Anatomic Pathology

General Pathologic Anatomy

(a) Knowledge bases of modern Pathologic Anatomy and the role of the Pathologist in Clinical Medicine for the purpose of interpreting diagnostic reports
b) Clinical significance of the anatomic-pathologic report for planning therapeutic choices and clinical management of the patient (prognostic and predictive factors)
(c) General principles of normal human anatomy, histology, cytology, physiology, general pathology and pathophysiology, medical genetics, diagnostic finding, main investigative techniques and general concepts of grade, stage, differentiation, genomics of neoplasms, significance and types of diagnostic specimens, general principles of staging, staining and immunohistochemistry techniques, molecular pathology techniques, liquid biopsy, digital pathology, computational pathology
(d) In expounding the topics, keep the following outline in mind:
a. Definition of disease and its organ context
b. Relevance of the problem (hints of epidemiology)
c. Classification and natural history of the disease
d. Anatomic-clinical correlations, diagnostic procedure
e. Prognostic and predictive factors, evolution, complications, multidisciplinary approach
f. Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention
g. Personalization of therapy


Systematic Pathologic Anatomy

Cardiovascular system
Structural and functional organization of the heart and great vessels. Pathology of blood vessels: atherosclerosis, aneurysms, dissection, vasculitis.
Ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarction. Valvulopathies (including rheumatic fever and endocarditis). Cardiomyopathies (including myocarditis). General principles of congenital heart disease with segmental approach. Cardiac tumors.
Diseases of the pericardium (pericarditis and pericardial tumors).

Respiratory system, pleura and mediastinum.
Structural and functional organization of the lung. Acute, subacute and chronic lung damage (DAD, BOOP, obliterative bronchiolitis). Infectious pneumonias (hint). Noninfectious interstitial pneumonias (IPF/UIP, DIP, RBILD, NSIP). Diffuse infiltrative granulomatous pneumopathies. Obstructive pneumopathies (chronic bronchitis, asthma, emphysema, bronchiectasis, COPD/BPCO). Pneumoconioses and their consequences. Hypersensitivity pneumonias. Pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. Lung tumors (including pulmonary neuroendocrine neoplasms).
Structural and functional organization of the pleura. Classification of pleural effusions, pleurisy, pneumothorax. Relevance of asbestos. Tumors of the pleura.
Structural and functional organization of the mediastinum (subdivision by anatomical compartments and anatomo-clinical correlations). Mediastinal syndromes (respiratory, vascular, from altered indipence of mediastinal organs). Mediastinitis, mediastinal cysts, primary mediastinal tumors. Diagnostic techniques used in mediastinal pathology.

Urinary and male genital tract.
Structural and functional organization of the kidney, bladder and testis. Elemental lesions of the glomerulus. Glomerular diseases (glomerulonephritis and glomerulopathies). Interstitial and tubular diseases. Vascular diseases of the kidney (nephrosclerosis, hypertension). Obstructive and non-obstructive uropathy of the kidney and urinary tract.
Pediatric and adult renal tumors.
Urothelial and non-urothelial urinary tract tumors. Clinical presentation. Therapeutic approach.
Prostatitis and prostate tumors. Prostate biopsy.
Embryology of the testis, spermatogenesis and testicular tumors.

Endocrine system.
Structural and functional organization of the endocrine system (extracellular accumulation, intracellular accumulation of lipid precursors, intracytoplasmic accumulation of secretory granules). Normal neuroendocrine cells, neuroendocrine hyperplasia, and neuroendocrine neoplasms.
Thyroid pathology (thyroid nodule, thyroiditis, hyperplasia/goiter, follicular line tumors and medullary carcinoma).
Pathology of the pituitary gland (causes of hypo-hyperfunction and clinical effects, adeno-neurohypophysis tumors, hypophysitis).

Pathology of the adrenal (cortical and medullary pathology, neoplastic and non-neoplastic) and paraganglia (anatomo-functional classification, description of major forms of paraganglioma)
Pathology of the parathyroids (causes of hypo-hyperfunction and clinical effects, hyperplasia, adenoma and parathyroid carcinoma)
Neuroendocrine pathology of the gastroenteropancreatic district (classification, grade, diagnostic procedure, prognostic and predictive factors, prevention, personalization of therapy) Multiple endocrine neoplasms.

Digestive system
Structural and functional organization of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract. Esophageal pathology (heterotopias, diverticula, esophagitis). Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and Barrett's esophagus. Tumors of the esophagus.
Acute and chronic, infectious and noninfectious gastritis (stage and grade of gastritis). Epithelial (advanced and early) and nonepithelial gastric cancers.
Intestinal malabsorption syndromes. Gastro-intestinal stromal tumors (GISTs).
Chronic inflammatory bowel diseases: Crohn's disease, idiopathic ulcerative rectocolitis, and indeterminate colitis. Ischemic colitis, infectious colitis, microscopic colitis (lymphocytic and collagenous), pseudomembranous colitis, amoebic, tuberculous, CMV colitis, GVHD. Hyperplastic lesions of the intestine (inflammatory cloacogenic anorectal polyp, mucosal prolapse, solitary rectal ulcer syndrome). Diverticular disease of the large intestine and its complications. Small and large bowel cancers (intestinal polyps, cancerous adenoma, colorectal carcinoma, progression patterns, colo-rectal carcinoma screening, significance of microsatellite instability, heredo-familial intestinal polyposis).
Structural and functional organization of the liver. Acute and chronic hepatitis. Liver cirrhosis, portal hypertension, portal vein collateral circles (detailed anatomical knowledge required). Liver tumors (primary and secondary).
Structural and functional organization of the pancreas. Acute and chronic pancreatitis. Tumors of the exocrine pancreas.

Hemolymphopoietic system.
Structural and functional organization of the bone marrow and primary and secondary lymphatic organs. Lymphadenitis and lymphadenopathies (hint). Neoplastic pathology of lymphatic tissue (Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas). Bone marrow pathology (myeloid and lymphoid). Osteomedial biopsy.

Breast
Structural and functional organization of the breast. Benign breast lesions (fibroadenoma, sclerosing adenosis, cysts, gynecomastia). Lesions of uncertain evolution (epithelial hyperplasia, columnar cell lesions, papilloma, scleroelastotic scar). Breast carcinoma. Breast carcinoma in the male. Biological characterization and molecular classification of breast carcinoma. Sentinel lymph node in breast carcinoma.

Female genital apparatus.
Structural and functional organization of the female genital apparatus. Hints of embryology of the female genital apparatus.
Pathology of the cervix (metaplasias, HPV-related pathology with patterns of HPV carcinogenesis, anatomic-clinical forms, cytologic diagnosis, PAP test as a screening test and molecular viral characterization in early diagnosis, concepts of CIN, L-SIL, H-SIL)
Pathology of the uterine body (endometrial changes during menstrual cycle, endometrial bleeding, endometriosis, adenomyosis, endometrial metaplasias and their significance, endometrial epithelial and stromal hyperplasia and tumors).
Tumors of the myometrium (leiomyoma, leiomyosarcoma, muscle tumors of uncertain behavior/STUMP)
Ovarian cysts. Benign, borderline and malignant ovarian tumors. The tuba as an origin of ovarian type tumors (disease patterns). Metastatic tumors to the ovary.

Preinvasive lesions.
Classification and terminology of preinvasive lesions. Role of preinvasive lesions as risk indicators or unobligate precursors of invasive neoplasms. Patterns of preinvasive lesions.

Integumentary system.
Structural and functional organization of the skin. Nevi and melanomas. Sentinel lymph node in melanoma. Prognostic factors of melanoma. Molecular alterations and therapy of melanoma. Dermatitis, dermatoses and bullous diseases (hint). Non-melanocytic tumors (hint).

Bone
Structural and functional organization of bone and soft tissue. Malformative/genetic abnormalities of bone. Metabolic pathology of bone (osteoporosis, osteomalacia, hyperparathyroidism changes, Paget's disease).
Bone tumors: classification criteria, grading, staging, and knowledge of major bone tumors.
Soft Tissues
Soft tissue tumors: classification criteria, grading, staging, and knowledge of major soft tissue tumors.

Head and neck pathology
Structural and functional organization of the head and neck. Nasopharyngeal and nasosinus region. Larynx. Oral cavity and oropharynx. Epithelial and nonepithelial tumors. Significance of HPV carcinogenesis. Salivary gland tumors and salivary type tumors in extrasalivary site (lung and breast).

Nervous system
Structural and functional organization of the central and peripheral nervous system. Concept of blood-liquid barrier. Cerebral vasculature. Cerebro-vascular diseases: hypoxia, ischemia, infarction and intracranial hemorrhage. Cerebral aneurysms. Meningocerebral phlogoses (hints). Hints on demyelinating, degenerative and storage diseases. Brain and meningeal tumors.