HOW TO TEACH A PHYSICIAN-PATHOLOGIST? PATHOPHYSIOLOGY TRANSFORMS INTO SYSTEMS PATHOBIOLOGY SERVING AN INTRODUCTION INTO TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE

Pathophysiology as a science and curriculum discipline stands in front of the biggest challenge in its history. It extended farbeyond the limits of its historical name and embedded aspects of Pathochemistry, Immunopathology, Pathobiophysics and Pathoinformatics, intermingling with Translational Medicine. Similar process prevails in Anatomic Pathology, thus re-integrating sister branches of Pathology, earlier ramified. Teaching and learning of Pathophysiology should be modernized in accordance with the needs of nowadays, under the bias of its integrative role for Medicine, analogous to that of Systems Biology among non-medical Life Sciences. Current Pathophysiology grew into clinics (via laboratory and functional diagnostic tests, which are controlled clinical experiments). Thus, doctors involved in functional diagnosis medicine, clinical immunology and biochemistry services, are in fact clinical pathologists. Every diagnostician has to compose a conceptual model of disease in order to explain and combine data for comprehension of a case. But, such modeling is inherent to Pathophysiology; hence competence ofdiagnostician is based on it. Pathobiology is bridging scientific and clinical modes of reasoning and delivering the common good thesaurus for multiple branches of Medicine. The discrepancy between existing biological and medical education is criticized as a reason for retardation in competent staff supply for translational studies. The experience of multidisciplinary innovative teaching from St. Petersburg and Zagreb Universities is discussed in relation to needs in new educational programmes in Pathobiology, open both for students of biological and medical faculties