BASIC BICHEMISTRY: chemical bonds, molecular interactions and chemical reactions. The water molecule, solutions and pH. Physiological buffer systems. Carbon compounds, functional groups and their reactivity. PROTEIN. Amino acids: structure, nomenclature and chemical-physical properties. The peptide bond. Primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure. Collagen. Globular proteins. Myoglobin and hemoglobin: structure, function, regulation mechanisms and Bohr effect. Actin, myosin, tropomyosin and troponin. ENZYMES. Enzymatic reactions, kinetics and activity regulation. Inhibition and inactivation. Allosteric enzymes and isoenzymes. CARBOHYDRATES: structure, classification, function. Glucose, fructose, ribose, lactose. Disaccharides. Polysaccharides: starch and glycogen. LIPID. Structure, classification and function. Fatty acids. Reserve lipids: triglycerides. Membrane lipids: phospholipids. Cholesterol. BIOENERGETIC PRINCIPLES: exoergonic and endergonic reactions: coupled reactions. Role of ATP, other phosphoric compounds and energy flow. Anabolic, catabolic and amphibolic pathways. METABOLISM OF CARBOHYDRATES. GLYCOLYSIS: phases, energy balance and regulation. Anaerobic fate of pyruvate: homolactic and alcoholic fermentation. Aerobic fate: oxidative decarboxylation. Pentose-phosphate pathway. Glucogenesis and gluconeogenesis. Glycogen: degradation, synthesis and metabolic regulation. METABOLISM OF LIPIDS. Digestion and absorption of lipids. Fatty acid catabolism: role of carnitine in the intra-mitochondrial transport of fatty acids and beta-oxidation. Energy balance. Ketone bodies and cholesterol. Biosynthesis of fatty acids: formation of malonylCoA, the fatty acid synthetase system. Krebs cycle: reactions, energy balance and regulation. Oxidative phosphorylation: the electron transport chain and ATP synthesis. Energy balance of the catabolism of glycids, lipids and proteins. Notes on metabolic regulation (adrenaline, glucagon and insulin). PROTEIN METABOLISM. Catabolism of amino acids (transamination, oxidative deammination). Urea cycle. BIOCHEMISTRY OF MUSCLE CONTRACTION. Muscle fiber classification. Energy substrates and metabolic pathways (anaerobic-alactacid, anaerobic-lactacid, aerobic). Cori cycle.