Arab Board Anatomic Pathology Part 1 study plan

Outline the progression from reversible to irreversible cell injury, naming ATP depletion, calcium influx, reactive oxygen species, and membrane failure with the ultrastructural change each produces.

Map the four cardinal signs of acute inflammation to their vascular and cellular mechanisms, and assign at least one soluble mediator and one cell type to each.

Distinguish coagulative, caseous, fibrinoid, and fat necrosis, plus granulomatous inflammation and metaplasia, by cytoplasmic, nuclear, and architectural descriptors and by typical organ distribution.

Trace the causal chain from endothelial injury through thrombus formation, embolism, and infarction to organ-level outcome, listing the modifiers of final infarct size.

Explain the six hallmarks of malignancy and translate each into a concrete H&E observation used to call a lesion malignant.

Describe the defining histologic features and two common mimics for the highest-yield cardiovascular and respiratory entities, including atherosclerotic plaque, myocardial infarction at each age, lobar pneumonia, emphysema, and the major lung carcinoma subtypes.

Compare benign, borderline, and malignant epithelial lesions in colon, breast, prostate, and thyroid by applying a fixed six-criterion checklist: architecture, cytology, invasion, mitotic rate, necrosis, and desmoplastic stroma.

Explain the adenoma-carcinoma sequence and the two-hit model of neoplasia as they appear in the morphology and staging of colorectal and breast specimens.

Summarize the light-microscopic patterns of the major glomerular diseases and of hepatic injury (steatosis, interface hepatitis, bridging fibrosis, cirrhosis).

Complete the remaining organ systems by writing one morphologic signature line for each major entity in renal, endocrine, neuropathology, dermatopathology, bone and soft tissue, and female genital tract disease.

Select the appropriate immunohistochemical panel for common tumor differentials (lung primary versus metastasis, adenocarcinoma of unknown origin, spindle-cell lesions, small round blue cell tumors) and state the expected staining pattern for each marker.

Explain how pre-analytical and technical variables in immunohistochemistry, including fixation time, antigen retrieval, blocking, titration, and control selection, generate false-positive or false-negative results.

Describe what FISH, PCR, Sanger sequencing, next-generation sequencing, and microsatellite instability testing each detect, and name the principal failure mode of each.

Sequence tissue processing from fixation through embedding and sectioning, and predict the artifact produced when each step fails.

Compare the chemical basis, intended use, and common confounders of H&E, PAS, Masson trichrome, reticulin, Congo red, Ziehl-Neelsen, and silver stains.

Apply the Bethesda categories to cervical cytology, stating the cytologic criteria for each category and the recommended follow-up.

Evaluate specimen adequacy criteria for non-gynecologic cytology, including fine-needle aspirates, serous fluids, and urine, and describe how to triage scant or bloody samples.

Explain the quality-control steps that detect staining, processing, and screening errors before a report is issued.

Describe the morphologic sequence of erythropoiesis and granulopoiesis on aspirate smears and identify each maturation stage by nuclear chromatin, cytoplasm, and cell size.

Differentiate microcytic, macrocytic, and hemolytic anemia, and the acute leukemias, by at least three peripheral smear features each.

Classify the common lymphomas by architecture, cell size, growth pattern, and immunophenotype, naming the lineage markers that establish each diagnosis.

Explain the laboratory investigation of a suspected transfusion reaction, including the correct post-transfusion samples, timing, serologic steps, and morphologic evidence of hemolysis.

Describe how cytogenetics, FISH, and molecular testing establish the diagnosis and minimal residual disease monitoring for chronic myeloid leukemia, acute promyelocytic leukemia, and other acute myeloid leukemia subtypes.

Outline standard adult autopsy technique, the sampling set for each cavity, and the structure of a cause-of-death statement that distinguishes mechanism, cause, and manner of death.

Distinguish postmortem change from antemortem injury using lividity, rigor, putrefaction, and hemorrhage patterns, giving the defining feature of each.

Describe the forensic findings that determine direction, range, and survival time in firearm wounds, sharp-force injury, asphyxia, and blunt trauma.

Apply quality-assurance tools, including control charts, proficiency testing, turnaround-time monitoring, and method validation, to a written laboratory scenario.

Calculate sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, likelihood ratios, and Cohen kappa from 2x2 tables and interpret each figure in a screening or diagnostic context.

Reconstruct from memory the differential diagnosis for the 15 most commonly tested morphologic patterns, including granuloma, atypical glands, spindle-cell proliferation, and lymphocytic infiltrate.

Convert the week-4 error log into a ranked list of 10 weak areas and re-test each area with 10 original questions.

Explain the indications, limitations, and artifacts of frozen section, touch preparation, and rapid on-site evaluation.

Practice 20 written cytology-histology correlation vignettes, stating the most likely diagnosis and the single confirmatory test for each.

Complete two timed 200-question mock examinations under exam conditions and record scores by domain.

Rewrite every missed item from the mocks as a single recall rule and re-test those rules after 48 hours.

Recite unaided the major tumor classification groupings and the four morphologic criteria of malignancy.

Consolidate the highest-yield facts into a two-page final revision sheet covering tumor markers, special stains, transfusion reactions, autopsy documentation, and biostatistics formulas.