Read This First: Pathology for NEET PG — What Is Tested and How to Use This Playlist
Start Here
Pathology explains why a patient has the signs and test results in every clinical vignette. NEET PG has 180 questions, marked +4 for a correct answer and −1 for a wrong one. No official count of Pathology questions is published, so any figure you read online is an estimate. We treat it as a top-tier subject.
The Exam in One Table
Feature | NEET PG | Source |
Questions | 180 MCQs (200 until 2025) | NEET PG 2026 bulletin, as reported |
Time | 3 hours 30 minutes | NEET PG 2026 bulletin, as reported |
Marking | +4 correct, −1 wrong, 0 unattempted | NBEMS bulletin |
Sections | Five time-bound sections (A–E), 42 minutes each | NBEMS bulletin (2025 rules) |
That is about 70 seconds a question. A wrong answer costs a quarter of a right one, so guess only after eliminating options.
What the Curriculum Covers
The NMC curriculum (CBME 2024) gives Pathology 35 topics and 182 competencies, grouped as below. Each article lists the competency codes (PA) it covers.
Curriculum area | What you will study here |
General pathology | Cell injury and death, inflammation, repair, haemodynamics, neoplasia, immunity, amyloid, infections, genetics, nutrition |
Haematology | Anaemias, white-cell disorders, lymph nodes and spleen, bleeding disorders, transfusion |
Clinical pathology | Urine, body fluids, semen and organ-function panels |
Systemic pathology | GI tract, liver, lung, heart, kidney, genital tracts, breast, endocrine, bone, skin, nervous system, eye |
All 29 Articles in Reading Order
This article is number 0. Articles appear in the playlist in this order; "Live" ones are already published. Haematology and clinical pathology (9–16) are complete; next come the heaviest general chapters (neoplasia, immunopathology), then the rest of general and systemic pathology.
# | Article | CBME | Status |
0 | Read this first (this article) | all | Live |
1 | Cell injury, adaptation and cell death | PA1–2 | Live |
2 | Inflammation, repair and healing | PA3–4 | Live |
3 | Haemodynamic disorders | PA5 | Live |
4 | Neoplasia and cytology | PA6–7 | Live |
5 | Immunopathology and HIV/AIDS | PA8 | Live |
6 | Amyloidosis | PA9 | Live |
7 | Infections and infestations | PA10 | Live |
8 | Genetic, paediatric, environmental and nutritional | PA11–12 | Live |
9 | Haematology basics and microcytic anaemia | PA13–14 | Live |
10 | Macrocytic and aplastic anaemia | PA15, 17 | Live |
11 | Haemolytic anaemias | PA16 | Live |
12 | Leukaemias and myeloproliferative neoplasms | PA18 | Live |
13 | Lymph node, spleen, lymphomas, myeloma | PA19, 20.3 | Live |
14 | Haemostasis and bleeding disorders | PA20 | Live |
15 | Blood banking and transfusion | PA21 | Live |
16 | Clinical pathology | PA22 | Live |
17 | Gastrointestinal tract | PA23 | Live |
18 | Liver, gallbladder and pancreas | PA24 | Live |
19 | Respiratory system | PA25 | Live |
20 | Cardiovascular system | PA26 | Live |
21 | Kidney I: renal failure and glomerular disease | PA27 | Live |
22 | Kidney II: tubules, cysts, stones, tumours | PA27 | Live |
23 | Male genital tract | PA28 | Live |
24 | Female genital tract | PA29 | Live |
25 | Breast | PA30 | Live |
26 | Endocrine system | PA31 | Live |
27 | Bone and soft tissue | PA32 | Live |
28 | Skin, nervous system and eye | PA33–35 | Live |
Most-Tested Themes and Where to Find Them
NBEMS publishes no question papers, so there is no official topic breakdown. Recall-based reviews of recent papers keep naming the same themes; use them to decide what to revise first.
Theme named most often | Article(s) |
Neoplasia: tumour markers, oncogenes and translocations, paraneoplastic syndromes, carcinogens | 4 |
Haematology: anaemias, leukaemias, lymphomas, bleeding disorders, transfusion | 9–15 |
Immunopathology: hypersensitivity types, HLA links, SLE antibodies | 5 |
Cell injury, apoptosis and necrosis; inflammation and granulomas | 1, 2 |
Renal: nephritic vs nephrotic syndrome, urinary casts | 16, 21 |
Genetic and paediatric disorders, storage diseases | 8 |
Organ tumours: liver, kidney, brain | 18, 22, 28 |
Heart: infarct dating, endocarditis types, cardiac tumours, congenital lesions | 20 |
How You Will Be Asked
Question style | Example | How to prepare |
Smear or lab picture | Microcytic cells with a raised red-cell count | Learn the panel that separates look-alikes |
Mechanism | Which protein is lost in this disorder? | Link each disease to its one key defect |
Clinical vignette | Patient with symptoms, signs and tests | Read the stem for the decisive clue |
Indian context | Screening or programme rule | Learn ICMR and national programme steps |
How to Use This Playlist
Read the article, then try Test Yourself. Questions are original and in the exam's style; they are not past papers.
Use Flashcards daily and the Memory Hooks for lists.
Each article has a diagram that puts look-alike conditions side by side.
How we check facts: every claim is checked against a named reference listed under Sources: the MSD Manual Professional Edition, US National Cancer Institute summaries, WHO documents, and Indian guidance (ICMR Standard Treatment Workflows and national programmes). Every practice question's answer is matched to a sentence in those sources. We do not reuse textbook or coaching text. A doctor has not yet reviewed these articles. If you spot an error, please tell us.
Sources
Facts in this article were checked against these documents.
NEET-PG 2025 Information Bulletin — National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences, 2025 (link)
NEET PG 2026 exam pattern changed — number of questions reduced from 200 to 180 (quotes the 2026 bulletin) — Medical Dialogues, 2026 (link)
Competency Based Undergraduate Curriculum, Pathology (PA) — National Medical Commission, 2024