Iraqi Board General Surgery study guide
Iraqi Board General Surgery · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Iraqi Board in General Surgery (often called Al-Board Al-Iraqi – Jaraha Ama) is a national postgraduate certification awarded by the Iraqi Board of Medical Specialties. It is designed for physicians who have completed a primary surgical residency and wish to demonstrate the knowledge, judgment and technical competence required for independent practice as a general surgeon in Iraq. The Iraqi Board General Surgery study guide has 12 sections and about 4,223 words.
01Basic Sciences Applied to Surgery
The Basic Sciences domain tests whether you can convert anatomy, physiology, pathology, microbiology and pharmacology into operative decisions - not whether you can recite lists. Questions cluster around surgical anatomy, fluid and electrolyte physiology, wound biology, common pathogens and drug dosing.
339 words, about 2 min02General Surgical Principles and Perioperative Care
General Surgical Principles and Perioperative Care covers asepsis, wound classification and healing, haemorrhagic shock, fluids, nutrition and surgical infection. It is the highest-yield domain for safety questions because most answers are protocol-driven and unambiguous.
332 words, about 2 min03Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Surgery
Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Surgery dominates the paper. It tests pattern recognition (painless jaundice, Charcot's triad, Rigler's sign), the anatomy that governs safe resection (Couinaud segments, the critical view of safety) and the correct sequence of resuscitation, investigation and operation.
346 words, about 2 min04Endocrine Surgery
Endocrine Surgery rewards a systematic approach: confirm the biochemical diagnosis, localise the lesion, then choose the operation and anticipate its specific complications. Investigate a nodule with TSH, ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration reported by the Bethesda system; Bethesda IV-VI usually needs surgery.
340 words, about 2 min05Vascular Surgery
Vascular Surgery tests the ischaemia-aneurysm-venous triad plus vascular access. The exam wants a bedside examination translated into an urgency category and a definitive plan.
371 words, about 2 min06Trauma and Emergency Surgery
Trauma and Emergency Surgery is assessed through ATLS sequencing, time-critical interventions, burns and critical care. Marks go to candidates who treat the patient in the order the physiology demands.
370 words, about 2 min07Surgical Oncology
Surgical Oncology tests the language of staging, the logic of multidisciplinary treatment and the principles that distinguish a cancer operation from a simple excision. Stage before you cut: TNM (T for tumour size or depth, N for regional nodes, M for metastasis) drives the plan.
323 words, about 2 min08Pediatric Surgery and Urology
Paediatric Surgery and Urology usually presents a neonate or infant with a classic pattern, then tests whether you would resuscitate before operating and whether you know the age-dependent answer. Hypertrophic pyloric stenosis: 3-6 weeks, first-born boys, projectile non-bilious vomiting, visible peristalsis, palpable olive.
330 words, about 2 min09Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery
Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery tests reconstructive decision-making - the ladder, graft versus flap, and hand emergencies with a hard time limit. Split-thickness grafts (0.2-0.4 mm) survive on less vascular beds and are meshed for large areas; they contract more.
387 words, about 2 min10Neurosurgery and Thoracic Surgery
Neurosurgery and Thoracic Surgery are tested at the level of recognition, initial management and safe referral, plus the emergencies that cannot wait for a specialist. GCS: eye 1-4, verbal 1-5, motor 1-6.
361 words, about 2 min11Orthopedic Surgery and Anesthesia
Orthopaedic Surgery and Anaesthesia tests fracture description, emergency management, and the airway, anaesthetic risk and analgesic decisions a surgical trainee must own. Describe every fracture: bone and site, pattern (transverse, oblique, spiral, comminuted, greenstick), displacement, angulation, rotation, shortening, joint involvement, open or closed.
353 words, about 2 min12Professionalism, Ethics, Patient Safety, Research and Evidence-Based Surgery
This domain is the one candidates most often under-prepare. Questions reward knowing the legal and ethical framework and being able to read a study result.
371 words, about 2 min