Unit Synopsis
Identification of the characteristic histopathological and cytopathological features of human organ systems and the hallmarks of pathological dysregulation of tissue organisation is fundamental to the work of the medical laboratory scientist. In this unit you will study normal and abnormal histopathological features of a range of tissues along with normal and abnormal cytopathological features of a range of cells. The relationship between cellular injury, immune response, tumour formation, infection and pathological dysregulation of tissue organisation will be explored in relation to clinical cases you may encounter. You will develop the knowledge and skills to perform microscopic examination of tissues and cells. Case studies will include new developments in immunohistochemistry and fluorescence imaging. You will be required to attend a compulsory residential school for development and assessment of your skill in histological and cytological techniques. The residential school may be scheduled outside of the term of offering of the unit.
Details
| Level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 9 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Prerequisites: Enrolment in Master of Laboratory Medicine. Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School |
Compulsory Residential School View Unit Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Poster Sessions | 25% |
| 2. Oral Examination | 25% |
| 3. Laboratory/Practical | 0% |
| 4. Examination | 50% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 82.35% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 26.77% response rate.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: SUTE and self reflction
Content heavy learning material.
Remove content related to molecular technique and move it to Anatomical Pathology 2.
Some movement of material, and restructuring the final examination to contain mostly material from weeks 6-12.
Source: SUTE
Tutorial format has been engaging
Maintain tutorial format.
Tutorial format maintained. Two staff members now actively engaging students at both Rockhampton and Melbourne campuses.
Source: SUTE and self reflection
Develop a study guide to aid with study
Develop a study guide to support student engagement and progress.
Ongoing.
Source: SUTE and self reflection
Rethink assessment structure
Consider changing assessment 2 (quizzes) to an invigilated approach.
In Progress
Source: Student verbal feedback
Students unsure how to approach the essay-type examination questions and the response expectations.
Consider restructuring the final examination and dedicate a tutorial on example essay questions.
In Progress
Source: SUTE, email and verbal feedback
Teaching staff were appreciated.
Consider retaining current selection of industry professional teaching staff for continuity and consistency.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Critique changes in anatomical pathology techniques and how they have improved diagnosis
- Apply professional knowledge of inflammatory processes and tissue responses to clinical contexts
- Demonstrate skills in histological and cytological techniques, including the process of sectioning, antigen retrieval and staining
- Apply professional knowledge of the neoplastic process, grading and staging of neoplasms and gene expression to clinical contexts
- Discuss the principles, mechanisms, requirements and the application of use for special stain procedures and specialised fixation techniques in histology and cytology.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Poster Sessions | • | ||||
| 2 - Oral Examination | • | • | • | ||
| 3 - Laboratory/Practical | • | ||||
| 4 - Examination | • | • | • | • | |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Communication | • | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | • | • | • | • | • |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | |