Course Syllabus · 2026–2027
Anatomy & Physiology
A detailed study of the human body, system by system, from the chemical level up to the whole organism. Two ideas hold the entire year together: structure determines function, and homeostasis is what keeps you alive. Nearly every disease we look at is a failure of one or the other.
- Teacher
- Mr. Sajdak
- School year
- 2026–2027
- Units
- 16 units · 11 body systems
- Lab work
- Dissection, microscopy, physiology experiments
- Grading
- Numeric · 10-week marking periods
About this course
This course follows the Buffalo Public Schools Anatomy and Physiology curriculum. We start with how the body is organized and how it regulates itself, then work through the body systems in an order that builds — tissues before organs, the heart before the vessels it fills, the nervous system before the endocrine system it partners with.
Four threads run through every single unit:
- Homeostasis — how the body holds conditions steady, and what negative and positive feedback do.
- Structure and function — why a part is shaped the way it is.
- Interrelationship — no system works alone; we keep tracing the connections.
- Disease and disorder — what happens when regulation fails, which is often the fastest way to understand what normal was doing.
Lab work
Laboratory study may include dissection of preserved specimens, microscopic study, physiology experiments, computer simulations, and multimedia work.
Questions we keep coming back to
Drawn from the course's essential questions. These recur in every unit, just with a different system plugged in.
- Why is homeostasis essential to maintaining the human body?
- How does the body respond to internal and external change?
- How does a diseased state compromise normal physiology?
- How do the 11 body systems work together to stay regulated?
- What is the relationship between a structure's anatomy and its function?
- How is the body organized from the cellular level to the organism?
Units at a glance
Sixteen units across the year. Day-to-day pacing lives on the weekly schedule — this is the shape of the year, not a promise about exact dates.
-
Introduction to Anatomy & Physiology
Chapter 1
How the body is organized, how it keeps itself steady, and the anatomical terms we use all year.
- Levels of organization
- Homeostasis
- Feedback mechanisms
- Anatomical terminology
-
Tissues
Chapter 4
The four tissue types under a microscope, and how damaged tissue signals injury or disease.
- Histology
- Epithelial
- Connective
- Muscle & nervous tissue
-
The Integumentary System
Chapter 5
Skin, hair, nails, and glands — protection, temperature control, and vitamin D.
- Skin layers
- Thermoregulation
- Sensory receptors
- Vitamin D
-
The Skeletal System
Chapter 6
Bones, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons. Bone is living tissue that reshapes itself under stress.
- Bone structure
- Remodeling
- Joints
- Cartilage & ligaments
-
The Muscular System
Chapter 7
How muscle fibers contract to produce movement, posture, joint stability — and most of your body heat.
- Muscle fibers
- Contraction
- Posture & stability
- Heat production
-
The Nervous System
Chapter 8
Brain, spinal cord, and nerves: fast, precise control measured in seconds.
- Neurons
- Brain & spinal cord
- Sensory & motor pathways
- Reflexes
-
The Endocrine System
Chapter 10
Hormones released straight into the blood — slower, broader control measured in hours and weeks.
- Hormones
- Ductless glands
- Receptor sites
- Endocrine disorders
-
Cardiovascular: Blood
Chapter 11
What blood carries and what it's made of: plasma, red cells, white cells, platelets.
- Plasma
- Red & white cells
- Platelets
- Blood typing
-
Cardiovascular: The Heart
Chapter 12
The four-chambered pump and the two circuits it drives — one to the lungs, one to everything else.
- Heart chambers
- Pulmonary circuit
- Systemic circuit
- Cardiac cycle
-
Cardiovascular: Blood Vessels
Chapter 13
Arteries, capillaries, veins. Almost all the real exchange happens across capillary walls.
- Arteries & veins
- Capillary exchange
- Blood pressure
- Circulation routes
-
The Lymphoid System and Immunity
Chapter 14
General defenses versus targeted ones, and how the immune system remembers a threat.
- Lymphocytes
- Nonspecific defense
- Antibodies
- Immune response
-
The Respiratory System
Chapter 15
Gas exchange in the alveoli, moving air in and out, and keeping those surfaces clean.
- Alveoli
- Gas exchange
- Ventilation
- Airway defense
-
The Digestive System
Chapter 16
The tract from mouth to anus, plus pancreas, liver, and gallbladder — how food becomes usable.
- Digestive tract
- Accessory organs
- Absorption
- Nutrients
-
The Urinary System
Chapter 18
Kidneys, bladder, and the nephron: filtering waste and balancing water and salt.
- Nephrons
- Filtration
- Reabsorption
- Fluid balance
-
The Reproductive System
Chapter 19
Reproductive anatomy, gametes, hormonal cycles, and fertilization.
- Gametes
- Reproductive anatomy
- Hormonal cycles
- Fertilization
-
Review and Synthesis
Cumulative
Pulling the year together — how the systems depend on each other, and what happens when one fails.
- Systems integration
- Case analysis
- Cumulative review
Standards
This course follows the New York State science standards. In practice that means you are graded on more than naming parts. You are also learning to do the things scientists do:
- Ask good questions
- Read and interpret data
- Build and use models
- Make an argument and back it with evidence
- Explain your reasoning clearly to someone else
The exact standards for each lesson are listed on the weekly schedule.
Grades
A 65 passes. At City Honors the expectation is 85 or better — that's the number to aim at.
How grading works here
Assignments are scored on a 4.0 scale, not out of 100. That's fairer math. On a 100-point scale a single zero can sink an average past saving; on a 4.0 scale every score stays a reasonable distance from the next.
Your final grade is a weighted average of those scores, converted to a 100-point grade where 0.0 = 50 and 4.0 = 100. There are four marking periods, and your course grade is the average of the four.
| Category | Weight | What counts |
|---|---|---|
| Tests & projects | 50% | Unit tests, quizzes, lab practicals, case projects |
| Work done in class | 40% | Labs and dissections, diagrams, models, notebooks, group work |
| Homework | 10% | Reading, practice, review |
Two things students often assume, that aren't true here:
- Participation is not its own grade. Being engaged matters to how much you learn, but I don't put a number on it.
- No single assignment can sink you. There are many graded items each marking period, so one bad day stays a bad day.
Late and missing work
Work is due on the date posted on the weekly schedule. Need more time? Just ask. You don't need to explain why.
- Up to 5 school days late, full credit. No penalty, no questions.
- After that, we set a new date together. That one is full credit too.
- Until you turn it in, it shows as Missing — never a zero.
- Long projects get checkpoints, so nothing rides on one date weeks away.
- Want to redo something you already handed in? Ask.
If your IEP includes extended time or assignment accommodations, they always apply and always override anything on this page.
Absences
Everything we do is posted on the weekly schedule, so a missed day never has to become a mystery. Labs and dissections are hard to replicate — see me as soon as you're back so we can work out a make-up.
Retakes and corrections
If a test didn't show what you know, you get another shot. Learning it in November still counts. Open to everyone, every unit — no permission and no reason needed.
- Do the corrections first. Show me you've worked out what you missed. This is the part that teaches you; the retake just measures it.
- Then take the retake. A different version of the same material.
- The higher score counts — not the average of the two.
- Ask before the marking period ends. Grades lock when it closes, so don't sit on it.
If that doesn't fit your situation, come talk to me.
What to bring
- A dedicated notebook or binder section for this course
- Pens, pencils, and colored pencils — you will draw and label a lot
- Your school device, charged
- Closed-toe shoes on lab days
Lab expectations
Lab days have a different standard of behavior than regular class days, and it is not negotiable. Specimens are treated with respect, safety instructions are followed exactly, and anyone who can't do that loses the lab.
Academic integrity
City Honors depends on shared academic standards, and this course holds to them without exception.
By putting your name on work, you are certifying three things:
- The work is honestly your own.
- Any source you used is properly cited.
- You have respected other students' work — which includes not handing them yours to copy.
About AI
AI tools are genuinely useful and I build them myself — but work you hand in has to represent your thinking. Using AI to explain a concept you're stuck on is studying. Submitting text or answers it produced as your own is plagiarism, and it is treated as such.
If it happens
Cheating and plagiarism are handled through City Honors and district policy.
Not sure whether something crosses the line? Ask me before you turn it in.
Getting help
Ask early. This course moves fast and each system builds on the last — a gap in tissues shows up again in every unit after it.
- Extra help: TBD — we'll set days once I know what works for you.
- Email: rsajdak@buffaloschools.org
- Call or text: (716) 222-2016
- Weekly schedule: every objective, agenda, and assignment
Families: email or text any time — whatever is easiest for you. I'll do my best to get back to you within one business day. Grades and official notices live in the district's systems; this page is course information.