Undergrad course: Human Physiology vs. Animal Physiology

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fattymangox03

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Hey, I'm debating whether I should take a Human Physiology course versus an Animal Physiology course. Is there a course that medical schools prefer over the other? Or if you have had taken either one, any advice? Thanks~

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Hey, I'm debating whether I should take a Human Physiology course versus an Animal Physiology course. Is there a course that medical schools prefer over the other? Or if you have had taken either one, any advice? Thanks~

Well for one, doctors practice on humans. Usually.
 
Hey, I'm debating whether I should take a Human Physiology course versus an Animal Physiology course. Is there a course that medical schools prefer over the other? Or if you have had taken either one, any advice? Thanks~

If you haven't taken the MCAT, this really is a no brainer.

Heck, if you want to go into med school, this is a no brainer. One of these courses you will be much more interested in than the other when you come down to it in the end.
 
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Don't listen to these guys...you'll be thankful you took animal phys. when you're treating your first werewolf.
 
ok I should specify:

The Animal Physiology course and the lab would count toward my major while Human Physiology course would not. So I'm leaning on taking Animal Physiology. But then again, Human Physiology course would be more interesting and useful.....
 
ok I should specify:

The Animal Physiology course and the lab would count toward my major while Human Physiology course would not. So I'm leaning on taking Animal Physiology. But then again, Human Physiology course would be more interesting and useful.....

Ohh.. damn, you're screwed. What is your major anyway?
 
I took "animal physiology" in our zoology department and it only dealt with human physiology. There is a principle of human physiology, but it is only a 100 level class whereas the animal phys is a 300 level
 
Our systemic physiology course for physiology majors focuses on the human but most of our other physiology courses use animal models.

Most physiology is conserved across species even if the organology is different so I would just take animal physiology if there's no other interesting class that you can use to fulfill the requirement. If the curriculum is comparative, you'll end up learning a lot about the human anyway.

You can always take human physiology again later on if you're insanely bored.
 
try and find out what the text book is for your physiology class...I took an upper level mammalian physiology course that used a human physiology book so it just depends on what the course entails. can you find the course description for the animal physiology class?
 
My animal phys prof said the human phys at my school is so similar and they do a few of the same labs..we did a UA lab, lab with a decerebrate frog, and a lab which we did a CBC, hemoglobin & hematocrit which are the same as human phys does. I guess it depends on your school, but our human phys is the same but does fewer topics more in depth. I loved animal phys and can take either for my major but am thinking about taking human phys because it's so interesting. If animal phys is required for your major, I would take that.
 
I took both; they were both taught by the same teacher, and overall were very similar courses.
 
Neuroscience.


is this UM by any chance?

either way i was in the same situation and got the human phys to count in my major instead of animal, it was REALLY easy. just talk to your concentration advisor.
 
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I honestly don't think it matters. Take whichever is more interesting to you. I don't think medical schools are going to fault you for taking an animal physiology course as opposed to human one. In fact, I don't think you need to really take either if you weren't interested in them.

Trust me, you'll get more than enough physiology once you're in medical school. Adcoms just want to see that you do well in your courses.
 
Take Animal Phys if it counts toward your major. The difference is minimal, as you're almost completely studying the human animal. The only time we studied anything else was when we saw the difference between a frog's heart and ours. It would be a huge waste of time to take both. You won't miss any information.
 
I took animal phys over human phys because the professor in Animal was much better and I learned a lot more than I would have in the other class. We focused on mammalian physiology...which translates into usually only talking about Humans with a side note here or there about fish or or reptiles physiology...

find out what the classes are like and then decide, but if one is a major requirement then you should take it if you can't get the other to count towards your major
 
obviously i dont know what its like at your school, but at least for me, animal phys was more of a conceptual course more involved in the physics and commonalities of the design of physiological systems across animals. However, to keep it interesting we constantly came back to human phys and how the systems worked in people. My animal phys class covered ALL the physiology you'd find on the MCAT and more. Plus, I think the conceptual nature and comparing different animal systems made it easier to understand and more interesting that memorizing human phys.

just my experience, take it for what its worth
 
I go to Minnesota, and was in a similar situation, I ended up taking animal last year and I loved it. The only time they brought animals other than humans was if some animal exemplified a point or was particularily interesting. With that said I found out that human also counts toward a biology degree so I am taking that this fall.
 
I'm taking 3051 next semester. I had a friend of mine that took 3021, and then 3051, and now he is going to take 3061... Seems odd that they let him take all of them for credit.
I have no interest in double majoring, otherwise I would take 3061.
 
i m gonna be a soph in the fall, i m taking orgo and math this year, i ll be taking physics next summer, and a mcat class in the fall. I have a mammalian anatomy offered in the fall and mammalian physio in the spring. Is anatomy useful on the MCATs or am i just wasting my time. I plan to take an MCAT class in the fall and take the test around Jan. Thx
 
ok I should specify:

The Animal Physiology course and the lab would count toward my major while Human Physiology course would not. So I'm leaning on taking Animal Physiology. But then again, Human Physiology course would be more interesting and useful.....

I disagree with the poster that says the easier one. Take the one where you will learn the physiology better.

I took a human anatomy and physiology combined course, 2000 level 2 semester sequence, and a 1 semester straight general physiology course that was 3000 level and used an animal physiology book. The general physiology course took a comparative approach and went a lot more in depth into physiology then the anatomy and physiology text book did. It explained the physiology a lot better in my opinion. The human physiology fell under the class of mammalian physiology but was better in explanations of various concepts then my human anatomy/physiology textbook.
 
i m gonna be a soph in the fall, i m taking orgo and math this year, i ll be taking physics next summer, and a mcat class in the fall. I have a mammalian anatomy offered in the fall and mammalian physio in the spring. Is anatomy useful on the MCATs or am i just wasting my time. I plan to take an MCAT class in the fall and take the test around Jan. Thx


Anatomy isn't that useful for MCAT purposes but it is useful to have background in it before going to med school.
 
obviously i dont know what its like at your school, but at least for me, animal phys was more of a conceptual course more involved in the physics and commonalities of the design of physiological systems across animals. However, to keep it interesting we constantly came back to human phys and how the systems worked in people. My animal phys class covered ALL the physiology you'd find on the MCAT and more. Plus, I think the conceptual nature and comparing different animal systems made it easier to understand and more interesting that memorizing human phys.

just my experience, take it for what its worth

This is how it is at my school too.
 
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