The udder and its response to infection (edX)

Welcome to the Bovine Mastitis MOOCs series!

As you may know, mastitis is a very costly disease on dairies. It is a complex, multifactorial health problem and, all around the world, a large number of scientists, and their graduate students, are conducting research on this disease.

For that reason, experts from more than 20 countries have decided to work together to produce this series of three MOOC, designed for graduate students, to give them the knowledge they need to initiate their research program. Of course, these MOOCs will also be useful for dairy practitioners, teachers, and for individuals that already have a solid scientific background, and are interested to learn on bovine mastitis.

This first MOOC (of a duration of 15 hours) covers the basic knowledge on the mammary gland and its response to infections. We will discuss, mammary gland anatomy and physiology, immune response, the role of genetics, and pathophysiology, or, if you prefer, the changes occurring in mammary tissues following an infection.

This MOOC will soon be followed by two others MOOCS, that will cover bovine mastitis epidemiology and diagnostic, and finally, mastitis control.

We hope this series of course will answer all your questions and will be useful for your professional development.

Welcome to the first MOOC on "The mammary gland and its response to infection"!

Prerequisites:

This course is designed primarily for graduate students conducting a master or doctoral project on udder health. The objective is to equip them with the knowledge they will need to conduct their research.

This course could also be useful for veterinarians, as they provide an opportunity to deepen the basics and access to cutting-edge knowledge for continuing education. The same applies to teachers in agriculture and animal health. Similarly, anyone with a scientific background and an interest in udder health will find high-level notions within the course.

What you'll learn

- Animal health;

- Veterinary science;

- Udder health.

Syllabus

Module 1 : Udder anatomy and physiology

The general anatomy and structure of the mammary gland including teat anatomy

The physiology of the mammary gland including

Development of the mammary gland prior to first lactation and prior to subsequent calvings

Secretory activities during the milking phase

Involution of the mammary gland at drying off

Module 2 : Udder immunology

Bovine humoral and innate immunity

Mammary gland local immunity

Module 3 : Host genetics

Quantitative genetics

Genomics

Module 4 : Pathophysiology

Mammary tissues response following intra-mammary infection

Involvement of neutrophils, plasma protein, cytokines, and bacteria in tissue damage