Basic Medical Sciences: Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology
What the exam expects
Basic sciences are tested as applied knowledge: how organ systems function under normal and diseased states, and how those states show up in a patient taking or being prescribed traditional remedies. Know the levels of organisation (cell, tissue, organ, system), the four basic tissue types, and the major systems: cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, renal, nervous, endocrine, musculoskeletal, and integumentary. Be able to describe basic physiology - circulation and blood pressure, gas exchange, digestion and absorption, fluid and electrolyte balance, glucose regulation, and the inflammatory response.
Pathology you must be able to name
Understand the difference between reversible and irreversible cell injury, acute versus chronic inflammation, and the cardinal signs of inflammation (rubor, calor, tumor, dolor, functio laesa). Recognise the difference between benign and malignant growth, the idea of metastasis, and common risk factors. Know that fever, oedema, and jaundice are signs with multiple causes, not diagnoses in themselves.
Traps candidates fall into
- Confusing anatomy (structure) with physiology (function) in stem wording.
- Assuming a 'natural' remedy cannot cause organ injury - hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity are classic exam themes.
- Mixing up the direction of blood flow or the site of absorption.
Rule of thumb
When a question describes a symptom, ask: which organ system, and is this a structural or functional problem? Then ask whether the remedy or the disease explains it. That single step resolves most basic-science items.
Worked example: A patient on a herbal diuretic develops weakness and confusion. Weakness + confusion after fluid loss points to electrolyte disturbance (functional, renal/fluid balance), not to a new structural disease - so the answer is the physiology of electrolyte loss, not an anatomy label.