Physics is one of the sciences which provide the fundamental knowledge necessary for medical students to uderstand the true nature and comlexity of medicine. It permits an insight into the processes taking place in the living organism, such as energy transformation and structure formation, and into the principles on which does not contribute to the development of medicine. The mechanical properties of tissues and organs are closely related to their anatomy. The mechanical properies of tissues and organs are closely related to their anatomy. The physical principles of blood circulation are essential for undestanding many problems in cardiology as well as internal medicine as a whole. Thermodynamics answers the question of what is the driving force of all biological processes at molecular and cellular levels. The theory of electromagnetism is necessary to understand bioelectric phenomena, and, of course, the construction and function of electronic devices used in medicine. Knowledge of optics is required to understand the properties of the human eye, as well as, principles of numerous optical devices used for examination of patients of found in biomedical research labs. Acoustics and ultrasound in particular, is nowadays encountered in nearly every field of medicine. Ionsing radiation is still one of the most powerful therapeutic agents in oncology, and it is used also in sophisticated imaging methods. Knowledge of physics is essential for the safe and effective use of medical devices.< br /> All this implies that physics is a subject with a decisive role in the selection of students for admission to a medical faculty. This fact has provided the main incentive for producing this text, which is not a complete textbook of high school physics but a review of the required knowledge of basics physics to guide students in the preparation for the entrance tests. After more than fifteen years of experience with teachin foreign students at the Medical Faculty of the Masaryk University, the topics which we have found to be most difficult for our students, such as electromagnetism, optics and quantum and nuclear physics, have been dealt in a little more in detail. However, with some exceptions, the medical applications of the respective prts of physics are not mentioned in this overview.
Not all foreign student os our Faculty are familiar with high school physics. For example, some have knowledge only in certain „classical“ parts of physics like mechanics but they do not understand nuclear physics at all. Thus I believe that this brief introductory text will also be useful in providing basic physical knowledge in English to many foreign students, who are already enrolled in the Faculty and who are preparing gor their „biophysical“ exam. It cold also be used by the Czech or Slovak students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, who may be involved in theoretically oriented biomedical studies abroad.