What is this passage set and how is it organized?

The passages you’ll find in this set cover biology topics from AAMC Foundation 3. This foundation, along with Foundations 1 and 2 (tested in the other passage sets in this unit), is part of the Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems section of the MCAT. Foundation 3 covers topics in organ system anatomy and physiology, whereas Foundation 1 covers biochemical processes that occur within the cell and the principles that govern them, and Foundation 2 covers cell biology topics.

This statement by the AAMC describes the significance of Foundation 3 topics for pre-medical students: “As a result of the integration of a number of highly specialized organ systems, complex living things are able to maintain homeostasis while adapting to a constantly changing environment and participating in growth and reproduction.”

Many of the MCAT passages in this section test your knowledge of organ systems, as well as your ability to interpret new, passage-based information. Passage information may involve (normal) physiology and (abnormal) pathophysiology, or disease states, or in vitro and in vivo anatomy and physiology studies.

Passages in this set are labeled with topics that roughly align with those listed in the AAMC Biological and Biochemical Foundations blueprint, under Foundation 3. The passages are also organized by topic, in an order consistent with the AAMC blueprint. The topic of each passage is indicated by its subtitle, as circled below.

Content Category 3A: Structure and functions of the nervous and endocrine systems and ways these systems coordinate the organ systems