The department is primarily involved in undergraduate teaching of MBBS, BDS, BPT and BSc Nursing. Pathology department provides diagnostic services in Histopathology, Cytopathology, Haematology and Clinical Pathology, catering to patients of KMC Hospital, Government Wenlock Hospital and Lady Goshen Hospital, and other hospitals in and around Mangalore.

The KMC Hospital Blood Bank is also managed by the faculty of pathology department. It also imparts postgraduate training in MD Pathology, Diploma in Clinical Pathology, and Pathology lecture classes for MDS students.

The Department of Pathology caters to diagnostic and blood banking services to substantial population of Coastal Karnataka. Cytology and Haematology Labs are NABL accredited. The Blood Bank is NABH accredited. Haematology and Clinical Pathology laboratory, and Blood Bank provide 24x7 services. As part of private-public partnership, the department also provides diagnostic services to Government Wenlock and Lady Goshen Hospitals.

Histopathology division has state of the art facilities for grossing, tissue processing, embedding, microtomy, frozen sections and immunohistochemistry, and interpretation by a team of skilled pathologists. A recently established specialized Neuromuscular Laboratory is involved in processing and reporting of muscle biopsies, using enzyme histochemistry and immunohistochemistry. Immunofluorescence facility for skin and renal biopsies is being established currently.

The undergraduate training for MBBS, BPT and BSc Nursing comprise of didactic lectures, group discussions and practical objective structured demonstrations.  The postgraduate training for MD and DCP trainees involves subject seminars, gross seminars, slide seminars, journal clubs, clinicopathologic case discussions as well as rotatory postings to the various sections of pathology. The postgraduate students and faculty regularly represent the department at the national and international level conferences, CMEs and workshops.

Gold Medal for Best Outgoing MD Pathology postgraduate is awarded every year. The department conducts G.D.Veliath Memorial Prize Pathology Exam for 5^th semester MBBS students of KMC Mangalore and Manipal colleges every year.

Key Features

• Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching
• NABL accredited Cytology and Haematology Labs
• NABH accredited largest Blood Bank in Coastal Karnataka
• Histopathology division catering to surgical pathology
• Immunohistochemistry
• Neuropathology
• Research work in the form of postgraduate dissertation, Manipal Academy of Higher Education funded staff and student projects, and ICMR student projects
• Publications in national and international peer-reviewed, indexed journals
• Regular participation and conduct of conferences, CMEs and workshops

About the Area of Study

Pathology is a branch of medicine which deals with etiopathogenesis of disease and its diagnosis. These diseases can be non-neoplastic and neoplastic. The non-neoplastic diseases are inflammatory, reactive, infective, genetic and congenital anomalies. The neoplastic diseases include benign and malignant tumours.

The knowledge of risk factors, epidemiology and etiopathogenesis of diseases is necessary for proper diagnosis and treatment. The laboratory diagnosis of the disease conditions is based on examination of blood and bone marrow, and tissue by cytological and histological methods. Hence, the three broad sub-categories of pathology are hematopathology, cytopathology and histopathology.

Overview of Department Facilities

• Total number of laboratories in the department: 8
• Total number of lecture halls / demonstration rooms in the department: 1
• Total number of libraries in the department: 1

Overview of research, expertise and excellence

• Total number of past research projects conducted: 59
• Total number of ongoing research projects: 11
• Total number of planned research projects: 5
• Total number of Journal publications (2003-2013): 165 

Overview of student awards

• 1st Prize, Undergraduate Quiz – KCIAPM, Bangalore Medical College, Bangalore 2013
• 1st and 2nd Prize in Poster Presentation in, Haematology CME – RBC Disorders, KMC Mangalore
• 1st Prize in Poster Presentation in, Neuropath CME, KMC Manipal
• 1st Prize in Pathology Quiz  in, SK unit of KCIAPM, Father Muller Medical College, Mangalore