Anatomy vs Physiology

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

swtgirliegirl

newbbie
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2005
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
So I have to finish up my science pre-requisite courses. I am given the choice of either taking anatomy or phsyiology. Any idea of which might be better to take for pharmacy school? And, would it be better to take it during the summer or during the regular semester?

Thanks!

Members don't see this ad.
 
swtgirliegirl said:
So I have to finish up my science pre-requisite courses. I am given the choice of either taking anatomy or phsyiology. Any idea of which might be better to take for pharmacy school? And, would it be better to take it during the summer or during the regular semester?

Thanks!

I'm not in pharmacy school (yet), but I would imagine that physiology would be more applicable than anatomy. If you do take either class, it would be probably better to take them during the normal semester - anatomy has a LOT of memorization, and there are a lot of concepts in physiology that might be tough to squeeze into 6-8 weeks.

Good luck on whatever you choose!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Physiology...which is also a lot more interesting than Anatomy.

I took this class over the summer, 5 hours a day/twice a week. It was pretty hellacious a times, but I still did great in no small part because I had a great teacher so I never read the text. However, I dont recommend taking it the summer unless you have to.
 
I took A&P I over the summer, and it was crazy...take it during a regular semester.
 
doesn't physio require anatomy? at my college anatomy is the prereq for physio.
 
I found that physiol is easier after having anatomy. along with pathophys. I would take anatomy in summer....like others have said it is just memorization, so therefore easier for summer
 
I took both this fall.

I'd go w/Anatomy. It's a requirement at a lot of programs and a great class.
 
Thanks for all the feedback! You guys are awesome.
Now, I'm leaning more towards physiology, but still curious about maybe possibly taking anatomy too. The only anatomy course I've had was in high school and that was YEARS ago.
 
As I'm sure you know both are required for Pharmacy school. I would highly recommend that you take anatomy first because most physiology classes build upon what was discussed in anatomy. Additionally the normal progression is that you take anatomy and then physiology.
 
I would take a class that offers both anatomy and physiology in the same class. Physiology is definitly more important and I just dont see how they can teach a whole semesters or years worth of things on just anatomy when it can be all taught in like couple weeks. Ok heres the heart and these are the ventricles. Class over.
 
It seems like physiology is the class that most of the schools that I'm applying to require, so I would take that. But because schools like Western U want both, I'll be taking both this semester.
 
I am taking Anatomy and Physiology this spring.
It doesnt seem too intense like Biochemistry.
I took intermediate physiology years ago, and it really helped with my job as a Med Chemist. I liked it very much!
 
Many colleges may have two types of physiology....animal vs human physiology. I would suggest human physiology
 
pharmacology said:
Many colleges may have two types of physiology....animal vs human physiology. I would suggest human physiology

I actually learned more in the animal courses. I took a semester each of invertebrate zoology and vertebrate zoology. As we moved up the evolutionary ladder, you could see how much or little different organ systems changed. It helped me a lot. For instance, you can compare the changes in the uterus in different species, changes in the digestive system, etc. It made it a lot easier to learn because I understood the differences and why they evolved that way.
 
Your going to end up taking both Anatomy and Physiology. My school requires that we take one semester Anatomy (we take this first) and one semester Human Physiology. Take Anatomy first, it's generally just memorization.
 
if you have to choose out of the two, then take anatomy. more pharmacy schools require anatomy than physiology, if not both.
 
nirveatles said:
if you have to choose out of the two, then take anatomy. more pharmacy schools require anatomy than physiology, if not both.

That might be true depending on the school (it isn't for any of the schools I have looked at, though). I would still advise taking physiology for all of the reasons listed above!
 
I think it depends on the pharmacy school you apply to. Some require anatomy. Some require physiology.

I'm applying UCSf so it would definetly have to be physiology.

Plus I disagree with taking it summer vs. the year. I thought the summer course was better, but that really depends at what school you take it in.

I go to UCR, so any physiology summer course in a community college is WAY easier tha UCR physiology. UCR Physiology is actually one of the hardest classes you could ever take there.
 
Physiology seems like it would be more applicable. I mean, there ARE things from anatomy that you need to know, but all the applications of physiology in the course were things I could see them latching on to in pharmacy school. It's actually part of UNC's first year curriculum, and I'm a dork for looking forward to it.
 
both are important, though, physiology more so.

Put it this way, without anatomy, you can't communicate the mechanism by which something works, and without physiology, you can communicate what something is, but not what it does.
 
Top