Blood Module
Guide
Dated: 10 May-2025
BLOOD MODULE
GUIDE
INTRODUCTION:
The blood module is one of the most interesting modules you will meet in your
entire MBBS. Integration of all the subjects, clinical correlates, and more
conceptual topics make it fun to digest. By now, you must have an idea of how
Dow actually works, and which resources work best for you. For the most part,
stick to them, but don't be afraid to experiment and try others too.
DURATION:
The total span of this module is 8 weeks according to last year’s DUHS official
module guide.
Common Study Challenges & Solutions:
Not enough time to read books Pair alternative resources to cover the
most of the syllabus.
Forgetting things after learning Practice questions and active
recalling.
Too much content to revise Use books like First Aid to review the most
high yield of every subject.
Neglected subjects at the end of module Leave at least 2-3 weeks at
the end of module to cover the subjects other than pathology.
Overwhelming syllabus Utilise the overlapping between subjects.
Leave the same topics covered in another subject.
Diffuclty in understanding pathology Make sure you have understood
the normal physiology.
SUBJECTS
MAJORS MINORS
Physiology Embryology
Biochemistry Histology
Pathology Pharmacology
Immunology Microbiology
Community Medicine
Behavioral Sciences
The major subjects contribute more to the proportion of
questions in the modular and annual exams and are
tested in annual exam’s internal evaluation.
The minor subjects contribute less to the proportion of
questions in the modular and annual exams and are not
tested in annual exam’s internal evaluation.
Prioritize major subjects first, covering minor subjects
towards the end.
This module guide is based on D’29 Blood Module
syllabus; the syllabus can have minor changes this year, so
beware of them.
Keep yourself updated with what is being taught in the
lectures to be aware of what topics are omitted or added.
To have an idea of what topics to cover from the book,
keep an eye on the topics being taught in the lectures.
Learning objectives listed in DUHS official module guide
can also give an idea of what to cover.
If you are lacking in any of the coursebooks discussed
below, you can borrow them from Study Aid Project’s Book
Bank.
Physiology
Physiology of this module overlaps heavily with pathology. Covering
this subject first will make sure you will have a smooth journey while
covering pathology.
BOOKS
Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical
Physiology
The most comprehensive book of physiology and is also the one
recommended by professors. In this module, this is only
recommended book to be used for Physiology.
Chapters to be covered:
Chapter 33 (Red Blood Cells, Anemia, and Polycythemia)
Chapter 34 (Resistance of the Body to Infection: I. Leukocytes,
Granulocytes, the Monocyte-Macrophage System, and
Inflammation)
Chapter 35 (Resitance of the Body to Infection: II. Immunity and
Allergy)
Chapter 36 (Blood Types; Transfusion; Tissue and Organ
Transplantation)
Chapter 37 (Hemostasis and Blood Coagulation)
Physiology
REVIEW BOOKS
Review of Physiology by Firdaus
Another valuable resource, summarizing information from
Guyton in a concise format.
Chapters to be Covered:
Chapter 7 (Blood)
Pocket Companion to Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical
Physiology:
It condenses the information given in Guyton quite effectively,
though in doing so, it occasionally misses out some very
important details.
Review books are not recommended to be used as your
primary source for understanding any topic.
Physiology
IMPORTANT TOPICS
Theory:
WBC types and platelet functions
Hypersensitivity reactions
Anticoagulant mechanisms
Types of anemias
Blood grouping system
VIVA:
Hypersensitivity reactions
Blood transfusion and RH incompatibility
Erythroblastosis fetalis
Erythropoiesis and blood indices
Blood grouping system
Physiology
VIDEO RESOURCES
MBS Medilecture (A great resource for grasping the concepts directly from
Guyton. Also has a review series)
Medical Gateway (An alternative to MBS medilecture. His slides can also be
used to review the chapter.)
Ninja Nerd (Good for understanding specific topics. Connects everything
clinically.)
GENERAL TIPS
Covering inflammation and immune processes from physiology first will help you
alot in understanding the complex pathology of inflammation.
Use mneumonics from Firdaus to learn the lineages of the cell types during
erythropoiesis. It will help you in histology as well.
Do not skip the important clinical correlates given in the boxes of guyton.
Teachers frequently ask those in viva.
Revise teacher’s slides thoroughly. They often combine high-yield content from
multiple sources and reflect exam patterns.
EMBRYOLOGY
Embryology is a minor subject of this module. Give it a few hours
at the end days of module and you will be good to go.
It is recommended to go through slides for Embryology.
Review Books
Sharjeel’s Human Embryology.
Chapters to be covered:
Chapter 21 (Blood and Lymphatic System)
IMPORTANT TOPICS
Lineages of blood cells
Sites of erythropoeisis
VIDEO RESOURCES
Ninja Nerd (One of the best sources to Alila Medicine Media (Short, to-the-
learn embryology, concise, clear and point videos)
enough detiled. However, not
recommended in this module.)
Dr. Najeeb (Best source for learning
embryology.)
GENERAL TIPS
The content of embryology of this module is very small and is already covered through
physiology and histology.
The remaining bits can be covered through any Youtube video and slides.
Histology
Blood module histology is not too much although requires
dedicated time and attention as its a little trickier than other
modules.
BOOKS
Medical Histology (Text & Atlas) by Laiq
Junqueira’s Basic Histology Text & Atlas
Hussain
It is simple and concise, It is detailed and sometimes
covering all the important information sophisticated. Nevertheless, it has quite
you need to know. However, it lacks many pictures to aid understanding.
pictures. Chapters to be covered:
Chapters to be covered: Chapter 12 (Blood)
Chapter 9 (Blood) Chapter 13 (Hemopoiesis)
Chapter 14 (Immune System and Chapter 14 (The Immune System and
Lymphoid Organs) Lymphoid Organs)
Atlas
Wheater’s functional Histology Atlas.
Chapters to be covered:
Chapter 3 (Blood, hematopoiesis and bone marrow)
Chapter 11 (Immune System)
IMPORTANT TOPICS
Theory:
Primary and secondary lymphoid organs
Basic structural differences in lymphoid organs
Types of tonsils
Histological identification of types of tonsils and their points of identification
Histological identification of internal structure of spleen
Histology
VIVA:
Since the histology section in the blood module is very short and basic as well as Anatomy
being a relatively minor subject in this module, not much of it is tested during vivas.
VIDEO RESOURCES
Bootcamp (Concise videos for getting a general concept of the topic)
Osmosis (A great resource for visual learning)
GENERAL TIPS
Since a bulk of histology is rote memorisation, it is crucial to keep coming back to topics
like examples of Internal structures of spleen, tonsils, thymus e.t.c.
Making notes can make the process easier in this case. Discussing with your peers will also
help in retention.
Making Anki can help in this memorisation process but make sure to understand it before
using or it can get overwhelming really fast. Ask a senior or watch a video or two on how
to use anki.
Slide identification can be difficult during preparation of OSPE, take help with Atlas.
It is crucial to understand the necessary details in histology. To prevent wasting time on
unnecessary details, take a look at past papers to know the high yields.
It is easy to mix internal structure of different immune organs. Studying conceptually that
why each organ is the way it is, will help in retaining the most information about specific
organ.
Biochemistry
Biochemistry in this module is on par with physiology according to
extent of syllabus.
Do not neglect this subject as a lot of students are too focused
on pathology and regret picking this subject too late into
module.
BOOKS
Lippincott Illustrated Reviews Textbook of Medical Biochemistry by MN
Biochemistry Chatterjea
This book is considered the gold
standard for the subject. Its text is easy
This book is very detailed. However, it is
to comprehend, and it has excellent
not usually preferred, but you can look
diagrams to facilitate understanding.
into it to get more information.
Each chapter has wonderful flowcharts
at the end that make revision easier.
Chapters to be covered: Chapters to be covered:
Chapter 3 (Globular proteins) Chapter 7 (Plasma Proteins -
Chapter 8 (Introduction to Chemistry and Functions)
Metabolism and Glycolysis) Chapter 8 (Immunoglobulins –
Topics: 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate Chemistry and Functions)
synthesis, pyruvate kinase deficiency, Chapter 11 (Chemistry of
and lactic acidosis. Haemoglobin and
Chapter 21 (Amino acids; conversion Haemoglobinopathies)
to specialised products) Chapter 12 (Vitamins)
Topics: Overview, Porphyrin Metabolism Topics: Vitamins K, B12, B9, and B6
Chapter 28 (Micronutrients: Chapter 30 (Porphyrins and
Vitamins) Porphyrias)
Topics: Vitamin K, B12, B9, and B6 Topics: (Synthesis of Haem)
Chapter 29 (Micronutrients: Chapter 31 (Haem Catabolism)
Minerals) Chapter 34 (Metabolism of Minerals
Topics: Iron and Trace Elements)
Topics: Iron
Biochemistry
Review Book
Instant Biochemistry by Faiq Ahmed
It is a great review containing many points which are many times even
not present in the standard textbooks. Great for preparation for vivas
due to concise nature.
Chapters to be covered:
Chapter 7 (Vitamins) (Vitamin K, B6, B9, B12)
Chapter 14 (Blood, Porphyrins, Hemoglobin, and Myoglobin)
Chapter 17 (Mineral Metabolism) (Iron)
IMPORTANT TOPICS
Theory:
Vitamins (K, B6, B9, B12)
Iron metabolism
Porphyrias (with clinical features)
Heme biosynthesis and degradation
VIVA:
Porphyrias (with clinical features)
Plasma proteins & immunoglobulins
Jaundice
Vitamins (K, B6, B9, B12)
Biochemistry
VIDEO RESOURCES
Dirty Medicine (One of the most popular, high yield resources)
AK lectures (Playlist contains videos covering almost all the topics of this
module in an efficient way)
Biochemistry by [Link] (Covers every topic in detail. Sometimes more
than the scope of your module. Be mindful the information you are
spending your time on while watching his videos).
GENERAL TIPS
Steps of heme production can be difficult to memorise. Use sketchy biochem and pair
with anki for best retention.
Porphyrias due to different enzyme defficiencies do appear in exam, however the most
importat are the acute intermittent porphria and porphyria cutanea tarda.
The topic of plasma proteins is absent from lippincot. It can be done from [Link] video
on plasma proteins and slides.
Remeber different types of jaundice and their causes conceptually.
Even if you’re using just one main textbook, always consult your teacher’s lecture slides.
Some exam-relevant topics are compiled from multiple books, and slides often reflect
the exact material you’ll be tested on.
Pathology
The most important and lengthy subject of this module is
Pathology.
The amount of information is massive but interesting to study.
BOOKS
Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Diseases Fundamentals of Pathology by Husain A.
Sattar
This book is detailed but This book presents information in a
well-organized. It discusses each and concise manner. It is excellent for
every aspect of the abnormalities revising pathology, covering nearly all
discussed in this syllabus, like their the important topics. A crucial book to
causes, their pathogenesis, their follow that will help you in your theory
morphology, their clinical features, and and vivas, from modular to anuuals. It is
treatment. The charts given in this book important to supplement reading this
very well summarize the different book with Pathoma videos to gain
pathological conditions. Moreover, the further understanding of the book.
book is rich in images.
Chapters to be covered: Chapters to be covered:
Chapter 3 (Inflammation and Repair) Chapter 2 (Inflammation, Inflammatory
Chapter 4 (Hemodynamic Disorders, Disorders, and Wound Healing)
Thromboembolic Disease, and Shock) Chapter 3 (Principles of Neoplasia)
Chapter 5 (Genetic Disorders) Chapter 4 (Hemostasis and Related
Topic: Mendelian disorders Disorders)
Chapter 6 (Diseases of the Immune System) Chapter 5 (Red Blood Cell Disorders)
Topics: ‘The Normal Immune Response’ and
‘Hypersensitivity: Immunologically Mediated
Tissue Injury’. Cover Autoimmune Diseases
from slides
Chapter 7 (Neoplasia)
Topics: Nomenclature, Characteristics of
Benign and Malignant Neoplasms,
Epidemiology of Cancer, Carcinogenic Agents
and Their Cellular Interactions, and Grading
and Staging of Tumours.
Chapter 14 (Red blood cell and bleeding
disorders)
Pathology
Review Book
Pocket Companion to Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease
It is a great alternative to standard Basis if you are short on time. Out of
all the pocket companions, the basis takes the lead in being concise
while containing all the necessary information including every chart and
figure from the standard textbook. You can read this book instead of
basis if you are in a hurry or use it for revision.
IMPORTANT TOPICS
Theory:
Iron defficiency anemia
Megaloblastic anemia
Thalassemia
Sickle cell anemia
Inflammation and repair
Hemophillia
VIVA:
Inflammation and repair
Hypersensitivity reactions
Megaloblastic anemia
Pathology
VIDEO RESOURCES
Brainless Medicose (Short videos for Dr. Priyanka Sachdev (Unacademy
watching on the go) lectures) (Covers the content of Basis)
Medicosis Perfectionalis (Good for Dr. Divesh Mishra (Detailed
connecting the concepts, can be lecture with images)
overwhelming for new med students) Boards and Beyond (General
Pathoma (Must use resource Pathology contains lectures. Good for
complementing the Pathoma book) basic understanding of the topic)
GENERAL TIPS
It is not recommended to start your pathology with inflammation. First cover the basic
immunology and physiology to better understand the pathology of inflammation.
Diseases related to immunology given in Basis are overlapped with Levinson. Cover any
one resource of your choice for these diseases.
You can skip the process of normal hemostasis in Basis as you will cover it in physiology.
Chapter 5 of Basis, ‘Genetic Disorders’, is not heavily tested in the exams, so you can do
slides for it. However, questions can appear from this chapter, so do not take it lightly.
Neoplasia poses many problems to students. Firstly cover it entirely from Pathoma. Do
not skip the normal cell cycle. It can be done through any video resource. Cover the
related topics from Basis if you have time. Do not read the whole chapter. Must do the
past papers related to this chapter. Lastly cover the slides.
Before covering the chapter from Basis, it is recommended to learn Pathoma first. Basis
will fill out the gaps between the high yields given by Pathoma.
Since this module is heavily focused on pathology similiar to USMLE. Pairing the
resources of USMLE together (B&B, Pathoma, Anki, First Aid, Sketchy) can be used as an
alternative to the long books as well. However keep in mind that those resources cover
the topics for the purpose of review and will be missing some concept building details.
Immunology
Immunology is the toughest part of this module. Following
books and topics are what comprise the immunology as a
whole in this module.
BOOKS
Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Diseases
Chapters to be covered:
Chapter 6 (Diseases of the Immune System)
Topics: ‘The Normal Immune Response’ and
‘Hypersensitivity: Immunologically Mediated
Tissue Injury’. Cover Autoimmune Diseases
from slides
Chapter 3 (Inflammation and Repair)
Review of Medical Microbiology and Immunology by Warren Levinson: (GOLD STANDARD)
Chapters to be covered:
Part VII (Immunology)
Chapter 57- 68
Fundamentals of Pathology by Husain A. Sattar
Chapters to be covered:
Chapter 2 (Inflammation, Inflammatory
Disorders, and Wound Healing)
Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology
Chapters to be covered:
Chapter 34 (Resistance of the Body to
Infection: I. Leukocytes, Granulocytes, the
Monocyte-Macrophage System, and
Inflammation)
Chapter 35 (Resitance of the Body to
Infection: II. Immunity and Allergy)
Immunology
IMPORTANT TOPICS
Theory:
Classifications of Immunity (active vs passive & innate vs adaptive)
Cells of Innate and Adaptive immune system
Macrophages and Antigen Presenting Cells
T-Cell Development and Activation
T-Cell Regulation and Tolerance
Types of Antibodies and their Structurer & Function
Hypersensitivity Reactions and Autoimmune Diseases
VIVA:
Complement Activation
Macrophages and Antigen Presenting Cells
T-Cell Development and Activation
T-Cell Regulation and Tolerance
B-Cell Development and Activation
Major Histocompatibility Complex and Transplantation
Hypersensitivity Reactions and Autoimmune Diseases
VIDEO RESOURCES
Sketchy (A great resource for learning difficult facts, helpful in
memorisation)
Osmosis (A great resource for visual learning)
Ninja nerd (Connects everything clinically, gives great concepts)
Immunology
GENERAL TIPS
The recommended path to follow for immunology for best concept builind and
comprehension:
Guyton → Ninja Nerd(immunology series) → Osmosis(immunology series) → Levinson
→ Basis → Pathoma.
Osmosis is optional, you can use it for difficult parts of Levinson.
Basis is optional, most if its content is covered in Levinson in good detail.
Pathoma: Don’t memorize each type of lymphoma/disorders, stick to overall
calcification, most of the disease listed will not be tested.
Always go through slides
For memorising different chemical mediators released by WBCs, Different Clusters of
differentiation on each cell type, and other such difficult to memorise facts, concern
sketchy immunology.
Microbiology
In Blood module, the major portion of microbiology is the immunology section.
Comparatively, there is little about infectious agents, primarily about blood
protozoa.
In contrast to Foundation module, questions about both immunology and
malaria are commonly asked
BOOKS
Review of Medical Microbiology and Immunology by Warren Levinson:
It is the only book used for Microbiology by students and also the one recommended
by professors. It contains all the necessary information in digestable way with
summaries and pearls which make life way easier.
Chapters to be covered:
Chapter 13 (Sterilisation and Disinfection)
Chapter 52 (Blood and Tissue Protozoa)
Part VII (Immunology) Chapter 57-65
Review Book
Instant Microbiology
A good choice containing all the high yield information. The content here is taken
from different books.
Chapters to be covered:
Chapter 4 (Pathogenesis, Sterilisation and Disinfection) (Leave the pathogenesis part)
Chapter 31 (Blood and Tissue protozoa)
Section ‘H’ (Immunology) Chapter 41-49
Microbiology
IMPORTANT TOPICS
Theory:
Malaria (other parasites are less common but should be done as well)
Hypersensitivity and its types
T-cells and their types as well as types of T-helper cells
B-cells and different types of antibodies and their characteristics
MHC
VIVA:
Hypersensitivity and its types
Malaria
Sterilisation
VIDEO RESOURCES
Sketchy (Best resource for microbio, helpful in memorisation)
GENERAL TIPS
Given that the immunology section is quite long, it is better to cover it in the start. Given
that Levinson covers immunity in great detail, you will also have an easier time with this
topic in other subjects such as physiology.
If you have trouble covering all chapters in the immunology section, at least do Chapters
58, 59, 60, 61, and 65
For parasites, you can use the table at the start of the chapter. Make sure to focus on
malaria and different species of plasmodium since it is a commonly touched topic in
both viva and theory
A commonly used resource for microbiology is Sketchy. Its videos on malaria and other
microorganisms are great and highly recommended to watch.
Pharmacology
Just like in the previous module, it is also a minor subject in this module.
Slides are sufficient, but you can choose to use textbooks as well.
BOOKS
Katzung and Trevor’s Pharmacology Examination
Lippincott Illustrated Reviews: Pharmacology
and Board Review
Chapters to be covered: Chapters to be covered:
Chapter 21 (Anticoagulants and Chapter 33 (Agents Used in
Antiplatelet Agents) Cytopenias; Hematopoietic Growth
Chapter 35 (Anticancer Drugs) Factors)
Chapter 42 (Drugs for Anemia) Chapter 34 (Drugs Used in
Coagulation Disorders)
IMPORTANT TOPICS
Mechanism of action of warfarin
Mechanism of action of heparin
Drugs to reverse effects of other drugs.
VIDEO RESOURCES
Sketchy (Most popular resource for pharma. Must watch videos containing
all the necessary information visually)
Pixorize (Similiar to sketchy but shorter videos).
GENERAL TIPS
Sketchy Pharm. is a wonderful resource that can be used as substitute for reading
textbooks. The videos are decently lengthed and can be memorised easily. You can
also use anking deck on anki having pre-made cards of Sketchy.
Focus should be on knowing about types of anticoagulants, antiplatelets, and
fibrinolytic drugs. Examples of each type should also be memorized (at the very
least two examples should be remembered)
Community Medicine
It is a minor subject; there will be only a handful of lectures.
It can be covered by skimming through lecture slides only.
If you want to study in-depth, you can refer to the book.
BOOK
Public Health and Community Medicine by Shah, Ilyas, Ansari
Behavioural Sciences
It is another minor subject that can be covered by skimming through slides only.
For more details, you can have a look on the book.
BOOK
Handbook of Behavioral Sciences by Mowadat H. Rana, Roop Z. Rana, Mansoor Mustafa
Case Base Learning
Last year, there were 5 CBLs included in the course.
These are as follows: Iron Defficiency Anemia, Thalassemia, Bleeding Disorder,
Lymphadenopathy, Hypersensitivity Type 1.
CBLs correlate your theoretical knowledge with practical knowledge, so you
should have a strong grip over your theoretical knowledge.
Covering CBLs from slides would suffice.
If you have any queries, feel free to approach us via our email or social
media outlets.
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