by
David F. Dean
Department of Biology
Spring Hill College
Syncope is defined as “sudden and temporary loss of consciousness.” There are numerous causes of syncope. When dysfunction of the autonomic control of the heart is involved the condition is known as neurocardiogenic syncope (NCS).
To prepare for this case study, students should have knowledge of the basic principles of cardiodynamics, regulation of systemic blood pressure, and autonomic control of the heart.
After answering and discussing the questions at the end of this case study, students will have learned the following:
This case has been used in both a sophomore-level course in human anatomy and physiology and a senior-level course in general physiology.
Students are provided with a printed copy of the case at least one week prior to the class in which the case will be discussed. They are told which concepts to review before attempting to answer the questions, and reference materials are placed on reserve in the college library for their use. I ask the students to do their best to answer the questions beforehand and encourage them to collaborate with one another. Students are not required to hand in written answers to the questions, but, rather, are called upon at random to answer the questions during the class discussion. These same questions appear again later on regularly scheduled course examinations. I tell students at the beginning of the term that the more effort they put into preparing each case, the more they will learn, the more fun they will have, and the better they will perform on the examinations.
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Acknowledgements: This case was developed with support from the National Science Foundation under CCLI Award #0341279. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Image Credit: Detail of A Sick Girl by Mikhail Nesterov, 1928. Oil on canvas. Museum of Maxim Gorky, Moscow, Russia.
Date Posted: 12/02/05 nas
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Originally published at http://www.sciencecases.org/ncs/ncs_notes.asp
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