Hematology and Immunology

Recommended Prerequisites

Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry.

Teaching Methods

Lectures supported by visual material (PowerPoint presentation) with active participation of students through questions that facilitate knowledge correlation.

Practical classes where the students consolidate the theoretical knowledge and develop different skills in particular, lab material handling and critical analysis of results.

Learning Outcomes

This curricular unit aims to provide students with a basic knowledge of Immunology and Hematology. So, it is intended they will acquire knowledge concerning:

i) cells and organs of the immune system; ii) molecular and cellular mechanisms of the innate immune response and of the adaptive immune response; iii) the immune response to infectious diseases; iv) the different types of vaccines; v) the basis and applications of different immunoassays; vi) the blood components and the hematopoiesis; vii) some hematological diseases, viii) laboratory analysis with special emphasis on the hemogram.

In the end, students are expected to understand:

i) the differences between innate and adaptive immune response; ii) advantages and disadvantages of different types of vaccines; iii) the application of immunochemical techniques; iv) the hematopoietic process; v) the biochemical and molecular bases of some hematological diseases, analytical parameters of these diseases and associated therapies

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Theoretical

Overview of the immune system (IS).

Cells and organs of the immune system.

Functional characteristics of the innate IS; executor mechanisms of the innate response

Structure of the antigen recognition receptors on B and T lymphocytes

Antigen presentation in the MHC context

Maturation, activation and differentiation of B and T lymphocytes; Functional features of the adaptive response

Infection and immunity. Vaccines

Hematopoiesis: sites and regulation.

The red blood cell and hemoglobin. Abnormal hemoglobins

Anemias: classification and laboratory data

The hemostasis. The hemostatic system: platelets, coagulation factors, inhibitors and fibrinolysis. Coagulation screening tests

Practical/Laboratory

The antigen-antibody interaction; Immunogenicity

ELISA assays, Coombs test, cell analysis by flow cytometry

The sample in the hematological analysis

The hemogram. The blood smears

Reticulocyte count. Laboratory tests in the diagnosis of anemia

Head Lecturer(s)

Armanda Emanuela Castro Santos

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Exam: 100.0%

Bibliography

Kuby Immunology.  Kint, Goldsby and Osborne.

8th ed., W. H. Freeman and Company, 2018

Fundamentos de Imunologia.  F. A. Arosa E. Cardoso F. Pacheco, 2ª dição, LIDEL, 2012

Essential Hematology.  A. V. Hoffbrand, P. A. H. Moss and J. E. Pettit.

8th ed., Blackwell Publishing , 2019

Practical  Hematology.  J. Dacie, S. M. Lewis. 12th ed., Churchill Livingstone, 2016