Pathology
Pathology Course Introduction 2004-2005
General Goal and Overall Objectives for Pathology
Disease is the battle between Hosts and the injuries encountered during life. Human pathology is the study of the structural and physiologic results of that battle in man.
The GENERAL GOAL of the Pathology Course is to provide the basis for the clinical evaluation of humans by studying the physical and physiological changes encountered as a response to a variety of injuries. While teaching content and approaches that we as a faculty feel are important, the overall objectives and content provided by the NBME (National Board of Medical Examiners) for the USMLE Licensing examination will be encompassed.
The OVERALL OBJECTIVES include (but will not be limited by):
- The study of the mechanisms necessary for the maintenance of the normal human, including nutrition, normal mechanisms of response to injury and repair, and basic genetics. This includes a selected review of anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and other first year subjects, and requires that the student independently review these subjects as needed.
- The consideration of the major mechanisms of injury (trauma, ischemia, necrosis, infection, autoimmune disease, environmental exposures, selected genetic diseases, oncogenesis, for example) as they apply to major organ systems, as well as their relative importance in those organ systems.
- The description of the gross and microscopic correlates of the mechanisms of injury, especially as they relate to clinical laboratory changes and classic clinical symptoms.
- The application of the principles of normality, response to injury, mechanisms of injury, and expression of clinical disease in the evaluation of selected clinical situations, especially in coordination with other Second Year Courses.
- # The consideration of special clinical groups that may respond differently to injury, or whose disease character or incidence differ significantly from the epidemiologic norm, by virtue of age (pediatric and geriatric groups), sex, regional or ethnic group.
See: http://www.usmle.org/step1/intro.htm for overall USMLE Step 1content lists.
Overall Course
Pathology, Introduction to Clinical Medicine (ICM) and Pharmacology are being taught in a modified integrated organ system fashion. In Pathology and ICM, the Fall will include:
- General Pathology, that will introduce you to general concepts of injury and reaction to injury as well as to pathological mechanisms that affect the body as a whole: immunopathology (See Immunology in Microbiology), genetics, neoplasia, nutrition, fluid and hemodynamics, selected topics in pediatric pathology, and environmental pathology;
- Elements of Organ system Pathology: Hematopathology; Endocrine pathology; and Dermatology
opics have been coordinated in many areas with Pharmacology and, in selected cases, with Microbiology. It is hoped that the now separate course, Integration and Analysis, as well as selected cooperative lectures during the year will further that coordination.
The course will be taught in lecture, Clinical Pathological correlation (CPC) sessions, and Laboratory sessions. Course evaluation will be primarily USMLE formatted examinations (Format: http://www.usmle.org/step1/s1tqf.htm ), with optional non-examination experiences worth up to 4 additional points on your final score. One point will be added to your final grade if you complete all block evaluations.