Using a medical model perspective, this course is designed to help students develop a working knowledge of the structures (anatomy) & functions (physiology) of the speech, swallow, & hearing mechanisms across the lifespan that disrupt communication & swallowing. Anatomy & physiology of the nervous system, subsystems for speech (respiration, phonation, articulation, resonance), hearing, & deglutition are discussed. A detailed study of normal structure and function is requisite for the identification of speech & swallowing disorders.