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Case home · Start at the beginning · The Reveal

Familial Mediterranean Fever · a case study for A&P I and A&P II

Start here: learn the body by reading one patient’s chart

For almost fifty years, Stina’s fevers, belly pain, chest pain and swollen joints were treated as separate emergencies — and no one read her chart as a whole. In this course you will. Every body system you study adds one clue, and by the end you will understand the whole case: what went wrong, where, and why it was missed.

Begin Module 1 →

How to use this case

The case at a glance

1 patient — Stina, a biology teacher
22 modules — one for each body system or topic
7 parts in every module, about 35–45 minutes each
1 chart clue added by every module
1 diagnosis — pieced together by you

How the case is built

Every module follows the same path, so once you learn it you can move through the whole course with confidence.

N.0 · Overview

Meet the problem

What Stina’s chart shows in this body system, the seven parts, and what you’ll be able to do by the end. Start every module here.

N.1 – N.7 · Parts

Work the case

Seven short lessons. Each one opens with the chart, asks for your prediction, teaches the anatomyThe study of the structure of the human body. and physiologyThe study of how the body functions. slide by slide, and adds one finding.

N.8 · Conclusion

Log the clue, test yourself

The module’s findings come together into one Chart Clue, followed by self-checks and the module quiz.

N.9 · Evidence

See the science behind it

Every step of the reasoning paired with the published research — for when you want to go deeper or check a claim.

How to work through a part

Every part page has the same six numbered steps. They are in that order on purpose — each one sets up the next. Here is what to do at each step, and why it helps you learn.

From Stina’s chart

Start with the patient chart and the case note. Ask: what is the finding here, and which body system is it pointing to?

Study move: Say out loud, in one sentence, what you think is going on before you read anything else.

Predict before you watch

Make a bet. It is not graded — wrong guesses are welcome, because noticing you were wrong is exactly when learning sticks.

Study move: Commit to an answer. Don’t skip ahead to find out first.

The story

Three short paragraphs: what happened to Stina, the anatomy and physiology behind it, and how the two connect.

Study move: Read it once now and again at the end. The second reading will make much more sense.

The finding

The clinical sign this part adds to Stina’s chart, and what it means.

Study move: Copy the finding into your own chart log (see Study habits below).

Watch & check

One short narrated slide, then one quick activity. Each check sets up the next slide, so work them in order. Transcripts and note-taking guides sit under the videos.

Study move: If you miss a check, use the hint, then try again. Don’t move on until you can explain the answer.

Return to your bet

Come back to the prediction you made in step 2. Were you right? What changed your mind?

Study move: Write two or three sentences explaining your answer. Explaining is how you know you understand it.

Study habits that work with this case

A case study is more than a story. These habits turn it into long-term memoryThe ability to store and recall information..

Keep your own chart. One page, four columns: module · finding · body system · what it tells you. Add a line every part. By Module 22 you will have built Stina’s diagnosis yourself.
One part per sitting. About 35–45 minutes. Shorter, spaced sessions beat one long cram before a quiz.
Test yourself before you reread. Use the activities and flip cards to recall first, then check your notes.
Connect back. When a new finding shows up, ask which earlier clue it explains. The body is one system, and so is Stina’s disease.
Read the diary alongside. Every part page links to the diary entry that matches it. The diary shows what the chart never recorded — what it was like to live it.
Use the N.8 quizzes as practice runs. Take them, review what you missed, then take them again a few days later.

All modules

Each link opens the module overview (N.0). Work them in order — each module builds on the clues before it.

Anatomy & Physiology I · Modules 1–12

1 · Anatomical Language, Membranes & Homeostasis — Reading Stina’s chart
2 · Just Enough Chemistry — The numbers were telling the truth
3 · The Cell & Its Transport — Inflammation with no germ in it
4 · Making Cells & Proteins — One typo, every cell
5 · The Integumentary System — Five rashes, one fire
6 · The Skeletal System — A skeleton remodeling under fire
7 · The Muscular System — Muscles that were never deconditioned
8 · Nervous Tissue & the Senses — Numbness that pre-dated the crash
9 · The Spinal Cord — The disc was fixed. The pain stayed.
10 · The Brain & the Blood–Brain Barrier — A few white spots, and a decade of brain fog
11 · The Autonomic Nervous System — Three specialists, three labels, one disease
12 · Special Senses — in developmentThe process of growth and differentiation.

Anatomy & Physiology II · Modules 13–22

13 · The Endocrine System — Inflammation resets the thermostat
14 · Blood — The acute-phase response as a slow fuse
15 · The Heart — Serositis reaches the heart
16 · Blood Vessels — Vessels aging too fast
17 · The Digestive System — The attack that looked like appendicitis
18 · The Respiratory System — A pain married to the breath
19 · The Urinary System — Not a trace. An alarm.
20 · Fluids, Electrolytes & Acid–Base Balance — One leaking filter behind every number
21 · The Reproductive System — The bleeding and the empty crib nobody connected
22 · The Immune System — Twenty clues, one mechanism

Other ways into the case

The whole story

Stina’s Complete Story

Every part’s chart note, story and finding, all 22 modules on one page. Good for review, or for seeing where a module fits.

In her own words

The Diary of Stina Lindqvist

“Relief Is Not the Word.” Fifty years of the case told from inside it — the part no chart records.

About the disease

Familial Mediterranean Fever — case home

What FMF is, how it is inherited, and the full table of contents with every page in the course.

The research

Evidence Behind the Case

Every module ends with an N.9 evidence page. Start with Module 1’s, then find the others at the end of each module.

Test yourself

Conclusion & Assessment pages

Every module’s N.8 page logs its Chart Clue and holds the self-checks and module quiz. Module 1’s is linked here.

Rare diseases

Reliable information

Stina has one rare disease; many people live with others. The links at the bottom of this page are trustworthy places to learn more.

If you get stuck

Can’t follow a video? Open the transcript or note-taking guide under it and read along.
Don’t know a word? Many science terms on these pages are linked to the site glossary. Hover over or tap an underlined term to see its definition.
Missed an activity? Use the hint, rewatch that one slide, and try again. The activities are for practice, so retry as often as you like.
Lost the thread of the story? Open Stina’s Complete Story and read the chart notes for the modules before this one.
Still stuck? Email Amy!

Ready?

Module 1 · Anatomical Language, Membranes & Homeostasis

Start with the night an emergency team removed a perfectly healthy appendixA small, finger-like pouch attached to the cecum, thought to play a role in immune function..