Head and neck

This course provides the students with the main knowledge regarding the diseases and the disorders that the physician should know in the head and neck district. The course integrates different disciplines, including basic disciplines, i.e. Anatomy and Physiology, and the main clinical disciplines relative to this complex area, i.e. Dentistry, Ear-Nose and Throat (ENT), Ophthalmology and Maxillofacial Surgery.The course focuses on the basic and clinical aspects of the Head and Neck pathologies. The course is designed in different blocks. In the first block anatomy and physiology lectures are preparatory to the clinical science lectures. Anatomy address the regional organization of the human head and neck, with a topographic approach in relation to clinical practice. Physiology addresses the sensory innervation of the oral-facial region and the principal head and neck related motor functions.
The basic science block are followed by clinical blocks, each one presenting a main topic, i.e. a symptom related to head and neck district. Taking the symptom as starting point, lectures disclose the possible mechanisms originating the symptom, driving the student in the differential diagnosis through a multidisciplinary integrated analysis of the different organs and systems of head and neck. Dentistry lectures aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the common oral diseases, the relationship existing between oral and general health, and their prevention and treatment. Students are trained to recognise patients requiring interdisciplinary therapy in order to effectively interface with other specialties and disciplines in the care of patients. ENT lectures will focus on the different disorders in the ENT districts: clinical presentation and consequences of non-treatment and diagnostic means are discussed. Lectures highlight those diseases that overlap with the "neighboring" disciplines (e.g. odontogenic sinusitis) and discuss shared therapeutic options. Lectures of Ophthalmology provide a good background of knowledge about eye and vision related disorders, focusing on epidemiologically relevant diseases across different age groups. A final part focused on acute vision disorders and emergency completes the course. The lectures of maxillo-facial surgery focus, through the presentations of numerous clinical cases, on the epidemiologically most relevant craniofacial tumors and malformations, such as lip and palate clefts, craniofacial-stenosis and I and II arch syndromes. Special issue are held on reconstruction of post oncological and post traumatic facial defects. Lectures will also provide general knowledge on facial traumatology, focusing in particular on how to diagnose the most frequent fractures (nose, orbit, zygoma, maxilla and mandible) and how to practically handle simple or severe wounds involving facial soft tissues. Particular attention is given to facial paralysis: clinical description and facial surgical reanimation.
The final part of the course focuses on systemic respiratory and emorragic emergencies secondary to facial trauma will complete the course. Overall, the course encourages a multidisciplinary approach and try to integrate, whenever possible, all the features shared by the different specialties.

Students are expected to know:
- the anatomic-functional basis of head and neck related functions
- origin of pain in the head and neck area
The possible mechanisms originating the symptoms, differential diagnosis and clinical management of:
- nasal obstruction, epistaxis, oral mucosal diseases
- commonly prescribed medications and their significance for Oral Health
- movement Disorders: Facial Palsy, Dysphonia, Dysphagia, Dyspnoea, Ocular motion disorders
- loss of function: DEAFNESS, BLINDNESS
- neck and facial masses
- vertigo
- how pregnancy, growth and ageing affect the Head and Neck area
- distrectual expressions of systemic diseases and emergency
- facial and craniofacial disproportion