NEET PG Rapid Revision
Pathology One-Liners for NEET PG: Rapid Revision
High-yield pathology one-liners for NEET PG covering general pathology, haematology, systemic pathology and histopathological markers.
MedNext Academy | 5 min read
Pathology One-Liners for NEET PG: Rapid Revision
High-yield pathology one-liners for NEET PG covering general pathology, haematology, systemic pathology and histopathological markers.
Pathology: rapid revision one-liners for NEET PG
Pathology is one of the highest-scoring subjects in NEET PG, with questions spanning general pathology, haematopathology, systemic pathology and clinical pathology. These one-liners cover the classic associations, histological features and diagnostic markers that appear most frequently.
Mastering pathology one-liners gives you a direct advantage because many questions are simply pattern-recognition -- match the histological description or tumour marker to the correct diagnosis.
Must-know one-liners
- Caseating granuloma is the hallmark of tuberculosis
- Non-caseating granuloma is characteristic of sarcoidosis
- Langhans giant cells (horseshoe-shaped nuclei) are seen in tuberculosis
- Touton giant cells are seen in xanthoma and xanthogranulomatous conditions
- Reed-Sternberg cells (owl-eye cells) are diagnostic of Hodgkin lymphoma
- Auer rods are seen in acute myeloid leukaemia (especially M3/APL)
- Philadelphia chromosome t(9;22) BCR-ABL is characteristic of chronic myeloid leukaemia
- Translocation t(14;18) involving BCL2 is characteristic of follicular lymphoma
- Translocation t(8;14) involving c-MYC is characteristic of Burkitt lymphoma
- Translocation t(15;17) PML-RARA is characteristic of acute promyelocytic leukaemia (M3); treated with ATRA
- Translocation t(11;22) is characteristic of Ewing sarcoma
- Starry-sky pattern on histology is seen in Burkitt lymphoma
- Birbeck granules (tennis racket-shaped on electron microscopy) are seen in Langerhans cell histiocytosis
- Call-Exner bodies are seen in granulosa cell tumour of the ovary
- Schiller-Duval bodies (glomeruloid structures) are seen in yolk sac tumour (endodermal sinus tumour)
- Psammoma bodies are seen in papillary thyroid carcinoma, meningioma, serous papillary cystadenocarcinoma of ovary and mesothelioma
- Orphan Annie eye nuclei are characteristic of papillary thyroid carcinoma
- Homer-Wright rosettes are seen in neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma
- Flexner-Wintersteiner rosettes are seen in retinoblastoma
- Verocay bodies (palisading pattern) are seen in schwannoma
- Antoni A (cellular) and Antoni B (loose, myxoid) patterns are seen in schwannoma
- Koilocytes (perinuclear clearing with nuclear atypia) indicate HPV infection
- Mallory-Denk bodies (damaged intermediate filaments/cytokeratin) are seen in alcoholic hepatitis
- Councilman bodies (apoptotic hepatocytes) are seen in yellow fever and viral hepatitis
- Aschoff bodies and Anitschkow cells (caterpillar cells) are seen in rheumatic carditis
- Lines of Zahn differentiate ante-mortem thrombus from post-mortem clot
- Amyloid stains with Congo red and shows apple-green birefringence under polarised light
- AA amyloid is seen in secondary amyloidosis (chronic inflammation); AL amyloid is seen in primary amyloidosis (plasma cell dyscrasias)
- Fat embolism syndrome classically presents with the triad of respiratory distress, petechiae and neurological symptoms after long bone fracture
- The most common cause of pulmonary embolism is deep vein thrombosis of the lower limbs
- Virchow triad for thrombosis: endothelial injury, stasis and hypercoagulability
- Tumour markers: AFP (hepatocellular carcinoma, yolk sac tumour), CEA (colorectal carcinoma), CA-125 (ovarian epithelial tumour), CA 19-9 (pancreatic carcinoma), PSA (prostate carcinoma)
- HER2/neu (c-erbB2) overexpression is seen in aggressive breast carcinoma; treated with trastuzumab
- BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations increase risk of breast and ovarian carcinoma
- Li-Fraumeni syndrome is caused by germline p53 mutation; predisposes to multiple cancers at young age
- Xeroderma pigmentosum is caused by defective nucleotide excision repair; increases risk of skin cancers
- The most common benign tumour overall is lipoma (some sources cite haemangioma)
- The most common primary malignant bone tumour is osteosarcoma (in young adults) and multiple myeloma (in older adults)
- Osteosarcoma is associated with Codman triangle and sunburst pattern on X-ray
- Ewing sarcoma shows onion-skin periosteal reaction on X-ray
- The most common site of metastasis to bone is the vertebral column
- Teratoma is the most common mediastinal germ cell tumour and the most common ovarian tumour in young women
- Krukenberg tumour is metastatic signet-ring cell carcinoma to the ovary, usually from the stomach
- Trousseau sign (migratory thrombophlebitis) is a paraneoplastic syndrome associated with pancreatic carcinoma
- Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome is a paraneoplastic syndrome associated with small cell lung carcinoma
- SIADH and ectopic ACTH are paraneoplastic syndromes commonly associated with small cell lung carcinoma
- Hypercalcaemia due to PTHrP secretion is a paraneoplastic syndrome associated with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung
- Iron deficiency anaemia shows microcytic hypochromic picture with low serum ferritin, low serum iron, high TIBC
- Megaloblastic anaemia shows macrocytic anaemia with hypersegmented neutrophils
- Target cells are seen in thalassaemia, iron deficiency, liver disease and haemoglobin C disease
- Sickle cells (drepanocytes) are seen in sickle cell disease; HbS confirmed by metabisulphite test or haemoglobin electrophoresis
- Howell-Jolly bodies (nuclear remnants) are seen after splenectomy and in functional asplenia
- Heinz bodies (denatured haemoglobin) are seen in G6PD deficiency and unstable haemoglobins
- Spherocytes are seen in hereditary spherocytosis (positive osmotic fragility test) and autoimmune haemolytic anaemia
- DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation) shows prolonged PT, aPTT, low fibrinogen, elevated D-dimer and schistocytes on smear
- Bernard-Soulier syndrome is a platelet adhesion defect due to deficiency of GPIb; large platelets
- Glanzmann thrombasthenia is a platelet aggregation defect due to deficiency of GPIIb/IIIa
- Von Willebrand disease is the most common inherited bleeding disorder; type 1 is the most common type
- CML (chronic myeloid leukaemia) characteristically shows a markedly elevated leucocyte count with basophilia and low LAP score
How to use these one-liners
Pathology one-liners are best used as a pattern-recognition drill. Read the histological description and try to name the diagnosis before reading the answer. Then reverse the process -- read the diagnosis and recall the histological feature.
Group related facts together (all rosettes, all giant cells, all translocations) and test yourself on the distinguishing features between similar-looking entities.
Key mnemonics
Psammoma bodies -- PaMMa: Papillary thyroid ca, Meningioma, Mesothelioma, papillary serous cystadenocarcinoma.
Auer rods = AML (both start with A).
Virchow triad: SHE (Stasis, Hypercoagulability, Endothelial injury).
Revision schedule
Revise pathology one-liners every 2-3 days, alternating between general pathology and systemic pathology. Haematology and tumour markers deserve an extra session each week. In the final 10 days, aim for a complete daily run-through -- pathology has one of the highest returns on last-minute revision.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many pathology questions appear in NEET PG?
Pathology typically contributes 15-20 questions, making it one of the highest-yield subjects. General pathology, haematology and tumour markers are consistently the most tested areas.
Which histological features are most commonly asked?
Granulomas, rosettes, giant cells, inclusion bodies and psammoma bodies appear very frequently. Know the specific type of each feature and its associated disease.
Should I focus on gross or histopathology?
Histopathology is far more commonly tested. Focus on microscopic descriptions, special stains and immunohistochemistry markers. Gross features are occasionally asked for solid organ tumours.
How do I keep translocations and tumour markers straight?
Create a simple table with the translocation, the gene involved and the tumour. Review it daily. There are only about 10-12 translocations that are commonly tested, so it is a manageable list.
Inside MedNext for this topic
- 411 MedNext-authored chapters
- 80,000+ MCQ bank
- 15 study modes
- Growing visual cheat sheets
Study modes
- Notes
- MCQ
- Audio
- Video
- Visual
- 3D Anatomy
- Trace
- Flashcards
- Mnemonics
- Image Bank
- Clinical
- Microscopy
- Audio QBank
- Cadaver
- Book Match
Continue reading
NEET PG StrategyHow to Prepare Pathology
Study strategy, time allocation and high-yield topics.
NEET PG PYQPathology PYQ Analysis
Previous year question trends and patterns.
Subject HubPathology Hub
All Pathology resources in one place.
Test your Pathology revision
You have read the one-liners. Now test whether they stuck -- a quick recall quiz on this subject takes five minutes and shows what needs another pass.
Test this revision

