First Aid chapter deck
First Aid Pathology — Flashcards for the Chapter That Runs Through Everything
Pathology is the connective tissue of Step 1. Neoplasia principles, cell injury, inflammation, plus every organ-system chapter cross-references back here.
The First Aid pathology 'General Principles' chapter is roughly 40 pages covering cell injury and death, inflammation, wound healing, neoplasia, and paraneoplastic syndromes. But pathology as a subject spans every organ-system chapter — cardiology pathology, GI pathology, renal pathology, and so on. The general principles chapter is the framework; every organ chapter is the application.
Reading pathology once is not enough. The subject is fundamentally about pattern recognition — recognizing a histology, a clinical vignette, or a lab finding as one specific disease. That pattern recognition only develops through repeated exposure, and spaced repetition is the efficient version of repeated exposure.
Ellie turns the general principles chapter plus your organ-system Robbins reading into a unified pathology deck. Robbins Pathology is the reference textbook; First Aid is the review outline. Together they cover ~30% of Step 1 material.
General principles — the framework chapter
Card these subsections first because they underlie everything else:
- Cell injury reversible vs irreversible (features + timing)
- Necrosis types (coagulative, liquefactive, caseous, fat, fibrinoid, gangrenous) with characteristic locations
- Apoptosis intrinsic vs extrinsic pathway
- Acute vs chronic inflammation (cell types, mediators, resolution)
- Neoplasia — hallmarks of cancer, oncogenes vs tumor suppressors
- Tumor staging vs grading (TNM system)
- Paraneoplastic syndromes (Cushing, SIADH, hypercalcemia, myasthenic syndromes)
- Wound healing — primary vs secondary intention, phases
Organ-system pathology — card in parallel with each system
During M2, most schools rotate through organ systems. Card that system's pathology as you learn it. Cardiovascular pathology → arrhythmias, MI progression, cardiomyopathies, valvular diseases. Renal → glomerulonephritides (nephritic vs nephrotic), tubular diseases. GI → esophageal cancer subtypes, IBD comparison, hepatitis serologies.
Pathology mnemonics that stick
Some organ-system pathology facts have famous mnemonics that anchor entire subtopics: 'IgA nephropathy is Berger's (buds after infection)'; 'AGE causes Alzheimer's (β-amyloid via APP gene)'; 'FAP is APC, Lynch is MMR.' Card the mnemonics as-is; they're the highest-density pattern anchors.
How to review pathology decks
Pathology is the subject that most rewards long-term daily review. 30 minutes daily throughout M2, then 20 minutes daily during dedicated. The interconnection between systems means every card you review reinforces adjacent knowledge.
Frequently asked questions
First Aid pathology alone, or add Pathoma?
Add Pathoma. Sattar's Pathoma is a paired videos + book system that is the standard supplement for Step 1 pathology. Read First Aid → watch Pathoma → generate Ellie deck from both. Anking pathology tag already reflects Pathoma structure.
What about Robbins Basic vs Robbins Big?
Robbins Basic (the shorter one) is sufficient for Step 1. Robbins Big is reference-grade — used for pathology electives or if you're planning a pathology residency. Neither replaces First Aid + Pathoma for Step 1 review.
How much pathology is on Step 2?
Step 2 tests pathology as diagnostic reasoning rather than pure histology. Retention from Step 1 pathology is directly reusable for Step 2 CK. Ellie decks generated for Step 1 stay useful.
Is histology worth carding separately?
Only if your school heavily tests histology on internal exams. Step 1 shows histology images in ~10–15% of items, but recognition is often based on color/location patterns rather than deep anatomic knowledge. Card the classic patterns (Reed-Sternberg cells, Aschoff bodies, Homer Wright rosettes) as image cards.
How many cards for the pathology chapter?
General principles chapter: 200–300. Organ-system pathology (across all First Aid chapters): 1500–2500 additional cards. Pathology is the largest single subject.
Should I card Rapid Review too?
The Rapid Review section at the back of First Aid is high-yield one-liner associations. Yes — card them. They generate 100–200 fast cards that produce disproportionate exam yield.
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