Browse topics
Immunology
31 notes, 95 questions and 274 flashcards.
Tier 1 is core knowledge expected of every trainee. Tier 2 is deeper or less common.
Dermatology
- Immune and inflammatory responses of the skinThe skin's innate barrier and resident immune cells, the Th1, Th2 and Th17 axes behind vitiligo, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis and the biologics that target each, hypersensitivity types in skin disease, desmoglein compensation in pemphigus, immunofluorescence patterns, and HLA-linked drug reactions.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Melanocyte biology and disorders of pigmentationHow melanocytes make and transfer melanin, the POMC and MC1R pathway that links ACTH to Addison pigmentation, tanning after UVA and UVB, why skin types differ, and how to reason through hypopigmentation, depigmentation and hyperpigmentation, including drug causes and the pharmacology of depigmenting agents.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
Endocrinology
Haematology
Immunology and allergy
- Antigen presentation, MHC and T-cell responsesFree sampleMHC class I and II pathways, the three signals for T-cell activation, CD4 helper subsets and CD8 cytotoxicity, and the drugs (calcineurin inhibitors, abatacept, checkpoint inhibitors) and HLA associations Paper 1 builds questions around, with a worked CD4 count and abacavir screening NNT.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 4 questions, 10 flashcards
- B cells, immunoglobulin classes and antibody responsesB-cell development, T-dependent and T-independent responses, class switching and affinity maturation, the properties of each immunoglobulin class, IgG half-life and FcRn, and how these explain serology, vaccine responses, antibody deficiency, immunoglobulin replacement and B-cell depletion.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Cytokines and cytokine signalling: IL-1, IL-6, TNF, interferons and JAK-STATWhat IL-1, IL-6, TNF, the interferons and the T-helper cytokines do, how their receptors signal (including JAK-STAT), and how each biologic or JAK inhibitor explains its own infection risks and lab effects.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- HLA system, tissue typing and crossmatchingHLA class I and II structure, expression and inheritance, sibling match probabilities, how sensitisation happens, and how HLA typing, single-antigen bead antibody testing, cPRA and the CDC, flow and virtual crossmatches decide solid organ and stem cell transplant compatibility.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Immune tolerance and mechanisms of autoimmunityCentral and peripheral tolerance (AIRE, negative selection, anergy, Tregs, CTLA-4, PD-1, Fas), the monogenic diseases that prove each step, how genes and environment break tolerance, checkpoint inhibitor toxicity, and how to interpret autoantibodies.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 10 flashcards
- Immunisation in the immunocompromised hostWhy immunosuppression makes live vaccines dangerous and non-live vaccines weaker, the Australian Immunisation Handbook levels of immunocompromise, timing around steroids, DMARDs, rituximab and transplant, and the current 21vPCV, Shingrix and HPV recommendations.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Innate immunity: barriers, pattern recognition and phagocytesBarriers, pattern recognition receptors (TLRs, NLRs, RIG-I, cGAS-STING), neutrophil killing and the NADPH oxidase, NK cells and the inflammasome, with the immunodeficiencies and drugs that Paper 1 uses to test them.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- The complement system: pathways, regulation and consequences of deficiencyClassical, lectin and alternative pathways, the regulators that stop complement attacking self, how to read C3, C4, CH50 and AH50, the diseases of deficiency and dysregulation, and how complement inhibitors work and what they cost in infection risk.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Type I hypersensitivity: IgE, mast cells and mediatorsSensitisation and elicitation in IgE-mediated allergy, what each mast cell mediator does, how to interpret tryptase, skin prick and specific IgE results, non-IgE mast cell activation, and how adrenaline, antihistamines, omalizumab and immunotherapy act.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Types II, III and IV hypersensitivityAntibody-mediated (type II), immune complex (type III) and T cell-mediated (type IV, with subtypes a to d) hypersensitivity, the diseases and drug reactions that illustrate each, complement patterns, and HLA-linked drug reactions.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Acute inflammation: vascular and cellular events and mediatorsThe vascular changes, neutrophil adhesion cascade and chemical mediators of acute inflammation, and how they explain exudates, leucocyte adhesion deficiency, steroid neutrophilia, NSAID-exacerbated asthma and ACE inhibitor angioedema.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- Chronic and granulomatous inflammationHow chronic inflammation differs from acute, how granulomas form and are maintained by IFN-gamma and TNF, the causes of granulomatous disease, and the clinical consequences examined in Paper 1, from hypercalcaemia in sarcoidosis to TB reactivation on anti-TNF therapy and AA amyloidosis.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- Lymphoid organs and spleen function, including aspleniaStructure and function of the thymus, lymph nodes, MALT and spleen, why loss of splenic function predisposes to overwhelming infection with encapsulated bacteria, the blood film of hyposplenism, and current Australian vaccine and antibiotic prevention.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Mechanisms of allograft rejectionDirect, indirect and semi-direct allorecognition, the three-signal model of T-cell activation and where each immunosuppressant acts, and the timing, mechanism and Banff biopsy features of hyperacute, T-cell-mediated, antibody-mediated and chronic rejection.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 10 flashcards
Infectious diseases
- Active immunisation: how vaccines generate protectionFree sampleHow live, inactivated, subunit, conjugate, toxoid and mRNA vaccines trigger immunity, T-dependent versus T-independent responses, primary and booster kinetics, adjuvants, correlates of protection, vaccine efficacy and herd immunity calculations.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Host defence against bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasitesWhich arm of immunity controls each class of organism, so that the infection a patient gets points to the defect they have, from asplenia and complement deficiency to CD4 lymphopenia, neutropenia and Th17 failure.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- Immunisation to prevent infection, including HPV, hepatitis B and other STIsHow vaccines prevent infection (neutralising antibody, conjugation, herd immunity), worked vaccine effectiveness and herd immunity calculations, and the STI vaccines used in Australia (HPV, hepatitis B, hepatitis A, mpox, and 4CMenB for gonorrhoea).Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Passive immunisation: hyperimmune globulins and monoclonal antibody prophylaxisHow transferred antibody protects, IgG half-life and FcRn, the hyperimmune globulins used in Australia (rabies, tetanus, hepatitis B, zoster, anti-D), nirsevimab, immunoglobulin replacement dosing, and how passive antibody interferes with serology and live vaccines.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
Medical oncology
- Haemopoietic stem cell transplant: principles, indications and complicationsAutologous versus allogeneic transplant, HLA matching and donor choice, conditioning intensity and the graft-versus-leukaemia effect, CD34 dose and engraftment numbers, the main indications, and the timeline of infections and non-infective complications from mucositis and SOS/VOD to CMV, GVHD and late effects.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 4 questions, 9 flashcards
- Tumour immune surveillance, immunoediting and immune evasionHow T cells and NK cells recognise tumours, the three phases of immunoediting, the escape mechanisms tumours use (antigen loss, HLA loss, PD-L1, suppressive cells), and how this explains checkpoint inhibitor response, resistance and cancer risk in immunosuppression.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
Respiratory and sleep medicine
- Type 2 airway inflammation: eosinophils, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 and biomarkersFree sampleHow epithelial alarmins, Th2 cells and ILC2s drive IgE, eosinophils, mucus and FeNO, what each biomarker measures, and how that biology maps onto the severe asthma biologics.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- Neutrophilic airway inflammation in COPD and bronchiectasisHow smoke, bacteria and impaired clearance drive neutrophil recruitment, protease excess and oxidative stress in COPD and bronchiectasis, why it resists corticosteroids, and how macrolides, alpha-1 antitrypsin and DPP-1 inhibition fit the mechanism.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
Rheumatology
- Acute phase response: CRP, ESR, ferritin and procalcitoninHow IL-6 drives the hepatic acute phase response, the kinetics and confounders of CRP, ESR, ferritin and procalcitonin, why they disagree in SLE, myeloma and on tocilizumab, and how to use them to monitor disease and guide antibiotics.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis: risk factors, synovial inflammation and joint destructionFrom shared epitope, smoking and citrullination through the preclinical autoantibody phase to pannus, RANKL-driven erosion and systemic effects, with the likelihood-ratio maths of RF and anti-CCP and how each biologic maps onto a step.Tier 1, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- Crystal-induced inflammation in gout and CPPD: the NLRP3 inflammasomeWhy urate crystallises (solubility, temperature, renal handling with a worked fractional excretion), how crystals trigger the NLRP3 inflammasome and IL-1 beta, why flares stop on their own, and how colchicine, IL-1 blockers and urate-lowering drugs act.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Enthesitis, HLA-B27 and the IL-23/IL-17 axis in spondyloarthritisWhy spondyloarthritis starts at the enthesis, what HLA-B27 does and what a positive test is worth (worked Bayes), how IL-23 and IL-17 drive skin, joint and new bone, and why IL-23 blockers fail in the spine while IL-17 blockers worsen Crohn disease.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Measuring disease activity in inflammatory rheumatic disease and treat-to-targetWhat CRP and ESR actually measure, how DAS28, CDAI, SDAI, ASDAS and LLDAS are built and read, a worked DAS28 calculation, and why IL-6 blockade and lupus break the usual rules.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards