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This course will teach pathology that is specific to each of the organ-based courses. Pathologists will work in tandem with the primary organ-based course director to:

• highlight the pathology most relevant for inclusion in the course,
• provide lectures as needed to present this material,
• recommend or provide teaching materials, which may include gross specimens, slides, clinical cases or virtual slides from the pathology virtual slide library, and
• devise CPC’s (Clinical Pathologic Correlations) that will use clinical cases to introduce students to the clinical, pharmacological and pathological aspects of diseases specific to that organ.

Learning Objectives
Organ based pathology is concerned with the mechanisms underlying disease processes specific to a given organ system, as manifested by morphologic (gross, cellular, and ultrastructural), physiologic, and biochemical changes. By the end of the course students should be able to:

• Understand and describe the concept of anatomic, histologic, and physiologic normality.
• Recognize and describe the basic morphologic, physiologic and biochemical changes accompanying specific pathologic processes within each organ system.
• Discuss the clinical features and pathogenesis of these complex disease processes within the context of a specific patient (CPCs).
• Understand how to develop a thorough differential diagnosis of a patient’s problems.
• Recognize variations in the clinical presentations of common pathologic processes.
• Recognize and understand the clinical presentations of uncommon pathologic processes.
• Determine the usefulness of the clinical history, physical findings, and laboratory values in narrowing the differential diagnosis.

Reading Requirements

• Coursebook prepared for each course
• This website for CPCs and their accompanying morphologic findings.
• Robbins: Pathologic Basis of Diseases (7th edition) is strongly recommended.

Grading
There will be a total of 100 points available.
75 points total for questions dispersed on the final exams of each organ-based course.
25 points for attendance and participation in CPC small discussion groups

Objective, multiple-choice questions will be provided on the final exam for each organ-based course. These questions will cover the relevant pathology that is taught in the lectures, assigned website problems/virtual slides and CPCs. Grades will be based on either standard cutoffs (e.g., 90-100% = A; 80-90% = B; etc) or a sliding curve, whichever method is most beneficial to the students. A few ABs and BCs will be awarded. Grades below BC will be determined based upon where a student’s grade lies relative to the mean and standard deviation for the class. Attendance and participation will be evaluated for each CPC session using a simple evaluation form (already used for General Pathology 703). In addition, students are expected to turn in a list of 5-10 diseases as a differential diagnosis for each CPC (this will contribute to the participation grade).

Grading for the first year of the course will be on a pass/fail basis with the cutoff being approximately at the 60 percent level.