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Year 1 · Medicine · Medical University of Sofia

Medical Physics: notes and exam prep for MU Sofia

Medical Physics for Year 1 Medicine at the Medical University of Sofia: all 41 syllabus topics in 4 sections, with exam-focused notes, flashcards and SuperPrep recall sets.

What Medical Physics has on SuperMed

  • Notes on every topic, written to answer the syllabus question as it is asked.
  • 379 flashcards for the facts you have to recall, with spaced review.
  • SuperPrep : 350 recall sets. A short piece of material, then questions on all of it from memory, at the grade you are aiming for.

The Medical Physics syllabus

Every topic, numbered as the department numbers it. Each line says what the topic covers.

I. Mechanics, Structure, & Fluids8 topics

  1. 1Mechanics - basic conceptsVelocity, acceleration, force, impuls, momentum, uniform and accelerated motions. Newton's law, work, energy, power, energy conservation law, momentum conservation law.
  2. 2Structure of SolidsAmorphous, crystalline and liquid crystalline states. Mechanical deformations, Hooke's law. Strength and hardness of materials, scale of Mohs. Method of Brinell.
  3. 3Structure of LiquidsMolecular structure of bodies. Surface tension of liquids, coefficient of surface tension, molecular pressure. Trickling. Wetting, non-wetting, meniscus, capillary phenomena, LaPlace pressure. Gas embolism.
  4. 4Mechanics of FluidsIdeal and real fluids - basic concepts. Hydrostatic pressure. Archimedes force, atmospheric pressure. Effect of pressure on human organism.
  5. 5Laminar and Turbulent MotionContinuity equation and Bernoulli's equation. Reynolds number. Measurement of blood pressure.
  6. 6Rheology of Fluids, Applications in MedicineNewton's law for internal friction. Poiseulle's law, viscosimetry. Non-Newtonian behaviour and microrheological processes. Infusion and inhalation.
  7. 7Phase Seperation in Liquid Heterogenous SystemsUniform circular motion, centripetal acceleration and force, centrifugal force. Sedimentation and centrifugation. Sedimentation velocity, centrifugation, types of centrifuges. Inertial force effect on human organism, overloading, weightlessness.
  8. 8Mehcanical Oscillations and WavesBasic parameters - period, fequency, wavelength. Equation of harmonic oscillations. Equation of mechanical wave propagation, transversal and longitudinal waves.

II. Sound, Heat, Electromagnetics13 topics

  1. 9SoundPhysical characteristics of sound. Diffraction and interference. Noise protection. Extracorporeal shock- wave lithotripsy.
  2. 10Psychophysical Characteristics of SoundPsychophysical parameters of sound, range of hearing, audiometry. Physics of vocal and hearing apparatus of humans. Frequency resolution, binaural effect. Acoustic methods in medical diagnostics.
  3. 11UltrasoundProperties of ultrasound. Piezoeffect and reverse piezoeffect. Physical principles of echography. Effect of Doppler and Doppler sonography. Medical applications of ultrasound.
  4. 12Temperature and HeatTemperature and temperature scales. Heat expansion of bodies. Specific heat, calorimetry. Water, properties and importance for living organisms. Thermostats, thermoregulators, sterilizers.
  5. 13Thermal Exchange, LawsThermal exchange by thermal conductivity, convection, radiation and absorption. Kirchoff's, Stefan- Boltzmann's and Wien's laws. Thermal exchange between human body and surrounding medium. Hyperthermy, hypothermy and cryosurgery
  6. 14Electric FieldIntensity and potential of point charge and electric dipole in vacuum. Electric field in material medium. Orientational and induced polarization. Dielectric constant. Electric capacity.
  7. 15Electrical ConductivityElectrical conductivity of solids and liquids. Electrolytic dissociation. Solvation (hydration) and recombination of ions. Degree of electrolytic dissociation. Conductivity of electrolytes. Faraday's law. Direct and alternating electric current.
  8. 16Magnetic FieldMagnetic field of a permanent magnet. Magnetic field of direct current. Ampere's law - magnetic induction. Magnetic field of electric current in circular conductor, solenoid. Charge motion in magnetic and electric fields - Lorentz force. Mass spectrometry.
  9. 17Magnetic properties of substancesMagnetic field intensity, magnetic permeability. Dia-, para-, and ferromagnets, magnetic hysteresis. Mechanical and magnetic moments of electrons and atoms. Electron paramagnetic resonance. Magnetic nanoparticles for diagnostics and therapy.
  10. 18Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)Nucleus composition, charge, mass and spin. Magnetic moments of nucleons and nucleus. Nuclear magnetic resonance – conditions of appearance. Zeeman effect.
  11. 19Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)Principles of magnetic resonance imaging diagnostics – image formation, contrast, spin-lattice and spin- spin relaxation times. Most important applications.
  12. 20Physical basis of electrodiagnosticsElectrography, heart as an electric dipole. Linear electrocardiogram (ECG), triangle of Einthoven. Electrostimulation, types of electric pulses, parameters. Rheobase and chronaxie.
  13. 21Physical basis of electrotherapyElectrotherapy with direct, low- and high-frequency currents. Defibrillators and electronic pacemakers. Drug electrophoresis.

III. Electromagnetic Spectrum & Vision13 topics

  1. 22Ultraviolet, visible and infrared radiationElectromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic spectrum. Sun radiation. Spectral sensitivity of human eye. Photometric quantities and units. Properties of ultraviolet and infrared radiation – importance for the biosphere. Infrared thermography.
  2. 23Reflection and refraction of lightSnell's law. Total internal reflection, conditions for total internal reflection. Fiber optics. Endoscopes. Refractometry.
  3. 24Scattering and absorption of lightScattering of light in turbid media, Tyndall effect. Rayleigh law. Nephelometry. Absorption of light, Beer–Lambert–Bouguer law. Photocolorimetry. Normal and anomalous dispersion.
  4. 25Polarization of lightNatural and polarized light, Malus's law. Obtaining linearly polarized light, polarization prisms and polaroids. Brewster's law. Birefringence, linear dichroism. Rotation of polarization plane, polarimetry.
  5. 26Optical lensesBasic elements of spherical lenses. Optical power of lenses. Image formation by spherical lens. Centered optical system. Aberrations of optical lenses. Astigmatism, cylindrical lenses. Prismatic glasses.
  6. 27Human eye as an optical systemPhysics characteristics of human eye. Accomodation. Spherical aberration of human eye. Myopia and hyperopia, correction with lenses, correction by laser ablation. Correction of astigmatism and strabismus.
  7. 28Optical microscopePrincipal diagram, optical scheme, microscope magnification. Resolution, numerical aperture, useful magnification of optical microscope. Immersion objective. Methods of microscopic observation. Polarizing and fluorescence microscopes.
  8. 29Electron microscopePrinciples of corpuscular microscopy – de Broglie waves. Transmission and scanning electron microscopes – principal diagrams and image formation. Preparation of biological samples for electron microscopy.
  9. 30Atomic spectraStructure of atoms, atomic energy levels, Pauli principle, optical transitions between energy levels. Atomic spectral analysis; emission, absorption and fluorescence analysis.
  10. 31Molecular spectraEnergy levels and transitions in molecules. Molecular spectral analysis, types of. Spectrophotometry.
  11. 32LuminescenceTypes of luminescence, laws of Stokes and Vavilov in photoluminescence. Fluorimetry, biochemiluminescence.
  12. 33LasersSpontaneous transitions, induced emission. Normal and inverse energy level population. Main components and principle of operation of a laser. Laser types. Properties of laser radiation. Applications of lasers in medicine and dental medicine.
  13. 41Effect of ionizing radiation on human organism. Dosimetry quantitiesNatural and technogenic sources of ionizing radiation. Externak and internal irradiation. Dose, power of dose, exposure, conversion factor, equivalent dose, radiation weight coefficient, effective dose, tissue weight coefficient.

IV. Radioactivity & X-Rays7 topics

  1. 34RadioactivityRadioactivity, radionuclides. Alpha- and beta-nuclear transformations, energy spectra. Gamma-radiation, spectra. Metastable state, isomeric transition.
  2. 35Activity of radioactive sourcesLaw of radioactive transformation, radionuclide half-life. Biological half-life, effective half-life. Radiometric analysis, method of isotope dilution.
  3. 36X-ray (Roentgen ray) radiationPrinciple of operation of X-ray tubes. Bremsstrahlung and characteristic X-ray radiation. Intensity and spectrum of X-rays, graphs. Properties of X-rays. X-ray crystallography and luminescence.
  4. 37Interaction of photon ionizing radiation with matterPhotoelectric absorption, Compton scattering, electron-positron pair formation. Intensity attenuation law. General linear attenuation coefficient.
  5. 38Interaction of charged particles with matterBraking ability, linear ionization, mean linear pathway, mean free pathway. Elastic and inelastic interactions.
  6. 39Radionuclide diagnostics and therapyRadiopharmaceuticals, methods of preparation. Scintillation detector, gamma-camera, principle of operation. Single-photon emission computer tomography (SPECT). Positron-emission tomography (PET), diagnostic potential. Brachytherapy. Other therapeutic methods.
  7. 40X-ray diagnostics and therapyPrinciple of X-ray diagnostics. X-ray diagnostic methods. X-ray computer tomography. Therapeutic methods.

Who writes it

Each topic is drafted by a senior student against the syllabus question, sourced from the department’s lectures and textbook, and checked line by line by a second student before it is published. It is exam study support, not clinical guidance, and SuperMed is not affiliated with the university. How content is made

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