Students

CHIR6312 – Topics in Neuroanatomy

2026 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Stephanie Marhoff-Beard
Contact via Email
By appointment only
Credit points Credit points
5
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MChiropractic
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

In this unit, you will develop a detailed understanding of functional anatomy of the nervous system. You will learn about the relationship between neurological structure and function and the significance of this relationship on health and disease.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Describe the anatomical organisation, structure, and interconnected function of the nervous system. (Scientist and Scholar)
  • ULO2: Discuss the anatomical structure-function relationship of the nervous system and its significance to health and disease. (Scientist and Scholar)
  • ULO3: Apply anatomical knowledge to the analysis of clinical cases and medical imaging related to the nervous system. (Scientist and Scholar)

General Assessment Information

Grade descriptors and other information concerning grading are contained in the Macquarie University Assessment Policy.

All final grades are determined by a grading committee, in accordance with the Macquarie University Assessment Policy, and are not the sole responsibility of the Unit Convenor.

Students will be awarded a final grade and a mark which must correspond to the grade descriptors specified in the Assessment Procedure (clause 127-8).

To pass this unit, you must demonstrate sufficient evidence of achievement of the learning outcomes, meet any ungraded requirements, and achieve a final mark of 50 or better.

Further details for each assessment task will be available on iLearn.

Late Submissions

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (OF THE TOTAL POSSIBLE MARK) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.

For example:

Number of days (hours) late

Total Possible Marks

Deduction

Raw mark

Final mark

1 day (1-24 hours)

100

5

75

70

2 days (24-48 hours)

100

10

75

65

3 days (48-72 hours)

100

15

75

60

7 days (144-168 hours)

100

35

75

40

>7 days (>168 hours)

100

-

75

0

 

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Practical assessment 1 50% No Week 8 practical Individual No Observed
Practical assessment 2 50% No Week 13 practical Individual No Observed

Practical assessment 1

Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Week 8 practical
Weighting: 50%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Observed

You will be assessed on content presented up until the week prior to this assessment


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Describe the anatomical organisation, structure, and interconnected function of the nervous system. (Scientist and Scholar)
  • Discuss the anatomical structure-function relationship of the nervous system and its significance to health and disease. (Scientist and Scholar)
  • Apply anatomical knowledge to the analysis of clinical cases and medical imaging related to the nervous system. (Scientist and Scholar)

Practical assessment 2

Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 13 practical
Weighting: 50%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Observed

You will be assessed on content from the entire session


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Describe the anatomical organisation, structure, and interconnected function of the nervous system. (Scientist and Scholar)
  • Discuss the anatomical structure-function relationship of the nervous system and its significance to health and disease. (Scientist and Scholar)
  • Apply anatomical knowledge to the analysis of clinical cases and medical imaging related to the nervous system. (Scientist and Scholar)

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • Academic Success for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

As a student enrolled in this unit, you will engage in a range of online and face-to-face learning activities, including face-to-face practicals, readings, and online PowerPoint and pre-recordings of lectures. Details can be found on the iLearn site for this unit. All lecture materials will be posted on iLearn. The Audiovisual recording will be available on ECHO which can be found on iLearn.

Activities will comprise:

  1. 1 × 2h pre-recorded lecture module available on ECHO, weeks 1 - 12
  2. 1× 2h laboratory practical class per week, weeks 2 - 12: Students must register for the practical slot on e-student

Required and recommended resources

Required:

  • CHIR6312 Laboratory Course Manual – available as a download on iLearn

Recommended: 

  • Haines DE (2018) Neuroanatomy Atlas in Clinical Context, Structures, Sections, Systems and Syndromes. 10th ed. LWW
  • Krebs C, Weinberg J and Akesson E (2012) Lippincott’s Illustrated Reviews Neuroscience Harvey RA (series editor) Wolters Kluwer LWW
  • Kiernan, JA (2009) Barr’s The Human Nervous System An Anatomical Viewpoint. 9th ed. Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, PA
  • Blumenfeld H (2002) Neuroanatomy through Clinical Cases. Sinauer Associates Inc, Massachusetts.

Unit Schedule

WEEK

PRE-RECORDED LECTURE MODULE

PRACTICAL

1

JUL 27

Overview of Nervous System

Overview of Spinal Cord and Blood Supply

None

2

AUG 03

Ontogeny

Cerebral Cortex

Spinal Cord and Blood Supply

3

AUG 10

Diencephalon and Internal Capsule

Limbic System

Cerebral Cortex and Blood Supply

4

AUG 17

Basal Ganglia

Diencephalon, Internal capsule, Limbic System

5

AUG 24

Brainstem

Basal Ganglia

6

AUG 31

Cranial Nerves

Brainstem

7

SEPT 07

Special Senses

Cranial Nerves

8

SEPT 14

Cerebellum

AT1 Practical Exam

Sept 21-Oct 5 Mid-Semester Break

9

OCT 06

Plexuses and peripheral Nerves

No practicals- Public Holiday

10

OCT 12

Autonomic Nervous System

Special Senses

11

OCT 19

Sensory Afferent Pathways

Cerebellum, ANS, Plexuses and Peripheral Nerves

12

OCT 26

Motor Efferent Pathways

Revision

13

NOV 2

None

AT2 Practical Exam

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Academic Success

Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit https://students.mq.edu.au/support/technology/service-desk

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Social inclusion at Macquarie University is about giving everyone who has the potential to benefit from higher education the opportunity to study at university, participate in campus life and flourish

in their chosen field. The University has made significant moves to promote an equitable, diverse and exciting campus community for the benefit of staff and students. It is your responsibility to contribute towards the development of an inclusive culture and practice in the areas of learning and teaching, research, and service orientation and delivery. As a member of the Macquarie University community, you must not discriminate against or harass others based on their sex, gender, race, marital status, carers' responsibilities, disability, sexual orientation, age, political conviction or religious belief. All staff and students are expected to display appropriate behaviour that is conducive to a healthy learning environment for everyone.

Professionalism

In the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, professionalism is a key capability embedded in all our courses.

As part of developing professionalism, students are expected to attend all small group interactive sessions including clinical, practical, laboratory, work-integrated learning (e.g., PACE placements), and team-based learning activities. Some learning activities are recorded (e.g., face-to-face lectures), however you are encouraged to avoid relying upon such material as they do not recreate the whole learning experience and technical issues can and do occur. As an adult learner, we respect your decision to choose how you engage with your learning, but we would remind you that the learning opportunities we create for you have been done so to enable your success, and that by not engaging you may impact your ability to successfully complete this unit. We equally expect that you show respect for the academic staff who have worked hard to develop meaningful activities and prioritise your learning by communicating with them in advance if you are unable to attend a small group interactive session.

Another dimension of professionalism is having respect for your peers. It is the right of every student to learn in an environment that is free of disruption and distraction. Please arrive to all learning activities on time, and if you are unavoidably detained, please join activity as quietly as possible to minimise disruption. Phones and other electronic devices that produce noise and other distractions must be turned off prior to entering class. Where your own device (e.g., laptop) is being used for class-related activities, you are asked to close down all other applications to avoid distraction to you and others. Please treat your fellow students with the utmost respect. If you are uncomfortable participating in any specific activity, please let the relevant academic know.


Unit information based on version 2026.02 of the Handbook