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Records returned 197
A “Deafinite” Cause for Alarm
“Henry” is not the best of patients. He has been admitted into the hospital with bacterial pneumonia, but he soon becomes bored and fru ...
A Bad Reaction
This case involves the transfer of a food allergy to a patient who received a combined kidney and liver transplant from a donor who died as the res ...
A Botched Botox Party in the Hamptons
This flipped case study explores how the topics of membrane structure, transport, and signaling via membrane-bound receptors are intimately associa ...
A Can of Bull
This case study is designed to teach students at various levels about large biomolecules, nutrition, and product analysis. Students conduct a bioch ...
A Case of a Pheochromocytoma
“Rollie Hendrix,” a 35-year-old husband and father of three children, has been experiencing headaches and palpitations of increasing fr ...
A Case of Acute Pancreatitis
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 ...
A Case of Cerebrovascular Accident
"Samuel Dexter" is 52 years old, overweight, and a heavy smoker. He wakes one morning with weakness on his right side. When he attempts to wa ...
A Case of Diabetes Insipidus
“Amanda Richards,” a 20-year-old junior in college, is majoring in biology and hopes to be a pediatrician one day. For about a month, s ...
A Case of Iron Deficiency Anemia
“Dolores Welborn,” a 28-year-old attorney, is pregnant with her first child. Lately she has been tiring easily and is often short of br ...
A Case of Neurocardiogenic Syncope
“Allison Jacobson” is a 19-year-old sophomore majoring in pre-med. The past few weeks she has been studying for finals. She feels tired ...
A Case of Pharyngitis
Seven-year-old “Jason Hornbuckle” has been complaining for the past 12 hours of pain when he swallows. He also has a headache and ...
A Case of Respiratory Distress
This clinical case study was developed to engage students by making connections between core concepts in chemistry and physiological processes in t ...
A Case of Seasonal Affective Disorder
“Melanie Johnson” is a 32-year-old accountant who has moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, from her hometown of Sarasota, Florida. For ...
A Case of Spinal Cord Injury
“Jason Hendrix,” a 21-year-old student majoring in economics, is injured in a serious motorcycle accident while on spring break in Flor ...
A Case of Thrombocytopenia
“Carolyn Jones” is a 40-year-old professor of economics. The past week she has felt tried and weak. The past few days she has noticed s ...
A Case of X-linked Agammaglobulinemia
Though a normal, full-term baby at birth, starting at about 10 months of age “Billy DeWitt” has suffered a series of infections, includ ...
A Cross Country Collision
This case study relates the story of “Hannah,” a 19-year-old runner struck by a deer during a cross country race. As a result of the co ...
A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed
This directed case study was designed to help students strengthen their understanding of the transport of oxygen in the blood through an analysis o ...
A Grumpy Old Man
This directed case study tells the story of an 84-year-old man who has been brought to the ER for treatment of a badly broken wrist. Routine bloodw ...
A Metabolic Storm
This "clicker" case presents the true story of a 20-year-old athlete who developed a life threatening reaction to anesthesia during a simple electi ...
A Pain in the Gut
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 driv ...
A Perfect Storm in the Operating Room
In this interrupted case study, a high school biology student shadows her uncle, an anesthesiologist, at a hospital for a school assignment. She wi ...
A Rainbow of Sepia
This flipped case study examines the selective pressures that have affected the evolution of diverse human skin pigmentations. To prepare for the c ...
A Rough Semester
This interrupted case study tells the story of Katie, an active college sophomore who experiences flu-like symptoms. She initially thinks tha ...
A Spill at Parsenn Bowl
Based on a real incident, this case features an older woman who has been injured on a ski slope. Her classic knee injury, often referred to as the ...
A Tradesman’s Journey Back from a Cerebral Incident
This directed case study tells the story of a middle-aged man with hypertension and hyperlipidemia who experiences an ischemic cerebrovascular acci ...
A Tragic Finding
This interrupted case study utilizes real patient data and provides students an opportunity to apply knowledge of human metabolism and hormonal con ...
A Trip to the Eye Doctor
This directed case study follows a young woman, Samantha, on a routine visit to her eye doctor. While at her appointment, Samantha receives p ...
A Typical Cold?
In this problem-based learning case, a couple who has adopted a three-year-old toddler is concerned about the child’s health, in particular t ...
A Yellow-Bellied Lawyer?
This interrupted case study tells the story of Michael, a Harvard law graduate with a stressful job and a seemingly heavy drinking problem. Student ...
All or Nothing
In this interrupted case study, students pose as an intern of a neuromuscular/skeletal specialist and discover how sarin and myasthenia gravis infl ...
Amber's Secret
This problem-based case focuses on the female menstrual cycle and early stages of pregnancy of an unwed teenager. Working in small groups, students ...
An Acrid Situation
This directed case study tells the story of a geriatric patient who has recently been diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. It begins with ...
An Elderly Anomaly
This case study follows the process of diagnosing a patient, 67-year-old “Chester Fitzgerald,” who has suffered an ischemic stroke. An ...
An Unexpected Loss
This clinical case study follows the progress of a diabetic patient, “Joe,” who develops an infection and ultimately undergoes a lower ...
An Unusual Case of Animal Reproduction
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 f ...
An Unusual Case of Hypertension
This case study examines the interaction between the endocrine, cardiovascular and renal systems. The case narrative details Mr. Smith's high blood ...
Analyzing Clinical Literature
Reading and understanding scientific literature can be a daunting task for students in introductory science courses. This decision/dilemma case stu ...
Andrea: The Death of a Diabetic
In chronicling the life and death of a woman who developed diabetes as a teenager, this case study explores such basic science topics as metabolism ...
Another Can of Bull?
This case is a “clicker” adaptation of a similarly titled case by Merle Heidemann and Gerald Urquhart of Michigan State University, &ld ...
Antibiotic Resistance in a Russian Prison
In this case study, students will have the opportunity to model the spread of tuberculosis and development of antibiotic resistance in a hypothetic ...
Anyone Who Had a Heart
After undergoing a fertility procedure, a 37-year-old woman and her husband are expecting twins. The delivery goes smoothly, but it soon becomes ap ...
Are We Too Clean?
This case study focuses on the relationship between the microbiome (the suite of species that live in or on the human body) and autoimmune and alle ...
Asthma Attack!
This interrupted case study follows the progress of a pediatric patient who experiences an acute asthma exacerbation brought on by an environmental ...
Atkins or Fadkins?
When Mitchell reveals that he is going on a low-carb diet, Janine tries to talk him out of it, telling him that he’s too thin as it is and do ...
Bad Fish, Bad Bird
This "clicker case" is based on the General Biology edition of James Hewlett’s “Bad Fish” case in our collection. The case follow ...
Bad Fish: General Biology Edition
In this version, developed for a course in general biology, the protagonist of the case, Dr. Westwood, survives an accidental poisoning-not once, b ...
Bad Fish: Human Anatomy and Physiology Edition
In this version, developed for a course in human anatomy and physiology, the protagonist of the case, Dr. Westwood, survives an accidental poisonin ...
Barbara’s Thyroid
This directed case study on thyroid dysfunction was written to help students understand how negative feedback pathways work. The title character su ...
Black and Blue with Love
In this directed case study students follow a nurse practitioner and work with a diagnostics team to determine what is wrong with Tristan, an infan ...
Breast Cancer Risk
This case study takes a combined directed and discussion approach to explore risk factors for breast cancer. After a preparatory reading assignment ...
Bringing Home More than a Medal
This case study was inspired by the Zika virus outbreak that occurred around the time of the 2016 Olympic Games. Many athletes were fearful of atte ...
Can a Genetic Disease Be Cured?
In this discussion case, parents must decide whether or not to enroll their sons in an experimental treatment program designed to alleviate the sym ...
Cardiac Blood Flow
This interrupted case study tells the story of a middle-aged female, “Josie,” who receives a diagnosis of congestive heart failure. In ...
Caught Red-Handed
Was the "Brooklyn Butcher" of 1926 a cold-blooded killer or was something less sinister at play? This interrupted case study introduces students to ...
Chemical Eric
This case study is designed to teach introductory biology majors about the role of the pituitary in controlling hormones. It could easily be applie ...
Chemical Eric - The Clicker Version
This “clicker case” is a modified version of a case originally published in the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science cas ...
Coping with Infection
This interrupted case study introduces two distinct, but not mutually exclusive, strategies for defending against parasites: resistance and toleran ...
Coronavirus Quandaries for Patients with Cardiovascular Disease
This directed case study tells the story of “Arie,” an anatomy and physiology student who has recently switched to distance learning du ...
Cracking the Case
In this directed case study, students shadow Dr. Lee in diagnosing two patients with osteoporosis. The students are given patient history and an in ...
Cross-Dressing or Crossing-Over?
In this “clicker case,” students learn about sex determination, meiosis, and chromosomal “crossing over” through the story ...
Diabetes and Acid/Base Chemistry
This case study focuses on a teenage patient with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) who presents with severe acidosis, becomes combative and loses co ...
Diabetes and Insulin Signaling
Cellular signaling, otherwise known as signal transduction, is the mechanism by which cellular context and environmental situation are used to regu ...
Diagnosis of a Congenital Disorder
This progressive disclosure case study explores the medically-related issues of a female infant born with the congenital disorder Sirenomelia, more ...
Differential Diagnosis and Treatment of an Autoimmune Response
There are a number of medical disorders that mimic each other and accordingly prove problematic for diagnosis, including autoimmune disorders (rheu ...
Do Grasshoppers Sweat?
There are many adaptive and evolutionary behaviors displayed in an organism's use of water. Although students generally have a superficial understa ...
Dolphin Deaths: A Case Study in Environmental Toxicology
This case study examines a variety of biological factors that may have been involved in the 2013 dolphin "unusual mortality event" (UME) on the Eas ...
Driving Can Be Dangerous to Your Health
In this interrupted case study, students read about an older woman named Barbara who becomes ill after driving with her husband 19 hours from Flori ...
Drug Wars: An Epic Tale of Asthma and Bacterial Pneumonia
This case study is based on real events that the author experienced with her 10-year-old daughter. Although the names have been changed, all of the ...
Earthquakes Damage Cells, Too
Cholera is a commonly explored disorder when teaching transmembrane transport. Expanding on this theme, this case study also introduces intracellul ...
Eating Himself to Death
This case study was developed for an introductory biology course with the goal of integrating content (specifically, structure/function, signaling ...
Escape from Planet Soma
In this case, students assume the role of a fictitious space explorer captured by aliens. To win their release, they must correctly explain the neu ...
Eyes Without a Face
Although blind since childhood as the result of an accident, Lucy has never given up hope that one day she might see again. So, when her ophthalmol ...
Facing the Pain
This interrupted case study in cardiovascular and nerve physiology focuses on Lynn, a married woman with a young child whose husband is often awa ...
Fluid in the Ear
This interrupted case study follows the progress of Julius, a singer in a rock band who suffers from severe headaches and pressure in his ears. Whi ...
Football Fanaticism
A fight in a college town bar between the football player of one team and a drunken fan of a rival team results in a serious spinal cord injury. St ...
From Cow Juice to a Billion Dollar Drug, With Some Breakthroughs in Between
Before the discovery of insulin in 1921, being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes was a death sentence. Despite the successful management of diabetes w ...
From Tackle to Tension Pneumothorax
Tension pneumothorax is a condition that is associated with air in the pleural space. In this case study, tension pneumothorax is caused by a ruptu ...
From Twiggy to Tubby
This case study explores the topics of diffusion, osmosis, membrane transport, and the physiological significance of glucose and insulin in the hum ...
Girl Pulled Alive from Ruins, 15 Days after Earthquake
This case examines the integrated physiological response to dehydration and starvation from the real-life report of a girl discovered 15 days after ...
Going for Gold
This case study introduces students to the true story of Caster Semenya, an outstanding female mid-distance runner from South Africa. Caster ...
Grandma's TUM-my Trouble
An elderly woman living independently with some help from her family is brought to the local emergency room because she is confused and vomiting.&n ...
Holes in the Matter
This case centers on a fictional group of young adults who studied abroad together in Scotland as college students. A number of them develop diseas ...
Honeymoon Havoc
In this interrupted case study, students meet a pair of fictional newlyweds on their way to Australia for their honeymoon. Initially eager to enjoy ...
Hot and Bothered
This interrupted case study is a story about Carrie and her infant daughter Hayden who share similar symptoms: weight loss, metabolic abnormalities ...
How Do Scallops Swim?
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 ...
How to Make ATP
This case study for the flipped classroom introduces the discovery process used to elucidate how cells make ATP. Data from three seminal primary li ...
Hyper-IgM Syndrome
Hyper-IgM syndrome is an X-linked genetic disorder more commonly affecting males than females. It is caused by the lack of heavy chain class-switch ...
I Can Quit Anytime I Want
This “clicker case” explores the biological basis for the temporary euphoria that accompanies drug use as well as certain aspects of th ...
I Can See Clearly Now
This series of mini cases focuses on the cortical areas associated with vision and visual perception. Each case depicts a breakdown in visual perce ...
I Hate Running!
This interrupted worksheet case study, developed for introductory or intermediate undergraduate physiology courses, aims to eliminate misconception ...
I Heart Running: A Case Study on Tachycardia in Sam the Runner
"I Heart Running" is a case study in which students diagnose the cause of exercise-induced tachycardia in an otherwise healthy, 27-year-old female. ...
I've Fallen Over and I Can't Get Up
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 ...
Immunological Malfunction?
This case study was developed to complement the study of the immune system and to emphasize the crosstalk that occurs at the cellular level between ...
Into Thin Air
As an exhausted climbing expedition ascends a steep cliff, one climber in particular experiences severe difficulty breathing and quickly becomes th ...
Is There a Relationship Between Blood Type and Risk of Contracting COVID-19?
This directed case study introduces the basics of blood typing and discusses possible correlations for contracting COVID-19 by blood type. After st ...
It Takes a Herd
This directed case study places students in the role of committee members tasked with developing a strategic long-term plan for building up herd im ...
It Takes a Lot of Nerve
In this two-part case study on the nervous system, students learn about neural pathways. The case scenarios are drawn from real life and require st ...
It Was a Hot August Afternoon...
A farmer becomes concerned after discovering a number of dead animals on his small farm, including some ducks, several deer, and a coyote, all with ...
It's All Greek to Me: Physiology Edition
Stephania and Nikolaus Stamos are concerned about their baby daughter. They take her to her pediatrician, who immediately notices that the onc ...
It's Just Stress, Right?
Ellie is a struggling college student on the brink of failing her physiology course; not surprisingly, she exhibits many classic signs of stress. H ...
It's Like Pulling Teeth
In this interrupted case study, a middle-aged man is having his wisdom teeth surgically removed. He decides to have a general anesthetic, but is un ...
Just Lose It!
This case study introduces “Rose” and “Michael,” a couple with infertility issues that may be related to Rose’s weigh ...
Keeping up with the Joneses
This interrupted case study in cardiovascular physiology focuses on Suzie, a determined young woman who is training hard for the upcoming figure sk ...
Know Your Enemy, Know Yourself
This case study relates the actual experiences of a woman with breast cancer as she shares her experiences through a series of blog posts at variou ...
Lacy’s Dry Run
This interrupted case study in renal physiology and water balance follows the story of "Lacy," a star athlete, who makes poor fluid intake choices ...
Lee Family Problems: The Yin and Yang of Membrane Physiology
This interrupted case study follows "Elaina Lee" and her family through a series of medical mishaps. Elaina suffers a reaction to an overdose of an ...
Left Out in the Cold
While backpacking in the Canadian Rockies, Joel loses his way and finds that his experience hiking and camping in his home state of Florida hasn&ap ...
Lewis and Clark Reloaded
Frank and Joe are 24-year-old fraternal twins who share similar interests, including cycling. The brothers decide to attempt their first long-dista ...
Living on the Edge
This case study describes the daily osmotic struggle for survival faced by hummingbirds. The narrative is written from the viewpoint of a human obs ...
Living the Sweet Life
In this directed case study, students help “Dr. Gupta” diagnose three patients in an endocrinology clinic who are having problems with ...
Lost in the Desert!
Students learn about the interconnectedness of the body, with a particular focus on the skin as one of the most important homeostatic organ systems ...
Lost in the Desert! Hebrew Translation
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 ...
Lost? Ask a Turtle
This case study examines the events surrounding the hatching and migration of loggerhead sea turtles, specifically what mechanisms they use to head ...
Mark’s Failing Heart
This directed case study centers on the story of a 65-year-old man with a weakened ventricle, resulting in reduced cardiac output. Students are pro ...
Mary Keeper’s Aching Head
In this problem-based learning case, students read about a 41-year-old woman who is suffering from recurring headaches. Working in small groups, th ...
Mini Cases in Movement Disorders
This collection of six short cases focuses on brain areas and neurotransmitters involved in the control of movement. Students are divided into work ...
Mini Cases in Psychoactive Drugs and Their Effects on the Brain
Designed for an upper-level psychology class titled Brain & Behavior, this series of mini-cases can be used in any undergraduate cours ...
Monday on the Metabolic Ward
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-mys ...
Morgan: A Case of Diabetes
This case teaches about the causes and effects of Type 2 diabetes by working through the various options available to a young Native American woman ...
Murder or Medical Mishap?
In this "clicker case," students assume the role of pre-med students participating in a summer internship. As interns, they diagnose several differ ...
Muscleman
This case is designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of negative feedback regulation. Basic principles of negative feedback system ...
Nature or Nurture
This case explores the question of whether gender identity is determined strictly by genetics (nature) or social variables (nurture). It is b ...
New Ways to Breathe
This case study follows a young cystic fibrosis (CF) patient named Lucas. Through Lucas's story and interactions between his parents and pediatrici ...
Newsflash! Transport Proteins on Strike!
This role-play case study teaches students about plasma membrane transport and the functions of transport proteins in the phospholipid bilayer. Stu ...
No Longer Living the Sweet Life
In this interrupted case study, students will help “Dr. Gupta” investigate and assess complications arising in one of her long-term pat ...
One Headache After Another: Physiology Edition
Topamax®, developed to treat epilepsy, is also used as a preventative for migraine. In this case study, students read about a woman experiencin ...
Osmosis is Serious Business!
This directed case study involves two “stories,” each one concerned with some aspect of osmosis in living cells. Part I is centered aro ...
Osmosis is Serious Business! Hebrew Translation
This directed case study, translated from the original English into Hebrew, involves two “stories,” each concerned with some aspect of ...
Osteoporosis
This directed case study focuses on the physiology of bone homeostasis and methods of prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. One of the overall ...
Outbreak!
This case study uses a PowerPoint presentation to guide students through two activities designed to teach them about the basics of coronavirus diag ...
Pharmacogenetics: How Genetic Information Is Used to Treat Disease
In this clicker case, two teenagers are diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), a cancer of the bone marrow where there is an abnormal o ...
Properties of Gases: A Case Study of the Bends
In 2012, Mike Prickett, a world-renowned underwater cinematographer, was working on a commercial photo shoot in Tahiti when he witnessed a fellow d ...
Protein Targeting Gone Awry
This case study synthesizes students' knowledge of the central dogma and cell structure by examining a rare health disorder in order to understand ...
Resistance is Futile - Or Is It?
While the majority of people are prone to HIV infection, some individuals remain uninfected despite repeated exposure. This case study is based on ...
Resistance Is Futile, Or is It? The Clicker Version
This clicker case is an adaptation of a case by Annie Prud'homme-Généreux that was originally published by the National Center for Ca ...
Rhabdomyolysis
This directed case study focuses on exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis (exRML). Students are guided though skeletal muscle cell membrane transpo ...
Running Off Track
This interrupted case study follows the course of Cara, a high school athlete training for the state championships in cross country. She suffers fr ...
Scorpion vs. Mouse
This flipped clicker case study explores the fascinating relationship between the Arizona Bark Scorpion (the most venomous scorpion in North Americ ...
Snakes in a Storm!
In this interrupted case study, students follow “Joseph Summers” as he attempts to do a late-night relocation of a snake exhibit as a r ...
Sometimes Less is Better
“Ed Cramer” is a 47-year-old mechanical engineer who is being treated for venous thromboembolism. He was 45 when he first developed a b ...
Speak Up!
This series of mini cases focuses on language deficits (aphasias) and their likely organic causes (problems in specific brain areas). Students read ...
Split My Brain
This case study involves a couple deciding whether or not their son should undergo brain surgery to treat a severe seizure disorder. In examining t ...
Stubborn Grandma Mimi
Twenty-year-old “Drew” observes his grandmother “Mimi” decline as she stubbornly refuses treatment for her chronic kidney d ...
Stuck on Repeat
This interrupted case study is based on the real symptoms and laboratory results of a 65-year-old female stroke victim who is obese and on medicati ...
Take a Deep Breath
This interrupted case study tells the story of “Callie,” a 26-year-old baker from San Francisco who runs a successful new cupcake busin ...
Take Two and Call Me in the Morning
In this “clicker case,” students read about a college student who becomes sick. As they set out to identify the cause of the illness, s ...
Taking It on the Chin
In this interrupted case study, students follow the story of Mr. Gower, who must have a root canal. All goes well at the dentist's, but that n ...
The 2000-Meter Row
The physically demanding sport of competitive rowing is the backdrop for this case about homeostasis in which students follow the physiological cha ...
The Campus Coffee Shop
Since caffeine is a widely used substance, especially by college age students, this case on the effects of caffeine on the human body serves as a r ...
The Case of the Crying Baby
The parents of a six-week-old baby girl know there is something seriously wrong with their child, but it takes a number of frustrating visits to th ...
The Case of the Jamaican Fisherman
Designed for a first- or second-semester Anatomy & Physiology course, this directed case study involves a 48-year-old Jamaican fisherman who su ...
The Case of the Malfunctioning Neuron
This flipped case study tells the story of Joyce, a biology student who notices the development of some unusual symptoms (foot slapping and slurred ...
The Case of the Sexually Arrested Orangutans
This case examines the hormonal control of the development and maturation to adulthood and the role of stress hormones in that developmental proces ...
The Challenge of Epilepsy
This case study was originally developed for undergraduate science students as part of an extracurricular competition, but it could also be deliver ...
The Dangers of Deicing
Loss of species richness is often due to anthropogenic activity. The global decline of amphibians is one such example. This case study examines the ...
The Deep
This case study presents a fictional story in a realistic setting to teach aspects of human cardiovascular and respiratory physiology as they perta ...
The Game Changer
This interrupted case study traces the football career of Anthony "Tony Tonka Truck" Williams, and the types of brain trauma that he suffers ...
The Heart of the Problem
This interrupted case study was developed for an undergraduate class in human cardiac physiology. The story follows a patient whose heart attack da ...
The Hot Tub Mystery
Roma and Clint Underhill are relaxing after a stressful day in their hot tub with some wine. But tragedy strikes, and the next morning their lifele ...
The Hunger Pains
In this interrupted case study, good friends Sara and Mallory discuss Sara's recent healthy weight loss and her difficulty in maintaining her desir ...
The Ice Hockey Injury
The high school ice hockey team is playing the last of three games in one day. The game gets rough and Rick, the star player, is slammed against th ...
The Interview: Hemoglobin vs. Myoglobin
This case study examines the structure of hemoglobin and myoglobin and how the structure of these molecules dictates their function. The case is wr ...
The Itsy-Bitsy Spider: An Analysis of Spider Locomotion
The evolution of physiological characteristics can be strongly influenced by physics. Animals whose physiology allows them to better escape predato ...
The Lady of Charleston?
This case uses the real story of Dawn Langley Simmons, who may have been misidentified as male at birth, to illustrate the developmental basis of h ...
The Mermaid and the Globins
The function and regulation of hemoglobin is often difficult for students to understand. This directed case study is an attempt to make the topic m ...
The Modern Caveman’s Dilemma
During the Paleolithic era, human life expectancy was only 33 years—roughly half of what it is today. We owe our more extended lives in part ...
The Mystery of the Seven Deaths
In this interrupted case study, students learn about the function of cellular respiration and the electron transport chain and what happens when th ...
The Physiology of a Neurodegenerative Disease
In this case, a young woman learns that her uncle has been diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. She talks with her fellow graduate students t ...
The Power of Communication
This directed case study begins with an intentionally ambiguous story: Q suddenly realizes that it is time to relay a message to Z (another inhabit ...
The Soccer Mom
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 ha ...
The Soccer Mom: Hebrew Translation
In this case study, translated from the original English into Hebrew, students read and interpret the signs and symptoms of a woman suffering from ...
The Tired Swimmer
Annie is on a college swimming scholarship. Recently she has been feeling tired and her times have been getting slower. She has also noticed that h ...
The Write Weight
Kasey is a busy undergraduate student who is struggling with her body image and wants to lose weight. To aid in this process, Kasey keeps a food an ...
Thyroid Troubles
In this interrupted case study, students shadow an endocrinologist as she tries to determine what is wrong with Angela Barber. Angela is a middle-a ...
To Be or Not to Be ... an Inhibitory Neurotransmitter
Jessica and George are students struggling to understand the forces which control ions moving across membranes. For the nervous system in par ...
Too Hot to Trot?
This interrupted case study looks at heat stress through the eyes of “Nelly,” a chatty, country Holstein. Although focusing on dairy ca ...
Under the Knife and Completely Aware
This case study is based on a newspaper article about the suicide of Sherman Sizemore shortly after he underwent an exploratory laparotomy (abdomin ...
Unlucky Chucky and Toxins of the Neuromuscular Junction
Signaling at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a complex process that is required for many actions that sustain life within humans. Toxins that a ...
Up All Night
In this clicker case, students are introduced to George, an undergraduate student who has been experiencing some odd symptoms. His roommate convinc ...
Uretero What?
This case study follows a woman faced with a series of difficult medical decisions. Students apply systems-level physiology as they explore a pregn ...
Wake-Up Call
The main character of this case is Denise, who we first meet in the early morning hours as she wakes up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath. But it ...
Water Can Kill?
This case study presents three true stories of people who suffered fatal hyponatremia (low sodium concentration in their body fluids) after consumi ...
We Are Not Alone
This interrupted case study for the flipped classroom introduces the human microbiome from the perspective of one of its occupants, Heidi Helicobac ...
Wearing on Her Nerves
This case study is designed to integrate important aspects of the nervous and muscular system portions of an anatomy and physiology course. Student ...
What Happened to 28 Days?
This clicker case introduces the human menstrual cycle and its associated misconceptions by following the story of Ann, a newlywed college student. ...
What Killed Leah Miller
An Amish infant suddenly dies and law enforcement officials suspect the parents of child abuse. But experts who advocate for the parents argue that ...
What's in My Water Bottle?
In this interrupted case study, two students explore evidence suggesting that environmental estrogens leach out of some plastic containers and that ...
When Jenn Lost Her Nerve
In many physiology classes the frog neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is presented as the classic example of a chemical synapse, but many synapses show ...
When the Flu Is Not the Flu
This case study explores the progression of COVID-19 from initial flu-like symptoms to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to infection ...
When Work Makes You Sick
This case study was inspired by a real-life scenario, and follows the story of Roberto, a migrant farmworker whose health is impacted by the usage ...
Why Does Grandpa Ignore Grandma?
Carla, a first semester graduate student in audiology, has noticed that her grandfather appears to be having trouble hearing what her grandmother s ...
Why Homeostasis Is Important to Everyday Activities
In this case study, a college student named "Blake" winds up in the emergency room after he experiences a panic attack brought on by drinking a mix ...
Why Is He Different from Both Parents?
This case study was developed to teach the topic of human ABO blood type and genetic inheritance in biology courses at the lower undergraduate leve ...
Why Is My Vision Blurry?
This interrupted case study is based on the true experiences of the author's mother, who is referred to in the story as "Mrs. Horton" for reasons o ...
Woe Is Me
This case study tells the story of a 30-year-old man with intractable peptic ulcer disease. The persistence of the ailment, despite medical treatme ...
Woe to That Child
Alvin’s parents are worried about him. He has had a cough for almost a week, and he’s wheezing a lot more than they think is normal for ...