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CHE 109: Physiological Chemistry Lecture

5 credits

Using chemistry in context, students focus on connections between observed physiological events and the corresponding fundamental chemical or biochemical principles. Topics may include radiation therapy, dialysis, cellular communication, genetic diseases, hemoglobinpathies, and nutrition. Students connect these topics to the concepts of the atom, the mole, organic structures, enzymes and metabolism. (Distribution Reqs:Natural Sciences)

Learning Goals

• relate the concepts of the nature of the atom to nuclear medicine.• explain to a patient the components of an IV solution, including the meaning of the chemical symbols and values.• provide a chemical explanation on how electrolytes and non-electrolytes have an effect on the physiology of the circulatory system.• correlate the effect of structures and/or chemical nature of medically relevant compounds with the structure and/or the function of a biochemical macromolecules or tissues.• predict, based upon chemical structures, how a chemical compound would act as an agonist or antagonist against a medically relevant human enzyme or receptor.• provide an explanation, on the molecular level, on howo the deleterious effect of lowering the pH of the bloodstream from pH 7.4 to 6.8 can affect your patient ando the bicarbonate buffer system of the bloodstream attempts to prevent this drastic change.• explain to a patient the complex nature of how hemoglobin is able to o bind to oxygen in the lungso transport oxygen in the arterieso deliver oxygen to the tissues.

Sections Offered: Fall 2026

Sections Offered: Summer 2026, Summer I

Sections Offered: Spring 2026