What this area covers
Pre-clinical medical science in Australian medical schools is assessed with written exams, often single best answer MCQs and short answers, plus practical or spot tests in anatomy. This page is for first and second year students and graduate-entry students who need the core science that clinical years build on.
High-yield topics
| Topic | What to know |
|---|---|
| Cell injury | Necrosis types and apoptosis |
| Inflammation | Acute and chronic, mediators |
| Haemodynamics | Thrombosis, embolism, infarction |
| Neoplasia | Benign versus malignant, oncogenes |
| Systemic | Atherosclerosis, MI, cirrhosis, glomerular disease |
Worked example
Worked question · Necrosis
Which necrosis type is typical of tuberculosis?
- A Caseous
- B Coagulative
- C Liquefactive
- D Fat
- E Fibrinoid
Show the reasoning
Answer A. Caseous necrosis, a cheesy appearance within granulomas, is characteristic of tuberculosis.
A short study plan
| Week | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | General pathology |
| 2 | Neoplasia and immunology |
| 3 | Systemic pathology |
Do a short timed set most days and review every explanation, including the options you ruled out.
Common traps
- Confusing necrosis types.
- Mixing grade and stage.
- Ignoring time courses.
Free sample pathology questions
Questions from our Basic Science bank. Choose your answer, then open the explanation.
Which type of necrosis is typical of a myocardial infarction?
- ACaseous necrosis
- BLiquefactive necrosis
- CFibrinoid necrosis of small arterioles
- DCoagulative necrosis
- EFat necrosis
Show answer and explanation
Answer D. Ischaemic injury in solid organs (heart, kidney) causes coagulative necrosis, where cell outlines are preserved for days. Brain infarcts show liquefactive necrosis; tuberculosis shows caseous necrosis; pancreatitis shows fat necrosis.
Learning point: MI: coagulative necrosis; brain infarct: liquefactive.
Haematuria 1 to 3 weeks after a streptococcal throat infection suggests which condition?
- APolycystic kidney disease
- BMembranous nephropathy
- CPost-streptococcal GN
- DMinimal change disease
- EIgA nephropathy
Show answer and explanation
Answer C. Post-streptococcal GN occurs 1 to 3 weeks after streptococcal pharyngitis (or 3 to 6 weeks after skin infection) with nephritic syndrome and low C3. IgA nephropathy causes haematuria 1 to 2 days after infection (synpharyngitic).
Learning point: Post-strep GN: 1 to 3 weeks after throat infection, low C3; IgA: within days.
Which cell predominates in the first 24 hours of acute inflammation?
- APlasma cells
- BFibroblasts
- CNeutrophils
- DLymphocytes
- EEosinophils
Show answer and explanation
Answer C. Neutrophils are the first cells recruited in acute inflammation (within hours), followed by macrophages at 24 to 48 hours. Lymphocytes and plasma cells characterise chronic inflammation.
Learning point: Acute inflammation: neutrophils first, then macrophages.
Practise more pathology questions free
Every pathology subtopic in our bank
The bank holds 20 pathology questions across 20 subtopics. You can filter by any of them, build a custom block and track your accuracy subtopic by subtopic.
- Acute inflammation cells1
- Amyloidosis1
- Apoptosis1
- Asbestos1
- Atherosclerosis1
- Barrett oesophagus1
- Cancer spread1
- Glomerulonephritis1
- Gout crystals1
- Granuloma1
- Haemochromatosis1
- Hodgkin lymphoma1
- Hypertrophy vs hyperplasia1
- Iron deficiency blood film1
- Nephrotic syndrome1
- Oncogenes1
- Tumour markers1
- Types of necrosis1
- Virchow triad1
- Wound healing1
Common questions
Is pathology taught pre-clinically?
Yes, general pathology is usually taught in the early years.
What is the best way to learn it?
Link each process to a disease example and its microscopy.
Sources
Clinical content is summarised from current Australian guidance at the date above. Guidelines change, so always check the latest edition.
- Australian Medical Council: Graduate outcome statements
- Standard medical science texts