1. Cell injury and death
The foundation of all pathology. Necrosis versus apoptosis, reversible versus irreversible injury. You cannot understand infarction, tumour biology, or wound healing without mastering this first.
2. Inflammation — acute and chronic
Mediators, cellular sequence, systemic inflammatory response. Know the specific granulomatous conditions — TB, sarcoidosis, Crohn's — in detail.
3. Wound healing and repair
Primary versus secondary intention, growth factors, collagen synthesis, and factors that impair healing. Directly relevant to surgical practice.
Wound healing questions almost always involve a clinical scenario. Know the systemic factors that impair healing: diabetes, malnutrition, immunosuppression, ischaemia, infection, and radiation.
4–10. Neoplasia, Colorectal, Haematology, Breast, Microbiology, Skin, Vascular
The hallmarks of cancer, the adenoma-carcinoma sequence, coagulation cascade, breast pathology staging, surgical site infection classification, Breslow thickness for melanoma, and the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis — all examined regularly across sittings. All covered in depth with visual illustrations at surgatlas.com.