Anatomy and Physiology II

Course Description

Anatomy and Physiology II completes the two-semester sequence begun in BSC2085, carrying the systems approach through the remaining organ systems. Where the first course concentrates on histology and the integumentary, skeletal, muscular and nervous systems, the second takes up the endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic and immune, respiratory, digestive, urinary and reproductive systems, together with fluid, electrolyte and acid–base balance.

Nineteen Florida public institutions carry BSC2086 as a 3-credit lecture; seven carry the integrated 4-credit BSC2086C.

⚠ The statewide record for this half is thin. Where the record for BSC2085 was rewritten recently with explicit learning outcomes, this one still reads “human anatomy and physiology for health science majors with no prerequisites and offered as second of two semester courses” and nothing more. The outcomes and topics below are therefore drawn from what Florida institutions actually teach in the second half, and from the structure the first course’s record establishes — they are not quoted from the state.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

• Identify and describe the structures of the endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary and reproductive systems.
• Interpret the functions of those systems and their interactions.
• Explain fluid, electrolyte and acid–base balance and the mechanisms that maintain them.
• Trace the path of blood, air, nutrients and filtrate through their respective systems.
• Explain how the systems covered contribute to homeostasis.
• Analyse and interpret physiological data, including cardiovascular and respiratory measurements.

Optional Outcomes

• Perform dissection or work with prosected material, where the laboratory includes it.
• Use physiology data-acquisition equipment for muscle, nerve or cardiovascular recording.
• Apply clinical correlations and case studies, common where the course serves health programmes.

Major Topics

Required Topics

• The endocrine system and hormonal control.
• Blood, the heart, and the vasculature; cardiac cycle and haemodynamics.
• The lymphatic system and immunity.
• The respiratory system and gas exchange.
• The digestive system, metabolism and nutrition.
• The urinary system, and fluid, electrolyte and acid–base balance.
• The reproductive systems and, usually, development and heredity.

Optional Topics

• Clinical case correlation and pathophysiology previews.
• Histology beyond the core tissue types.
• Imaging and anatomical visualisation software.

Resources & Tools

• A major A&P text with an atlas; Florida institutions commonly use Marieb, Tortora or OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology, which is free.
• Laboratory: models, prosected specimens or dissection material, microscopes, and often a physiology data-acquisition system.
• ⚠ Laboratory fees are common and are charged separately from tuition.

Career Pathways

This is the gateway science for the health professions in Florida, and it is the course competitive admission most often turns on:

• Registered Nurse — named on the Registered Nurse path in this repository.
• Respiratory therapy, radiography, dental hygiene, physical and occupational therapy assisting, paramedic, surgical technology, medical laboratory science.
• Pre-professional preparation for medicine, dentistry, physician assistant and physical therapy programmes.
• Exercise science, athletic training and kinesiology.

Special Information

Two ways Florida packages this course, and they are equivalent

Some institutions teach the lecture and the laboratory as two registrations; others combine them into a single course with a C suffix. The outcomes are the same and transfer works either way: lecture plus laboratory completes exactly as the combined course does. Institutions are given this leeway deliberately, so that departments can vary their approach.

⚠ The one thing to get right is the registration. Where your institution splits the course, enrol in both halves — they are normally corequisites. Gulf Coast State College, for example, lists “Corequisite: BSC2085L or consent of the Natural Sciences division chair” on the lecture.

⚠⚠ This half of the sequence has NOT been revised, and it shows

The statewide record for BSC2085 was rewritten recently: a full description, seven learning outcomes, and the (GE CORE) marker identifying it as a Florida General Education Core course. The record for this course carries none of those. Its title is still the older “Anatomy & Physiology (2 of 2) (HS Maj.) No Prereq” and its description is a single sentence.

Two practical consequences:

• ⚠ Do not assume this half carries General Education Core protection because the first half does. If you are relying on it to satisfy a general-education natural-science requirement after transfer, confirm it with the receiving institution.
• The high-school credit recorded for dual enrolment is SCIENCE here, where the first half records ELECTIVE — the opposite of what the markers would lead you to expect. The college credit is unaffected.

⚠ None of this reflects on the teaching. Florida institutions teach the second half as a full partner to the first; it is the state record that is out of date, and it is worth knowing so that you check rather than assume.

⚠ The other prefix family

Florida teaches this subject under two prefix families: BSC2085/BSC2086 and APK2100C/APK2105C. BSC is what nearly every health-professions prerequisite list actually names. The credit articulates either way, but a requirement stated by course number may not. If your institution offers the APK family and your target programme names BSC, get the substitution in writing before you register.

What this course demands

A&P has a reputation for volume, and it is deserved: the vocabulary load in the first weeks is closer to a language course than a science one. Students who treat it as a memorisation exercise tend to stall at the physiology. Plan 8–12 hours a week outside class, and use the laboratory time actively — it is where the structures become memorable.