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In This Section
  • The GSSE syllabus
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  1. HOME
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  3. Generic Surgical Sciences Examination
  4. GSSE preparation
  5. Exam topics

Exam topics

Information about exam topics in the Generic Surgical Sciences Examination.

The disciplines

The three disciplines examined in the Generic Surgical Sciences Examination (GSSE) can be explored as topics.

Anatomy

The anatomy component comprises 80 questions in the topics:

Abdomen, CNS, developmental, head and neck, histology, lower limb, pelvis, thorax, upper limb.

 

Physiology

The physiology component comprises 60 questions in the topics:

Cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, metabolism and nutrition, neurophysiology, physiology of blood, respiratory, urinary tract.

 

Pathology

The pathology component comprises 65 questions in the topics:

Antibiotics, general pathology phenomena, immunology, infection, neoplasia, pathology of blood, pharmacology, statistics, tissue response to injury.

Planning your study

One way to plan your study is to develop a schedule based on the syllabus topics. Decide on the number of weeks you are going to study, then allocate a topic to each, for example:

  • Week 1 - Upper limb anatomy
  • Week 2 - Endocrine physiology
  • Week 3 - Pelvis anatomy

Listen to successful candidates

Listen to two successful candidates talking about how they studied for the exam.

"Generate a study plan well out from the exam..."

"You need to think about whether you want to study in disciplines…or  whether you'd prefer more on subjects…"

Back to GSSE preparation
  • The GSSE syllabus
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  • Types of questions
  • Standard symbols and units of measurement
  • Recommended reading
  • Online resources
  • Passing the GSSE
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