NST IA Physiology of Organisms
Course organiser: Dr. Matt Mason (email: mjm68@cam.ac.uk)
Welcome to the NST 1A Physiology of Organisms website! Physiology of Organisms is one of several first-year biological subjects that can be taken by Natural Science students in the University of Cambridge. These pages are intended as a guide to the course, particularly for those students who are thinking of applying to Cambridge, or have just arrived and are trying to choose options. For those students who are already enrolled in Physiology of Organisms, course handouts can be found on the CamTools website.
Physiology of Organisms occupies an important central position amongst the three first-year biology subjects on offer at Cambridge: it provides a wider functional context for the material covered in Biology of Cells, and underpins the broader material covered in Evolution & Behaviour. It is a valuable introduction to a wide range of second-year biological options, and is of general interest to anyone curious about how the machinery underlying animal and plant life actually works.
Physiology is a broad and intellectually demanding subject. Part of the training of the physiologist is to learn to think about problems on a wider scale, considering the most recent advances in cell and molecular biology without losing sight of the whole organism. This challenging exercise will also train you to think about complex systems in general - useful, for example, in business management.
The Physiology of Organisms course does not assume knowledge of A2-level biology or any other course, although some background in biology, chemistry and physics will be useful. It provides a foundation for a wide range of second-year (NST Part 1B) subjects including Animal Biology, Ecology, Neurobiology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Plant & Microbial Sciences and, of course, Physiology.
For more information about the Physiology of Organisms course, please use the following links:
- What is Physiology?
- Aims and objectives
- Course structure
- Lectures and practicals
- Recording lectures
- Supervisions (including a discussion of the appropriate use of MCQs)
- Libraries and electronic resources for students
- Reading list
- Help for students weak in physics
- The Physiology of Organisms exam
To learn about applying for Natural Sciences at Cambridge, and for more information about the other courses on offer, please follow the link below:
http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/natsci/index.html
- Quick Links
- Course resources (Camtools)
- About Camtools
- Anatomy teaching programme
- Information for supervisors
- PDN Teaching Timetable
Faculty of Biology- Lecture Listings
- Faculty's statement on plagiarism
- Marking Criteria
- CamSIS
- Skills development
- Find an expert
- Prospectus
- Natural Sciences Tripos
- Term dates
- Hermes webmail
Raven test- IP address test