Pathophysiology: Missing link in Basic-Clinical Meshing in Medical Curriculum in India

Pathophysiology is a modern integrative biomedical science that is concerned with the mechanisms responsible for the initiation, development, and treatment of pathological processes in humans. Pathophysiology helps bridge the gap between teaching basic medical sciences and clinical medicine. To illustrate the integrative role of pathophysiology in the medical curriculum, an example of CHF is provided. Chinese and Eastern European countries were pioneers in the recognition of pathophysiology as an independent discipline. In Western Europe, USA and Canada, medical schools do not have independent departments of pathophysiology, though the importance of the discipline of pathophysiology in medical curriculum is well recognized. On the other hand, the subject of pathophysiology is totally neglected in Indian medical schools. In the regulations of MCI for undergraduate medical education or in undergraduate curriculum of AIIMS (New Delhi), one fails to find any mention of pathophysiology.