FCPS Part 1 Paper 2 for Diagnostic Radiology: what to study

How Paper 2 differs from Paper 1

Paper 1 is the same for every FCPS Part 1 candidate. Paper 2 is specific to your specialty. For Diagnostic Radiology, the CPSP curriculum describes Paper 2 as specialty-related basic medical sciences, divided into anatomy, physiology and pathology. The anatomy section is the longest by far, and includes embryology, the lymphatic system and cross-sectional anatomy region by region.

There is no pharmacology, biochemistry or imaging physics in the Radiology Paper 2 syllabus. Over 3,000 recalls from Radiology candidates show that questions are mostly plain applied basic science, such as which nodes drain the prostate or which artery a ruptured berry aneurysm usually involves. Very few describe a scan.

Anatomy: the core of the paper

Head, neck and brain

• Skull, facial bones, mandible and teeth; foramina of the skull base.
• Nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, orbit, oral cavity, salivary glands, pharynx and its spaces, larynx, thyroid and parathyroids, neck vessels, ear.
• Cerebral hemispheres, white matter, basal ganglia, thalamus, pituitary, limbic lobe, brainstem and cerebellum.
• Ventricles, cisterns and CSF flow; meninges; arterial supply and venous drainage of the brain.

Spine

Vertebral column, joints, ligaments and discs, the spinal cord and its meninges, and the blood supply of both.

Thorax

• Thoracic cage, diaphragm and pleura.
• Trachea, bronchi, lobes, segments and fissures.
• The mediastinum on the chest radiograph: its divisions, lines and contents.
• Heart and great vessels, oesophagus, thoracic duct, thymus, azygos system and mediastinal nerves.
• Cross-sectional anatomy at the key levels.

Abdomen and pelvis

• Anterior abdominal wall and peritoneal spaces, where fluid and abscesses collect.
• Stomach to rectum, liver segments, biliary tree, pancreas and spleen.
• Portal venous system, aorta, IVC and posterior abdominal wall veins.
• Kidneys, ureters and adrenals.
• Bony pelvis and pelvic floor, lower urinary tract, and the male and female reproductive organs.
• Cross-sectional anatomy of the upper abdomen and pelvis.

Limbs and breast

Bones, joints, muscles and vessels of the upper and lower limbs; breast anatomy, age changes and lymph drainage; lymph node groups by region.

Embryology

Germ layers, neural crest and neural tube; pharyngeal arches and the face and neck; development of the heart, lungs, gut and urogenital system; limb and skeletal development and common congenital anomalies.

Physiology

• Nervous system and special senses: smell, taste, vision, hearing and balance, the autonomic system, speech, and motor and sensory pathways.
• Endocrine and reproduction: hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal, bone physiology, reproductive physiology, and diabetes.
• GI and liver: regulation, motility and liver function.
• Cardiovascular, respiratory and renal: the heart as a pump, blood flow, lung mechanics, gas transport, renal function and fluid balance.

Pathology

• General pathology: cell injury, inflammation, neoplasia and genetics.
• Infection, immunity and blood: hypersensitivity, autoimmunity, anaemia and polycythaemia.
• Lungs: obstructive and restrictive disease, tumours, infection and pulmonary vascular disease.
• Heart and vessels: haemostasis and thrombosis, arterial and venous disease, coronary, valvular and congenital heart disease, heart failure.
• Brain: stroke, haemorrhage, CSF disorders and cerebral oedema; movement and demyelinating disease; seizures.
• Musculoskeletal: fractures and dislocations, arthritis and metabolic bone disease.
• Endocrine, abdominal, renal and reproductive disorders.
• Injury: biological, chemical, radiation and nuclear injury to the body.

A suggested order

1. Thorax first. Thoracic anatomy, including the mediastinum and the chest radiograph, is high-yield and comes up often.
2. Brain and spine, with the vascular territories and CSF spaces.
3. Abdomen and pelvis, including peritoneal spaces and cross-sectional levels.
4. Head and neck, region by region.
5. Pathology by system, read alongside the anatomy of that system.
6. Physiology last, focusing on the systems listed.

How the questions are asked

Despite the name, Radiology Paper 2 is mostly a basic science paper. Expect short applied questions and brief clinical scenarios: a nerve injured in a fracture, the lymph drainage of an organ, the artery behind a stroke, the pathology behind a biopsy finding. A minority are framed around imaging, mostly anatomy: which structure forms a border on the chest radiograph, or what lies at a given level on a cross-section. Learn relations and levels well, and an atlas of cross-sectional anatomy beside your anatomy textbook will cover those.

Where FCPS-1 Prep fits

The [FCPS-1 Prep question bank](/fcps/?bank=rad) has a Diagnostic Radiology Paper 2 set alongside the shared Paper 1, mapped to the official CPSP curriculum and checked against over 3,000 Radiology recalls, written in the plain applied style the exam uses. Every option is explained and every question links to a full topic review. Try sample Radiology Paper 2 questions, or read how we write the questions.

Read next: FCPS Part 1 complete guide · Neuroanatomy high-yield · Head and neck anatomy

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