Most FMGE candidates make the same mistake: they open a textbook, pick a subject, and start studying without ever asking the one question that matters most. How many marks does this subject actually carry?
Quick answer
The FMGE 2026 syllabus splits 300 marks into 100 (pre and para-clinical) and 200 (clinical). The four highest-weightage subjects, Medicine (33), General Surgery (32), Obstetrics & Gynaecology (30) and Community Medicine (30), make up 125 marks, nearly half the paper. Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry add another 51 marks in the pre-clinical half.
The high-weightage subjects are not a secret. The official NBEMS FMGE 2026 information bulletin publishes the exact mark distribution for every subject, and once you see those numbers, the way you plan your preparation changes completely. This guide breaks down the full syllabus subject by subject, with the marks each one carries and the high-yield topics to focus on inside it. By the end, you will know exactly where to spend your time, and where not to.
Want to understand how the paper is structured first? Read our guide on the FMGE exam pattern 2026.
What is the FMGE 2026 syllabus based on, and who decides it?
The FMGE 2026 syllabus covers the subjects and knowledge areas in the Competency-Based Undergraduate Curriculum published by the National Medical Commission (NMC) for the MBBS course. In other words, if you studied MBBS, you have already covered this syllabus. The exam is not asking you to learn anything new; it is testing whether you remember and understood what you studied during your degree.
The syllabus is divided into two categories: pre and para-clinical subjects (100 of 300 marks) and clinical subjects (200 of 300 marks). That split matters more than most candidates realise, and we will come back to it throughout this guide. The official subject-wise mark distribution is published in the FMGE 2026 information bulletin.
Not sure what FMGE is or whether you need to take it? Start with our complete beginner's guide to FMGE.
FMGE 2026 pre and para-clinical syllabus: the high-weightage subjects
Pre and para-clinical subjects make up 100 of 300 marks. These are your foundational subjects from the first and second years of MBBS. Here is the exact breakdown from the official NBEMS bulletin.
| Subject | Marks |
|---|---|
| Anatomy | 17 |
| Physiology | 17 |
| Biochemistry | 17 |
| Pathology | 13 |
| Microbiology | 13 |
| Pharmacology | 13 |
| Forensic Medicine | 10 |
| Total | 100 |
Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry together make up 51 of the 100 pre-clinical marks. More than half from just three subjects. If your time is limited, these three are non-negotiable. Here is what to focus on inside each.
- Anatomy (17 marks): General anatomy and histology, neuroanatomy, embryology, upper and lower limb, thorax, abdomen, and head and neck. Questions tend to be clinically applied, so prioritise understanding over memorisation.
- Physiology (17 marks): Cardiovascular, respiratory, renal and neurophysiology, plus general and endocrine physiology. Know your normal values thoroughly.
- Biochemistry (17 marks): Carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism, enzymes, molecular biology, vitamins and minerals. Inborn errors of metabolism appear frequently and are high-yield.
- Pathology (13 marks): General pathology (cell injury, inflammation, neoplasia) and systemic pathology (cardiovascular, respiratory, renal). Haematology is consistently high-yield.
- Microbiology (13 marks): Bacteriology, virology, parasitology and immunology. Focus on medically important organisms and the diseases they cause.
- Pharmacology (13 marks): General pharmacology, autonomic and CNS drugs, antimicrobials and cardiovascular drugs. Mechanism of action, side effects and interactions are the common question types.
- Forensic Medicine (10 marks): Thanatology, wounds and their medico-legal significance, toxicology and medical jurisprudence. Often neglected, but among the most scoreable marks in this half.
FMGE 2026 clinical syllabus: where are the most marks?
Clinical subjects make up 200 of 300 marks, two-thirds of the entire paper. If you are not giving them significantly more time than pre-clinical subjects, you are not preparing correctly.
| Subject | Marks |
|---|---|
| Medicine | 33 |
| General Surgery | 32 |
| Obstetrics & Gynaecology | 30 |
| Community Medicine | 30 |
| Paediatrics | 15 |
| Ophthalmology | 15 |
| Otorhinolaryngology | 15 |
| Psychiatry | 5 |
| Dermatology & STD | 5 |
| Radiotherapy | 5 |
| Anaesthesiology | 5 |
| Orthopaedics | 5 |
| Radiodiagnosis | 5 |
| Total | 200 |
Medicine, General Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Community Medicine together make up 125 of 300 total marks. Nearly half the paper from four subjects. Get these right and you are more than halfway to your passing score before touching anything else.
Medicine and Allied: high-yield FMGE 2026 topics
Medicine carries 33 marks and sits alongside Psychiatry (5), Dermatology & STD (5) and Radiotherapy (5) in the Medicine and Allied group, 48 marks in total.
Medicine (33 marks): high-yield areas
- Cardiology: heart failure, ischaemic heart disease, hypertension, arrhythmias
- Respiratory: pneumonia, tuberculosis, COPD, asthma
- Neurology: stroke, meningitis, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease
- Gastroenterology: liver disease, IBD, peptic ulcer
- Endocrinology: diabetes, thyroid and adrenal disorders
- Rheumatology: connective tissue disorders, rheumatoid arthritis
The allied 5-mark subjects
- Psychiatry: schizophrenia, depression, anxiety disorders, substance use
- Dermatology: common skin infections, STDs, psoriasis, eczema
- Radiotherapy: largely principles-based and manageable with focused reading
Surgery and Allied: high-yield FMGE 2026 topics
General Surgery carries 32 marks and sits with Anaesthesiology (5), Orthopaedics (5) and Radiodiagnosis (5), 47 marks from the Surgery and Allied group.
General Surgery (32 marks): high-yield areas
- Principles of surgery and surgical anatomy
- Trauma and emergency surgery
- GI surgery: appendix, gallbladder, intestinal obstruction, hernias
- Breast and thyroid surgery
- Vascular surgery basics
The allied 5-mark subjects
- Anaesthesiology: pre-operative assessment, anaesthetic agents
- Orthopaedics: fractures, dislocations, bone tumours, infections
- Radiodiagnosis: imaging modalities and clinical indications
OBG and Community Medicine: 60 marks you cannot ignore
Obstetrics & Gynaecology carries 30 marks and Community Medicine carries 30, a combined 60 marks, or 20% of the entire paper. You cannot be weak in either.
OBG: high-yield topics
- Normal labour, delivery and its stages
- Obstetric complications: pre-eclampsia, APH, PPH, ectopic pregnancy
- Gynaecology: PCOS, endometriosis, fibroid uterus
- Contraception and family planning
- Foetal monitoring and antenatal care
Community Medicine: high-yield topics
- Epidemiology and biostatistics
- National health programmes
- Communicable disease control and prevention
- Maternal and child health
- Nutrition, environmental and occupational health
- Healthcare system in India and primary healthcare
Community Medicine is one of the most scoreable subjects if you prepare it systematically. National health programmes and epidemiology repeat consistently across sessions, so do not leave this subject for last.
Paediatrics, Ophthalmology and ORL: the 15-mark subjects
Each of these three carries 15 marks, adding up to 45, enough to meaningfully push you above the 150 passing mark. Do not underestimate them.
Paediatrics
- Growth and development milestones
- Neonatal conditions: jaundice, sepsis, RDS
- Nutritional disorders: marasmus and kwashiorkor
- Childhood infections and the immunisation schedule
Ophthalmology
- Refractive errors and their management
- Glaucoma and cataract
- Conjunctivitis, uveitis and keratitis
- Retinal conditions and ocular emergencies
Otorhinolaryngology (ENT) high-yield topics
- Ear: otitis media, chronic suppurative otitis media, hearing loss.
- Nose: epistaxis, sinusitis, deviated nasal septum.
- Throat: tonsillitis, laryngeal conditions, foreign bodies.
How to use the syllabus to build your preparation strategy
Now that you know what each subject carries, turn that into a plan by dividing your subjects into three tiers.
Tier 1 · Study first
176 marksMedicine (33), General Surgery (32), Obstetrics & Gynaecology (30), Community Medicine (30), Anatomy (17), Physiology (17), Biochemistry (17). Your passing score lives here.
Tier 2 · Solid preparation
84 marksPaediatrics (15), Ophthalmology (15), Otorhinolaryngology (15), Pathology (13), Microbiology (13), Pharmacology (13).
Tier 3 · High-yield only
40 marksForensic Medicine (10) and the 5-mark subjects (Psychiatry, Dermatology, Radiotherapy, Anaesthesiology, Orthopaedics, Radiodiagnosis). Do not ignore them, but do not over-invest either.
- Do not spend equal time on every subject. The marks are not equal, so your preparation time should not be either.
- Build at least two full revision cycles. The first pass is learning; the second and third are where marks get locked in. Revision matters more than the first read.
- Track your mistake patterns while practising MCQs, and shore up those gaps before your next session.
For a structured timeline to cover all of this, see our guide: best FMGE study plan for 3 months, 6 months and 1 year.
With the full high-weightage breakdown in hand, you are not just another candidate with a stack of textbooks. You know where the marks are, which subjects to prioritise, and what to focus on inside each one.
Three things to take away: Medicine, Surgery, OBG and Community Medicine make up 125 marks, so they come first; Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry make up 51 marks in the pre-clinical half and are non-negotiable; and the three 15-mark subjects are too valuable to ignore. The syllabus is the same one you studied during MBBS, so now it is about revising strategically and showing up ready.
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