Vision (eye structure, basic phototransduction); hearing and equilibrium (ear structure, basic mechanoreception); smell and taste.

Optional Topics

• Embryology Basics: Germ layers and tissue derivation.
• Histology Lab Emphasis: Detailed identification of tissues under the microscope.
• Clinical Correlations: Common pathologies tied to each system (e.g., osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy).
• Pharmacology Connections: How drug action relates to physiological mechanisms (cholinergic and adrenergic agents, muscle relaxants).
• Aging and the Body Systems: Age-related changes in covered systems.

Resources & Tools

• Common Textbooks: Human Anatomy & Physiology (Marieb/Hoehn), Anatomy & Physiology (Saladin), Seeley's Anatomy & Physiology (VanPutte/Regan/Russo), Hole's Human Anatomy & Physiology (Shier/Butler/Lewis), Principles of Anatomy and Physiology (Tortora/Derrickson)
• Open Educational Resources: Anatomy and Physiology by OpenStax (widely adopted in Florida), Anatomy & Physiology by Lumen Learning
• Online Platforms: Mastering A&P (Pearson), Connect A&P (McGraw-Hill), CengageNOW, McGraw-Hill ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY REVEALED (APR), Visible Body — typically required for homework and virtual lab work
• Lab Resources: Anatomical models (skeletons, torsos, brain, muscle, joint models), microscopes, prepared histology slides, dissection specimens (cat or fetal pig at some institutions), physiology lab equipment (BIOPAC, Vernier sensors, EMG/EKG)
• Digital Anatomy Tools: Visible Body Human Anatomy Atlas, Complete Anatomy (3D4Medical), BioDigital Human, Practice Anatomy Lab (PAL) — increasingly common as supplements or substitutes for cadaver/dissection labs
• Reference Resources: Anatomy Tools (anatomy.tv institutional subscriptions), Khan Academy Health and Medicine, AnatomyZone (YouTube), Crash Course Anatomy & Physiology

Career Pathways

BSC2085C is a foundational prerequisite for nearly every clinical healthcare career path in Florida. Successful completion supports admission to and progression in:

• Nursing Programs — Required prerequisite for Florida ADN (associate degree nursing), BSN, accelerated BSN, and PN-to-RN bridge programs.
• Allied Health Programs — Required for radiologic technology, respiratory care, dental hygiene, occupational therapy assistant, physical therapy assistant, paramedic/EMT-paramedic, sonography (DMS), surgical technology, nuclear medicine technology.
• Pre-Professional Health Pathways — Required or strongly recommended for pre-medicine, pre-dental, pre-veterinary, pre-physician assistant, pre-pharmacy, pre-optometry, pre-chiropractic.
• Health and Human Performance — Exercise science, athletic training, kinesiology programs.
• Medical Assistant and Health Sciences A.S./Certificate Programs — Foundation for many career and technical health programs.

Florida's healthcare sector is one of the state's largest employment domains, with sustained demand for nurses, allied health professionals, and clinical staff across major metropolitan areas (Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, Sarasota). Florida's aging population creates particularly strong demand for healthcare workers in coming decades.

Special Information

General Education and Transfer

BSC2085C is a Florida common course number that transfers as the equivalent course at all Florida public postsecondary institutions per SCNS articulation policy. It typically satisfies natural-science general-education requirements and is the required first course in the A&P sequence for nearly all Florida health-program admissions.

Prerequisite Variations

Most Florida institutions require one or more of the following before BSC2085C:

• BSC1005 (Survey of Biology) or BSC1010C (Principles of Biology I) — depending on institution; some require an introductory biology course, others allow direct entry.
• CHM1025C (Introduction to General Chemistry) or higher chemistry — required at some institutions, recommended at most.
• ENC1101 (English Composition I) — required at most institutions.
• College-level reading placement — universally required.

Students should consult the prerequisite policy of the institution where they plan to take BSC2085C; some accept high-school biology with appropriate grade as the prerequisite.

Grade Requirements for Health Program Admissions

Most Florida nursing and allied health programs require a grade of C or higher in BSC2085C, and many competitive programs use the A&P GPA as a major admission criterion. Students should confirm the grade and recency requirements (some programs require the course to have been taken within the previous 5 or 7 years) of programs to which they intend to apply.

Course Format

BSC2085C is offered in multiple formats: traditional in-person (lecture + on-campus lab), hybrid (online lecture + on-campus lab), and fully online (with virtual lab using platforms like Late Nite Labs, Visible Body, or APR). Health-program admissions committees increasingly accept online A&P, but students should verify acceptance with target programs.