Overview
The faculty at the Department of Microbiology has been teaching medical students since 1977. Microbiology is the science of medicine that deals with micro-organisms, i.e. bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, which cause infections/diseases in humans. The department is concerned with teaching the basic properties of the organisms, pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, treatment and prevention of these types of diseases. The department’s faculty members are actively involved in research work and the results of their research have been presented and published in both Saudi Arabian and international medical journals.
Mission
The Department of Microbiology helps medical students acquire the lastes discoveries and information regarding microbiology, immunology and micro-organisms that represent the foundation of different infectious diseases.
Goals
On successful completion of each of the courses outlined below, the medical student should be able to:
- Acquire the ability to recognize and deal with different medical micro-organisms and to know their relationship to the causation of various infectious diseases.
- Participate in protection of the community from the spread of different medical micro-organisms and to limit their ability to cause disease.
Undergraduate Courses
Parasitology (MDMB 311)
This course is designed to introduce parasitic diseases as an important component of medical microbiology, tropical medicine and infectious diseases. The student focus on those parasites which cause serious disease in a significant number of people, specifically in Saudi Arabia, and which are amenable to effective treatment, control and prevention.
Immunology (MDMB 321)
This course enables the student to:
- Understand innate (basic) and acquired immunity (immune response).
- Understand the mechanisms of protection with reference to the antigens-antibodies complement, cells and their receptors, cytokines and other molecules involved in the immune response.
- Understand tolerance, immune-pathogenesis and the resulting immunological diseases and their clinical and epidemiological features.
- Recognize the outline of the immune response to tumors, transplants and some infectious agents.
- Use immunodiagnostic procedures in the diagnosis of disease.
- Understand and make use of immunotherapy in treatment and control of disease.
Microbiology (MDMB 331)
This course enables the student to:
- Develop an understanding of the structure, classification, growth requirements and genetics of different groups of medically important micro-organisms.
- Understand the pathogenesis of the common pathogens causing disease.
- Know the important symptoms and signs of various infectious diseases.
- Develop an understanding of the principles of prevention and control of microbial diseases by sterilization, disinfection and antimicrobial chemotherapeutic agents.
- Understand the laboratory diagnosis of infectious diseases and the interpretation of lab results.
