University of Maryland School of Medicine - Terrae Mariae Medicus (Baltimore, MD)

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PATHOLOGY ROBERT SCHULTZ, M.D. Head, Department of Pathology Nothing engenders more fear into the hearts of medical students than the rumors which circulate about sophomore Pathology. Not only is the student expected to recall the complexities of gross and microscopic anatomy but he is required to recognize this same anatomy in all the forms to which dis- ease can transform it. It is just as well that the rumors circulate, because the quantity of knowledge present in the course is staggering. There can be no adequate estimate of the hours the student puts in preparing for the frequent exams and “bucket cases.” Slowly, the department works its process of teaching students to recognize the subtle dif- ferences in tissue when affected by various diseases. Building upon this basis of anatomi- cal pathology, the student is introduced to sub-microscopic lesions and genetic abnor- malities. The student mysteriously begins to re-think physiology, biochemistry, and anato- my, often reaching the conclusion that it would have been better to learn it the first time. By the time the course is over, the stu- dent has increased his vocabulary with 1000 new words, has laid the foundation for his clinical years, and has prepared himself to continue the rumors about sophomore Pathol- ogy. 22