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