Biom3003 Sample Exam::) Fuck Yess We Did It!!! Notes From Someone Who Took The Exam Last Year
Biom3003 Sample Exam::) Fuck Yess We Did It!!! Notes From Someone Who Took The Exam Last Year
Biom3003 Sample Exam::) Fuck Yess We Did It!!! Notes From Someone Who Took The Exam Last Year
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1 Define evolution and give an overview of how it underpins biological function. [6 marks]
[42209]
Evolution is the change in genetic composition of a population overtime. Natural selection acts like a filter; it is
the primary driver for change. Here, the object of selection is phenotype. It can be defined by the following
relation;
Survival + Reproduction
= Fitness
Sexual Selection
Natural Selection
In natural selection, an organism must be “fit” to pass on genetic information. This underpins biological
function, by selecting traits that are advantageous in survival the next generation. Thus the next generation
will have become more adapted to the environment in which they live as a result of their biological function.
Sexual Selection too, is a mechanism for evolutionary change that favours increased progeny production of
some organisms as a consequence of mate choice for certain biological characteristics. Not necessarily
advantageous as it’s based on physical characteristics, such as excessively long tail feathers in males of some
bird species (attractive to females, but inconvenient to live with).
2 Outline the structural changes that human cortical bone undertakes from development in the
foetus to maturity in the adult. [6 marks]
[40080]
Length – growth occurs at the secondary ossification centre. There are 7 zones that result in the growth of
bones length wise.
1. Resting cartilage – hyaline cartilage isn’t doing anything
2. Zone of proliferation chondrocytes start to divide
3. Zone of maturation cells and lacunae mature
4. Zone of provisional calcification nutrient import stops
5. Zone of regression chondrocytes are starved and die off
6. Zone of ossification osteoblasts form new bone
7. Zone of resorption osteoclasts eat away, change in configuration to properly formed bone
What lecture/s were these? .. so god damn confused with this question ahaha?
I’m sure we didn’t go into much detail regarding Endochondral Ossification in Carls module. He more so
discussed Woven Bone>Vascular Bone>Lamellar Bone. +2
You want to focus on Mike’s lectures, specifically L18 - L21.
Do we need to discuss woven bone/primary osteon/secondary haversian systems here??
I think so, as I assume ‘Section A’ is meant to all be from Carl’s lectures rather than Mikes stuff
Yep, now that i have thought about it - I think the answer they wanted was one about
woven/primary/secondary bone. You could even talk about appositional modeling (increasing the size of
bone), if you wanted.
SECTION B – SHORT ANSWER
/12
Recommended time for this section is twenty (20)
minutes
.............................................................. ……………………… TOTAL
Student Number Surname
3 Describe and contrast the structural and mechanical properties of tendons and ligaments.
[6 marks]
[20237]
Tendon: Ligament:
Structural: Structural:
● collagen (Collagen Fibrils) (60%) ● Similar to tendon far more elastin than
● Elastin (2%) no elastin in tendon. In the tendon (hence having a larger strain at
Musculoskeletal Pathology Lecture, the failure (300% compared to 10%) but a
table comparing Tendons and Ligaments smaller Young’s modulus (1.5MPa
states there is a small amount of elastin? compared to 1.5GPa)
+1 yeah you right ● Fibroblasts
● Fibroblasts (tenocytes) ● Crimp collagen
● fibers aligned with axis of loading ● Fibers not aligned with axis of loading
● Enthesis ● limited vascularization
● limited vascularization ● Enthesis
Mechanical: Mechanical:
● viscoelastic behavior ● Graded failure
● Fails Abruptly ● viscoelastic behavior
Each skeletal muscle is generally attached to a tendon of insertion which has a safety factor of about
ten (10).
b) Explain the implications of this safety factor for (i) elastic strain energy storage [2 marks] and
(ii) the control of the position of joints that the tendon passes over / around [2 marks].
(i) Having such a high safety factor means that tendons are able to withstand stresses 10x higher than what
they would normally encounter. Since tendons also have a very high Young’s modulus of elasticity, this ability
to withstand high forces comes at the cost of elastic properties (ie, cannot bear high strains). This means
tendons are quite stiff (or non-compliant), reducing their ability to effectively store elastic strain energy. +2
^^ nice!
(ii) In terms of the control as the tendon is stiffer, the tendon may exert more control over a joint.
(i) As stated above, tendons are not very compliant; however, compliance tends to impede positional control,
meaning that the stiffness of tendons makes them better able to control the joints the pass over. +2
5 Describe in detail the pathway for conscious proprioception from the lower limbs. Include a
diagram in your answer. [6
marks]
[34485]
Conscious proprioception from the lower limbs thus, consider the dorsal columns/medial lemniscal pathway.
Diagram:
The lower limb has a separate pathway doesn’t it? She mentions it at the end of the lecture. The one with
nucleus Z +1 Which lecture was this mentioned in? L16
SO, would we be expecting something like this? So the above does not handle the lower limbs, just the lumbar
area?
Concious proprioception of the lower limbs is done through the spinocerebellar tract: 1st order neuron comes
in through lumbar/sacral sc, travels up on ipsillateral side until nucleus Z, where it synapses with 2nd order
neuron, which decussates to contralateral side, ascends, and information gets taken to somatosensory cortex.
Does anyone actually understand WTF this is? Like why isn’t it just DCML… and what is nucleus Z.
From ANAT3022 we were definitely taught that DCML transmits information from skin from everywhere in
body including lower limbs (would just have to specify that it travels to the gracile nucleus).
But I just rewatched this part of the lecture and she makes it seem like she would be after the Nucleus Z
pathway for this question.
“We mentioned that there was some conscious proprioception (from particularly the upper limb) that is
carried in the DCML but the lower limb is a little different. It has to have its own separate pathway” - Lecture
8/9, around 42 minutes
^^ Yep, I thought that the DCML was the way to go too, but as you say, the lecture suggests this pathway is
what she wants .. Do we write both haha?
I would probably write both if I had time just to cover my bases haha - hoping that because lower limb was on
the sample we might get upper limb tonight???
Hopefully… Nucleus Z plays the role of the gracile and cuneate nuclei of the DCML pathway, since it is where
the 1st order neuron will synapse onto the 2nd order neuron. From there it is the same as the DCML pathway
where the 2nd order neuron ends in the VPL nucleus of the thalamus to synapse with the 3rd order neuron. So
I think this is a “trick question” where a lot of people will trip up and just draw the DCML pathway instead of
this strange spinocerebellar/conscious proprioceptive hybrid pathway. She also mentioned that maybe people
had run out of names for nuclei so they just named it Z if that helps you remember. Some animals apparently
have a nucleus X. I guess you could mention the DCML and say that it carries the rest of the conscious
proprioceptive info and this pathway is a bit “aberrant”?
6 [Total Q6: 6 marks]
[42205]
a) Describe in detail the origins of the pyramidal tract, its trajectory as it descends and its
terminations. [4 marks]
Diagram:
I don’t think you need to detail the PFC/SMC/PMC stuff here. I would instead include more detail
perhaps about where the actual tract passes through/decussates/terminates etc.
Maybe also include the Lateral and Anterior Divisions of the Corticospinal tract
b) What is the basic difference between this motor pathway and the extrapyramidal tracts?
[2 marks]
Don’t quote me on this, but I think extrapyramidal tracts aren’t examinable this semester since Kylie made a
mistake on her slides…
I think they still are just not the details from that particular slide +1
Diagram:
● Main difference - extrapyramidal tracts: Descending pathway from brain stem.
● Pyramidal tract is responsible for voluntary movements, extrapyramidal is for involuntary.
● Pyramidal Pathway - descend through the medullary pyramids, extrapyramidal pathways instead
descend through the tegmentum
SECTION D – SHORT ANSWER
/12
Recommended time for this section is twenty (20)
minutes
.............................................................. ……………………… TOTAL
Student Number Surname
7 How does motor unit recruitment and rate coding (firing rate) influence muscle force (F)
production? [6
marks]
[40290]
● Motor unit recruitment and rate encoding influences muscle force production.
● With more motor units being recruited more force can be generated by a summation of the force
created by individual motor units.
● By increasing the rate encoding, a single motor unit can contract more, by a summation of action-
potentials - that increases the degree of contraction for that motor unit.
● Thus both motor unit recruitment and rate encoding affects muscle force.
- Should I mention Henneman’s size principle? Yes
a) What are the advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of sEMG versus imEMG?
[4 marks]
An EMG signal, increases in amplitude as a muscle becomes fatigued. This is because, the muscle needs more
neural drive for the same strength of contraction. The median frequency also decreases, because of altered
recruitment of motor units of deep fibers (Slow twitch fibers?) and lactic acid build up reducing action
potential propagation +1
SECTION E – SHORT ANSWER
/6
Recommended time for this section is ten (10) minutes
.............................................................. ……………………… TOTAL
Student Number Surname
Consider the musculoskeletal system of quadrupedal terrestrial vertebrates and answer the following
questions.
It is the ratio of the extensor muscle moment arm to the moment arm of the ground reaction force.
Not extensor - effective. When she asks for a diagram, does she want like how straighter limbs increase
EMA and how more crouched limbs reduce EMA?
“EMA is the ratio of the extensor muscle moment arm (r) to the moment arm of the GRF (R) acting
about the joint equivalent to Muscle Force (Fm)/ GRF (Fg).”
As animals become larger; a shift to an upright posture occurs that aligns the joints of the limbs more
closely with the GRF. Thus, the mass-specific force produced by the extensor muscles decreases with
more upright posture. This reduces the forces acting on bone, reducing the risk of fracture whereas
smaller animals can afford to maintain crouched postures without any risk of bone fracture.
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