Italian

The student must possess knowledge of Embryology, Histology, Normal Human Anatomy, General Pathology and Medical and Surgical Pathology acquired through attendance to the aforementioned courses.

The course is organized into lectures during which macroscopic and histological images relating to the pathologies treated are projected and discussed. Part of an image acquisition technology with virtual slides is used. The Pathological Anatomy I form is delivered in the 2nd semester of the fourth year and the one of Pathological Anatomy II in the first semester of the fifth year.

The aim of the course is to provide the student with the means to acquire the knowledge necessary to interpret the morphological abnormalities induced in organs by diseases. To this end, after an introduction to the general techniques used in the discipline and to the indications for their use, the pathology of the organs and systems with regard to neoplastic, inflammatory and degenerative diseases is systematically addressed. An extensive iconographic documentation of macroscopic surgical samples and microscopic images is included in the lectures. In addition, digital slide projections are used that allow the student to understand the stages of the diagnostic process in Pathological Anatomy and to correlate them with the clinical problems included in the histological examination requests aimed at producing clinically relevant information.

The aim of the course is to provide the student with the means to acquire the knowledge necessary to interpret the morphological abnormalities induced in organs by diseases. To this end, after an introduction to the general techniques used in the discipline and to the indications for their use, the pathology of the organs and systems with regard to neoplastic, inflammatory and degenerative diseases is systematically addressed. An extensive iconographic documentation of macroscopic surgical samples and microscopic images is included in the lectures. In addition, digital slide projections are used that allow the student to understand the stages of the diagnostic process in Pathological Anatomy and to correlate them with the clinical problems included in the histological examination requests aimed at producing clinically relevant information.

The knowledge acquired will allow to improve the student’s ability to analyze and synthesize information and solve problems related to the approach to the diagnosis of diseases of different organs and systems that are the subject of clinical teaching through a unified vision of pathological processes.

• General approach to: diagnostic finding, histological diagnosis, diagnostic cytology, techniques and procedures in Pathological Anatomy.
• Pathology of the digestive system: etiopathogenesis, classification, macroscopic and microscopic appearance of: esophagitis, gastritis, malabsorption, enteritis, chronic inflammatory disease of the intestine. Anatomo-pathological classifications, criteria for staging and anatomical-clinical correlations of: preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon. Role of cytology and biopsy in the diagnosis of diseases of the digestive system.
• Pathology of liver, biliary tract and pancreas: etiopathogenesis, classification, macroscopic and microscopic appearance of: acute and chronic viral hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, sclerosing cholangitis, chronic pancreatitis. Anatomo-pathological classification, criteria for staging and anatomical-clinical correlations of: primary hepatic tumors, cholangiocarcinomas, extrahepatic biliary tract tumors, pancreatic carcinomas and neuroendocrine tumors. Role of cytology and biopsy in the diagnosis of diseases of the digestive system
• Endocrine pathology: etiopathogenesis, classification, macroscopic and microscopic appearance of: inflammatory pathology and hyperplastic of pituitary, thyroid, adrenal gland. Anatomo-pathological classification, staging criteria and anatomical-clinical correlations of pituitary, thyroid, adrenal and diffused endocrine neoplasms.
• Pulmonary pathology: etiopathogenesis, classification, macroscopic and microscopic appearance of: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Infectious pulmonary pathology. Interstitial pathology of the lung. Pulmonary tuberculosis. Pneumoconiosis. Anatomo-pathological classification, criteria for staging and anatomical-clinical correlations of lung and pleural neoplasia. Role of cytology and biopsy in the diagnosis of diseases of the digestive system.
• Pathology of the heart: etiopathogenesis, classification, macroscopic and microscopic appearance of: ischemic heart disease, cardiomyopathies, myocarditis and endocarditis. Anatomo-pathological classification of tumors of the heart.
• Pathology of the vessels: etiopathogenesis, classification, macroscopic and microscopic appearance of vasculitis.
• Breast pathology: Anatomo-pathological classification, criteria for staging and anatomical-clinical correlations of preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of the breast.
• Feto-placental pathology: etiopathogenesis, classification, macroscopic and microscopic appearance of placental pathology. General information on pathological fetal growth and anatomical-clinical correlations.
• Skin pathology: etiopathogenesis, classification, macroscopic and microscopic appearance of the main inflammatory diseases of the skin. Anatomo-pathological classification, criteria for staging and anatomical-clinical correlations of: non pigmented and pigmented neoplasms of the skin.
• Soft tissue pathology: Anatomo-pathological classification, staging criteria and anatomo-clinical correlations of soft tissue neoplasms.
• Pathology of the head-neck region: Anatomo-pathological classification, criteria for staging and anatomical-clinical correlations of neoplastic pathology of the oral cavity and salivary glands.
• General information on the pathology of bone and cartilage tissue

Learning is assessed through a written exam followed by an oral test. The written test consists of 5 open-ended questions on topics covered in the program. The time available is 60 minutes. Each question is assigned a maximum value of 6 points. The oral exam consists of a question on one of the topics of the program not included in the written exam. The student is admitted to the oral examination only if he/she has achieved a minimum score of 15 in the written test. The oral test is a required part of the exam and must be taken also when the maximum score in the written exam has been reached.

The questions in the written test are aimed at evaluating the general knowledge acquired, and are formulated in such a way that the student can provide a synthetic answer aimed at: 'describing', 'classifying', 'listing' the diseases related to the different topics. The oral question is aimed at exploring the student's ability to integrate simple mnemonic knowledge into the complex concepts necessary for the formulation of the diagnosis.

The score attributed to each written question derives from assessing the student's ability to: interpret the question by focusing the answer on what is specifically requested, select the information he/she considers relevant for the answer, express the information in a concise and complete manner. The score attributed to the oral exam takes into account the student's ability to integrate the program covered by the course with knowledge acquired as part of the student’s program of study, with particular emphasis on basic sciences, general pathology and internal medicine and general surgery.

The final score is determined as a combination of the score reached in the written test and of the evaluation of the performance in the oral examination. A maximum of 12 points can be attributed to the oral exam.

The final score is determined as a combination of the score reached in the written test and of the evaluation of the performance in the oral examination. A maximum of 12 points can be attributed to the oral exam.