Master of Science in Zoology

General Courses for Students of all Zoology Groups
Zo. 601 Principles of Animal Taxonomy
The typological, nominalist, biological and evolutionary species concepts - Infraspecific categories: The subspecies, variety, races, cline, “rassenkries” - Macro taxonomy and higher categories: Mono-, holo-, para- and polyphyletic groups - Theories, philosophies and methods of classification; Phenetic (numerical), phylogenetic, phyletic, cladistic and eclectic classifications. Characters and taxonomy: chemotaxonomy: DNA-hybridization and amino - acid sequence techniques - Serotaxonomy - Zoological nomenclature: names of units, authorship, validity of names, synonymy, homonymy and tautonymy, the type concept and type specimens.

Zo. 602 Biological Statistics
Binomial and normal distributions – Sampling distribution of the mean – Students-T, Chi-square and F distributions – Tests concerning means, differences of means and variances – Goodness of fit test and test for independence – Analysis of variance: one-way classification (test of equality of several means) – Test for the equality of several variances (Bartlett’s test).

I- Vertebrate Group
Zo. 611 Evolutionary Morphology
The effect of physical and climatic factors on vertebrate evolution. Origin of chordates - Evolution of Agnatha - Evolution of Gnathostomata - Development of jaws - Types of jaw suspension - Evolution of Chondrichthyes - Evolution of Osteichthyes - Evolution of Amphibia - Evolution of Reptilia - Evolution of Aves - Evolution of Mammalia.

Zo. 612 Biology and Classification of Vertebrates
Biology of fishes (Colouration - Respiration - Protective mechanisms - Skin, scales and spines - Gonads - Fins - Endocrine glands) - Principles of classification of vertebrates - General characters of vertebrates - Biology and classification of the following: Agnatha and Gnathostomata which includes the following: Aphetohyoidea, Chondrichthyes, Actinopterygii, Crossoptergii, Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves and Mammalia.

Zo. 613 Advanced Comparative Anatomy
Digestive system: ( Mouth and oral cavity - Esophagus - Stomach - Intestine - Caeca - Cloaca - Liver - Pancreas) - Urinogenital system: (Pronephros - Mesonephros - Metanephros - Urinary bladder - Testis - Ovary - Male genital ducts - Female genital ducts) - Head segmentation of vertebrates - Nervous system: ( The neuron - Neuroglia cells - Spinal cord - Spinal nerves - Brain - Cranial nerves) - Sense organs: (Special somatic receptors - Membranous labyrinth - Light receptors - Infrared receptors - Special visceral receptors - Olfactory organs - Organs of taste – Jacobson’s organ - General somatic receptors) - Endocrine glands: ( Pituitary gland – Adrenal gland - Gonads as endocrine organs - Endocrine pancreas - Thyroid and parathyroid glands - Thymus gland).

Zo. 614 Experimental Zoology
Tissue culture: Principles, sterilization - Apparatus and media – Applications - Regeneration: Patterns in different organs and animals - Means of suppression and stimulation - Examples: Eye, limbs, …etc. Induction: Aspects, examples in various animals, the organizer - In vitro fertilization: Causes of infertility, tools and methods of in vitro fertilization - Organ transplantation: Problems and methods, examples of various organs - The embryo as a transplant - Cloning: History and recent experiments, future applications - Teratology: Causes - Patterns and means of avoidance - Differentiation and growth.

Zo. 615 Advanced Embryology
Development of the face, palate, oral cavity, visceral arches and pharynx - Development of digestive tube (oesophagus, stomach and intestine) and the associated glands (liver, gall bladder and pancreas) - Development of coelom and mesenteries (the intraembryonic coelom, the pericardial cavity, the pleural cavities, the diaphragm, the peritoneal cavity) as well as the abnormalities in the development of coelomic cavities - Development of the respiratory system (development of gills , lungs and trachea) and the abnormalities in the respiratory system - Development of the nervous system (spinal cord, spinal nerves, the neural crest, the brain and cranial nerves).

Zo. 616 Advanced Ecology
The population-community ecology - Types of species interactions - Herbivory - Frugivory - Seed predation – Predation – Cannibalism – Sibilicide - Intraguild predation - Parasitism - Interspecific competition - Community change: Types of community change - Replacement change – Succession – Stability - Conservation Biology: The idea of conservation - Extinction, preserving ecosystems and landscapes - The preservation of natural areas, Preservation and management - Restoration.

II- Invertebrate Group
Zo. 621 Advanced Invertebrates
This course adopts an evolutionary approach which aims to portray invertebrate diversity and function based on basic information previously acquired by the student in undergraduate courses - The course contains two sections: The evolutionary and phylogeny of invertevbrates - A modern phylogentic account at various times in the past and of the likely responses of organisms then alive - The fossil record is stressed to tell about the manner in which diversification and extinction have occurred - The first animals: Sponges, coelentrates, flatworms, placozoans and mezozoans - Flatworm derivatives - The vermiform host - Molluscs - Animals of remote flatworm ancestary - Arthropods - Lophophorates - Deuterostomes - The origin, radiation and extinction of animal groups - Evolutionary overview - Invertebrate functional biology: This section concentrates on the unifying features of invertebrate’s functional anatomy, physiology and behavior, such as feeding, movement, respiration, excretion, defense, reproduction and control systems.

Zo. 622 Malacology
Classification and phylogenetic relations - Systematic accounts of bivalvia and gastropoda - Diversity of pulmonates and prosobranchs and their habitats - Morphology of some medically important snails - Snail hosts of trematodes and nematodes and methods of parasitic infection - Pathological changes of host snails - Methods of control of the host snails including the chemical, biological and environmental measures.

Zo. 623 Advanced Protozoology
Introduction: A brief consideration of the relationship of protozoology to other fields of biological science - History of protozoology - Ecology: Free living protozoa and factors which influence their distribution - Protozoa associated with other organisms - Morphology: Light and electron microscopical study of the nucleus, cytoplasm (endoplasm and ectoplasm), locomotor organelles, fibrillar structures, protective or supportive organelles, hold-fast organelle, parabasal apparatus, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, contractile vacuoles and other cytoplasmic inclusions - Physiology: Nutrition, locomotion with reference to all theories concerning it, respiration, secretion and excretion, response of protozoa to various stimuli. Reproduction – Regeneration – Morphogenesis - General classification of protozoa giving examples.

Zo. 624 Parasitology and Immunology
Protozoan associations - Nutrient exchanges in associations - Protozoan nutrition - Metazoan nutrition - Symbiotic nutrition - Some Metazoan parasites - Ectoparasites as disease vectors - Epidermal parasites - Tissue invaders - Lumen parasites - Epidemiology of parasitism - Level of transmission - Infection and disease - Systematic effects of parasitism - Pyrexia - Wasting and growth retardation - Parasitism, pregnancy and the fetus - Diagnostic methods - Microscopical examination of body fluids and excreta - Examination of fresh tissue specimen - Quantitative techniques - Animal inoculation - Xenodiagnoses – Histology - The fundamental aspects of the immunological relationships between hosts and parasites - Parasite transmission - Types and factors - Parasite populations - Including concepts and factors affecting parasite populations - Infra- meta- and supra- populations - Geographical distribution of the parasite - Factors affecting geographical distribution. Patterns of distribution of the parasites in both terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Zo. 625 Biological Associations
The spectrum of animal associations - Intra and interspecific associations - Commensalism, mutualism and parasitism – Hosts – Responses: Resistance, tolerance, immune response – Pathology: Injury by entry, migration – Resistance - Chemical and physiological injury - Direct and indirect effects - The groups of animals in association - Mammals as habitat.

Zo. 626 Aquatic Ecology
The aquatic life in marine, brackish and freshwater ecosystems - The effect of different chemical and physical factors on the organic production of the seas, lakes and rivers - Types of aquatic pollutants and their effect on the ecosystem energetics– Burrowing - Fouling and toxic organisms - Aquatic fauna and flora as natural resources - Fisheries and their management.

III- Physiology Group
Zo. 631 Enzymology and Metabolism
Enzyme structure and classification - kinetic properties - Michaelis - Menten model - Allosteric enzymes - Kinetic prefection in enzymatic catalysis - Mechanisms of enzyme action - Isoenzymes - Digestive enzymes - Regulation of enzyme activity - Use of serum enzymes as an aid to diagnosis - Drug-metabolizing enzymes and metabolism of xenobiotics - Concepts and design of metabolism - Free energy in relation to thermodynamics - Energy flow in biological systems - Stages of energy extraction and consumption - Regulation of metabolic processes.

Zo. 632 Endocrinology
The endocrine system and the molecular basis of hormone action - The structure and functions of endocrine cells - Endocrine activity - Mechanisms of hormone actions: Protein and peptide hormones - Steroid hormones - Thyroid hormones - Hormones and energy metabolism.

Zo. 633 Hematology
Composition of blood - Principles of hematologic diagnosis - Normal Haematopoiesis and evaluation of: The bone marrow - Factors and cytokines that stimulate and suppress haematopoiesis - Erythropoiesis (Red blood cell production) - Factors that stimulate erythropoiesis - Factors that suppress erythropoiesis - Haemoglobin synthesis - Iron transport and absorption – Vitamin B12 and folic acid transport and absorption - Red cell metabolism - Glycolytic pathway - Pentose shunt (G-6-PDH) - Oxi-redx system in the red blood cell (glutathione) - Leukopoiesis (white blood cell production) - Functions of leukocytes - Role of leukocytes in immunity. Haemostasis - Platelets and coagulation - Fibrinolytic system.

Zo. 634 Myology
Structure of skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscles - Types of muscle contraction - Series elastic component - Motor units - Mechanisms of contraction - Regulation of contraction.

Zo. 635 Neurology
Membrane potential of nerve cells - Organization, electrical activity and synaptic transmission: Neurons and supporting cells - Types of synapses - Acetylcholine as a neurotransmitter - Monoamines as neurotransmitters - Other neurotransmitters - Synaptic integration - Central nervous system - Structure and functions of the brain - Spinal cord tracts - Cranial and spinal nerves - Autonomic nervous system: Neural control of involuntary effectors - Divisions of the autonomic nervous system - Functions of the autonomic nervous system - Sensory physiology - Characteristics of sensory receptors - Cutaneous sensation - Taste and olfaction - Vestibular apparatus and equilibrium - The ear and hearing - The eye and vision.

Zo. 636 Radiobiology
Atomic structure, isotopes (ionizing and non-ionizing types of radiations) - Radiation dosimetry: Radioactivity and radiation dose units - Radiation measurement - Environmental radioactivity - Biological effects of ionizing radiations - Radiosensitivity and radioresistance - Radiation protection. Sealed radiation sources - Open radio-isotopes - Techniques: Isotope dilution principle - Neuron activation - Radioseparation techniques – Autoradiography - Radio-labelling - Design of radioisotope laboratory - Facilities and precautions.

IV- Cytology and Histology Group
Zo. 641 Cell Biology
Molecular organization of membrane models - Functions of cell surface - Functions of cytoplasmic membranes - Movement of materials across the plasma membrane - Membrane receptors - Cell-cell recognition and adhesion - Cytoplasmic matrix, cytoskeleton, microtubules and microfilaments, mitochondria and oxidative phosphorelative process, morphology, structure - Isolation of mitochondrial membranes - Molecular organization and function of mitochondria - Golgi complex and cell secretion, morphology - Major role of the Golgi, Lysosomes: structure and functions - The cytoskeleton: microtubules, microfilaments - Endoplasmic reticulum: structure and function - Ribosomes: Types and ultrastructural organization - Cell receptors - Membrane - Cytoplasmic and nuclear receptors - Cancer cell: characterestics, causes of cancer, chemical carcinogenesis - Radiation induced cancer - Viruses - Heridity and cancer.

Zo. 642 Cytology and Histochemistry
History of histochemistry and its relation to other biological sciences in healthy and disease conditions - Tools and instrumentation in the field of histochemistry (Freezing microtomes, cryostats, fluorescence microscopy, cytophotometry…etc.) - Histochemical fixation and histochemical fixatives - Histochemistry of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins with special emphasis on their mode of occurrence, theoritical bases of their histochemical identification and biological significance in normal and malignant condition - Nucleic acids and essential basis of molecular biology and genetic engineering - Minerals and pigments in animal cells and tissue - Immunocytochemistry and its importance in histochemical research.

Zo. 643 Cytogenetics
A- General survey on the Cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis with special emphasis on chromosomes in mitosis – Chromosome behavior during meiosis (Pairing, linkage, chiasmata, crossing over and disjunction) – Duration of meiosis – Karyotypes, taxonomy and evolution using chromosome banding techniques.
B- Chromosomes (nomenclature, characteristics, presence, effect and behavior during meiosis) – Sex chromosomes and sex determination – Genetic and molecular basis of X-chromosome inactivation (Barry body), its uses in diagnosis of some genetic diseases – Chromosomal aberrating’s (Structural and numerical) and its genetic, evolutionary and medical consequences – Somatic cell genetics and Genetic engineering – Human clinical cytogenetics – Cytogenetic aberrations in malignant tumor – Gene Therapy.

Zo. 644 Cell Pathology
Definitions of certain histopathological changes such as: Inflammation - Granuloma - Necrosis - Pyknosis - Karyorrhexis - Karyolysis - Fatty change - Fibrosis - Cirrhosis - Degeneration - Infarction - General remarks on cell injury and adaptation - Cytoplasmic membranes and diseases – Metaplasia - Examples of the effects of some polluting agents as irradiation, pesticides, and heavy metals on the structure and function of the cell – Pharmacogenetics - Free radicals - Pathology of narcotics - Alcohol abuse and carbon tetrachloride - Cellular changes during embryogenesis – Malnutrition, Ageing and hypoxia - Numerical histopathological effects and structural aberrations of the chromosomes - Mutations on the molecular level - Genetics of human metabolic diseases - Cell injury induced by viruses - Phenotype of the malignant cells - Disorders of haemoglobin synthesis - Mechanism of phagocytosis - The role of lymphocytes in body defense - Apoptosis - Molecular biology and diagnosis of certain diseases - Disorders of immunity – DNA breaks and DNA repair – Gene therapy.

Zo. 645 Advanced Histology
A survey on the types of animal tissues with special emphasis on the ultrastructure of the cells of epithelial, connective, muscular, and nervous tissues - The histological structure of the following systems: The integumentary system - The skin: structure and function - Skin derivatives: Bony structures, horny structures, hairs, nails, glands of the skin (goblet cells, poisonous glands, scent glands, sebacous and sweat glands) - The digestive system: oral cavity, tongue, teeth, salivary gland, pharynx, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, pancreas, liver, biliary duct, gall bladder - The urinary system: kidneys - nephron, renal capsules, proximal convoluted tubules, Henle’s loop, the distal convoluted tubules, the collecting tubules, the ducts, Juxtaglomerular apparatus - The reproductive system: female genital system , male genital system - The nervous system.

Zo. 646 Cellular Pollution
Definitions of certain histopathological changes - Sources of physical, chemical and biological pollution in the environment - The impact of pollution on the human beings, wild life and aquatic fauna - The effects of some polluting agents such as irradiation, fungi, parasites, pesticides and heavy metals on the microscopical structures and cellular activities.