Biochemistry for FMGE

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Overview

Biochemistry is a pre-clinical subject that many foreign medical graduates have not touched for years by the time they sit the FMGE. Its questions are short, factual and usually one-line, so well-organised revision pays off quickly. This page lists the high-yield biochemistry topics for the FMGE, a practical way to study them and a revision plan that fits a busy schedule.

Why this subject matters

Biochemistry rewards recall of specific facts: the rate-limiting enzyme, the vitamin cofactor, the inheritance pattern or the classic laboratory finding. The same facts also support clinical subjects, because metabolic disorders, vitamin deficiencies and hormone assays appear again in medicine, paediatrics and pathology.

The subject is compact compared with the clinical blocks, which makes it one of the more efficient places to secure marks. Candidates who treat it as a quick one-week skim often lose easy points to pathway details they could have fixed with a structured pass.

High-yield topics

Carbohydrate metabolism

  • Glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, gluconeogenesis and the HMP shunt, with their key enzymes and regulators.
  • Glycogen metabolism and glycogen storage disorders.
  • Diabetes-related biochemistry.

Lipid metabolism

  • Fatty acid oxidation and ketone bodies.
  • Cholesterol synthesis, lipoproteins and lipid biochemistry.

Amino acids, proteins and nitrogen metabolism

  • Amino acid classification, special products and the urea cycle.
  • Protein structure and collagen and elastin.
  • Inborn errors of metabolism and newborn screening.

Bioenergetics and oxidative stress

  • Oxidative phosphorylation and its inhibitors.
  • Free radicals and antioxidants.

Haem, haemoglobin and the liver

  • Haem synthesis and porphyrias.
  • Haemoglobin structure and function, and sickle haemoglobin.
  • Bilirubin metabolism and jaundice, liver function test interpretation and liver detoxification.

Vitamins and minerals

  • Fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins, their coenzyme roles and deficiency states.
  • Calcium and vitamin D, trace elements and other minerals.

Enzymes and clinical biochemistry

  • Enzyme kinetics and inhibition, and clinical enzymology.
  • Cardiac markers, tumour markers and renal biochemistry.
  • Acid-base balance, thyroid function tests and hormone biochemistry, including second messengers.

Molecular biology and genetics

  • DNA and RNA metabolism, protein synthesis, mutations and the genetic code.
  • Cell cycle and oncogenes.
  • PCR, recombinant DNA technology and other laboratory techniques.
  • Mitochondrial genetics, purine and pyrimidine metabolism, and lysosomal storage disorders.

Neurochemistry

  • Neurotransmitter biochemistry.

How to study this subject

  1. Begin with the metabolic pathways. Draw each one on a single page, mark the rate-limiting step and note the cofactors involved.
  2. Link every enzyme defect to its disease, its inheritance pattern and its key clinical or laboratory finding.
  3. Build compact tables for vitamins, minerals, lysosomal storage disorders and glycogen storage disorders, because they are tested as direct recall.
  4. Study molecular biology as a flow: replication, transcription, translation, then mutations and techniques.
  5. Practise image and lab-based questions, such as electrophoresis patterns, pathway diagrams and urine or blood findings.
  6. After each unit, attempt previous-year questions and note the exact reason behind every wrong answer.

Revision strategy

Keep a single set of one-page pathway sheets and summary tables, and revise from these rather than from the full textbook. Revise vitamins, enzymes and inborn errors on a short, repeating cycle, since they carry the most direct recall questions.

In the final weeks, spend a few minutes each day on rapid recall of rate-limiting enzymes, cofactors and disease associations. Use timed question sets to check that you can answer within the time the paper allows.

Preparation with PrepElephant

The PrepElephant app offers topic-wise practice questions for FMGE Biochemistry, previous-year-question-based tests and revision tools that bring your wrong answers back at spaced intervals. Our free topic pages on this website give concise, exam-ready answers on individual areas such as glycolysis, vitamins and the urea cycle.

Recently updated Biochemistry notes

  • Acid–Base Balance Acid–base balance for FMGE Biochemistry: ABG steps, Winter's formula, anion gap, MUDPILES, renal tubular acidosis and compensation rules in notes.
  • Amino Acids Amino acids for FMGE Biochemistry: essential and ketogenic classification, PKU, homocystinuria, Hartnup disease and cystinuria transport defects in notes.
  • Bilirubin and Jaundice Bilirubin and jaundice for FMGE Biochemistry: conjugation pathway, urine and stool patterns, Gilbert, Crigler-Najjar and kernicterus.
  • Biochemistry Laboratory Techniques Lab techniques for FMGE Biochemistry: spectrophotometry, HPLC, electrophoresis, ELISA formats, blots and enzyme inhibition kinetics.
  • Calcium and Vitamin D Metabolism Calcium and vitamin D for FMGE Biochemistry: fractions, corrected calcium, PTH-calcitriol actions and tetany versus hypercalcaemia.
  • Carbohydrate Metabolism Overview Carbohydrate metabolism for FMGE Biochemistry: digestion, SGLT1 and GLUT transporters, fed and fasting states, glucose cut-offs and the Cori cycle.

Study path: Biochemistry for FMGE

7 modules in a sensible teaching order. Begin with the Start here notes in each module, then work through the rest — or jump to the A–Z list.

  1. Cell, biomolecules & enzymes 5 notes

    Start here

    3 more in Cell, biomolecules & enzymes
  2. Carbohydrate metabolism 7 notes

    Start here

    4 more in Carbohydrate metabolism
  3. Lipid metabolism 4 notes

    Start here

    2 more in Lipid metabolism
  4. Proteins & amino acid metabolism 10 notes

    Start here

    7 more in Proteins & amino acid metabolism
  5. Nucleic acids & molecular biology 7 notes

    Start here

    4 more in Nucleic acids & molecular biology
  6. Vitamins, minerals & nutrition 3 notes

    Start here

    1 more in Vitamins, minerals & nutrition
  7. Clinical biochemistry 10 notes

    Start here

    7 more in Clinical biochemistry
  8. More topics 1 note

All Biochemistry topics for FMGE 47

Frequently asked questions

Is Biochemistry difficult for the FMGE?

Biochemistry is manageable because its questions are mostly direct and fact-based. The difficulty lies in remembering many small details, which a structured, table-based approach handles well.

How much time should I give Biochemistry for the FMGE?

Allot time in proportion to your starting strength and the size of the subject. A compact block of focused study followed by repeated short revisions usually works better than one long, single pass.

Should I memorise every metabolic pathway in full?

Focus on the pathway outline, the rate-limiting enzyme, the main regulators and the clinically important defects. Memorising every intermediate rarely helps and costs time you could spend on higher-yield facts.

Which topics should I not skip in Biochemistry?

Do not skip vitamins, enzymes, inborn errors of metabolism, molecular biology and the common laboratory techniques. These areas produce frequent, direct questions and also support clinical subjects.

How should I use previous-year questions for Biochemistry?

Solve them topic-wise after finishing each unit and note which concepts repeat. Then revise the weak areas from your own summary sheets before attempting mixed tests.

Practise this in the PrepElephant app

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