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Dermatology is a short final-year subject, and PrepLadder estimates that about half of its NEET PG questions are image-based. Here is what recent toppers and students used for it, who teaches it on each platform in 2026, which topics analyses flag, and where it fits in final year, internship or a drop year.
Coaching estimates for 2026 put Dermatology at roughly 4 to 8 questions a paper. PW's July 2026 pattern page says 4–6, and after the 30 August 2026 exam, PW's analysis said 5–8 could be expected. Coaching institutes build these numbers from candidates' recall, so they vary by source and by year. In 2025, DBMCI's analysis found Dermatology lightly represented, and CollegeSearch rated its questions easy.
What sets Dermatology apart is how the questions look. PrepLadder's dermatology course page estimates that about half are image-based, and Marrow's review of the 2025 paper, quoted by Careers360, described “Image-based questions based on clinical scenarios”. PrepLadder's August 2026 guide to video-based MCQs also lists Dermatology among the subjects where educators expect short clips.
Dermatology is a final-year subject, but a good part of it arrives earlier under other names. Dermatophytes, Candida, leprosy and syphilis come up in Microbiology; immunofluorescence patterns and lichen planus histology in Pathology; leprosy regimens and immunosuppressants in Pharmacology. Learn these well the first time and final-year Dermatology becomes recognition practice rather than new reading.
Final year is when Dermatology is examined, inside Medicine Paper 2. In skin OPD postings, describe each lesion's site, morphology and pattern before you hear the diagnosis. For NEET PG, Dr Sanika Mahar (INI-CET AIR 155) covered the subject with Marrow's Rapid Revision plus BTR. Solve each chapter's Qbank questions on the day you finish it.
DigiNerve's plan for interns, built on 2–3 study hours a day, puts the short subjects in the fourth month alongside weekly mock tests. Its other advice suits Dermatology well: use real patients to memorise signs. In your internship's dermatology posting, match each case you see to its page in your notes that evening.
PrepLadder's guide to scoring 650+ gives its lower-priority group (Dermatology, Psychiatry, Orthopaedics, Anaesthesia, ENT and Ophthalmology) about 15% of total study time. Keep the first pass short and image-led. Dr Soumyaditya (INI-CET AIR 2, Nov 2024) revised his major subjects three times and his short subjects twice, keeping PYQs for the last two or three weeks.
In the 2025–26 student resource lists we read, Dermatology comes from rapid-revision material. Dr Sanika Mahar (INI-CET AIR 155) paired Marrow's Rapid Revision with BTR, Dr Zainab Vora's all-subject revision course, and a Marrow user's subject list posted under a YouTube resources video took every short subject from Rapid Revision.
For teachers, a 2020 subject-by-subject faculty guide by a GMC Miraj graduate named Dr Saurabh Jindal, Dr Malcolm Pinto and Dr Manish Soni; Dr Jindal and Dr Pinto teach Dermatology on 2026 courses (DBMCI One and Marrow). For a book, DigiNerve described Review of Dermatology by Saurabh Jindal as the best-selling Dermatology book for MBBS students.
Covered Dermatology with Marrow's Rapid Revision and BTR, and put her hours into revising them rather than adding resources.
Wrote that about 95% of Dermatology questions are image-based.
| Platform | Dermatology teacher | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Marrow | Dr Malcolm Pinto | Edition 8.5 “Clinical Edge” |
| PrepLadder | Dr Khushbu Mahajan | Version XI |
| Cerebellum | Dr Maddineni Srinivas | Mission 4.0 |
| DBMCI One | Dr Saurabh Jindal | Live ’27 |
| DocTutorials | Dr Pallavi | Edition 6 |
| PW MedEd | Dr Jazeer Abdul Khader | One Plan |
Rosters as listed on each platform's own 2026 course pages (read 2 Oct 2026). Teachers do change between editions, so check the course page before you buy.
Mixing platforms is common among toppers. One undated comparison blog suggests Marrow as a base with individual PrepLadder subjects added where they suit you, and names Dermatology and Psychiatry among the subjects it rates better on PrepLadder. Whatever you choose, keep Dermatology to one set of notes that you revise at least twice. The platform comparison sets out how the courses differ.
Read every image in the same order: where the lesion is, what it looks like, the pattern, then the clinical story in the stem. Oncourse's dermatology guide uses that sequence and lists the usual errors: over-analysing the image, ignoring the clinical context, memorising rare conditions and skipping timed practice. Solve the image-tagged Qbank questions and the Dermatology PYQs topic by topic; the 2026 AIR 1, Dr Monish, filtered his Qbank by image-based and clinical tags.
| Condition group | What to learn |
|---|---|
| Immunobullous disorders | Pemphigus versus pemphigoid: Nikolsky sign and the immunofluorescence pattern. |
| Psoriasis | Types, Auspitz sign and the treatment ladder. |
| Leprosy | Ridley-Jopling classification, WHO multidrug therapy regimens, WHO deformity grading, and type 1 versus type 2 lepra reactions, which a 2026 recall lists. |
| Fungal infections | Dermatophyte classification (a 2026 recall topic), tinea types, Candida, black versus white piedra. |
| Sexually transmitted infections | Stages and bacteriology of syphilis, chancroid versus LGV, the approach to a genital ulcer. |
| Other topics | Vitiligo and pityriasis rosea, both reported from the 2026 paper; lichen planus and its histopathology. |
| Look-alike pairs | Blaschko's versus Langer's lines, furuncle versus carbuncle, keloid versus hypertrophic scar. |
| Acne, allergy and drugs | Acne grading and treatment, allergens in allergic contact dermatitis, drug reactions, immunosuppressants. |
| Safe to skip | Rare genodermatoses, uncommon photodermatoses and unusual nail disorders, which PrepLadder's study-or-skip list marks as low priority. |
Compiled from PrepLadder's 2026 study-or-skip and expected-topic lists, its dermatology comparison tables, DBMCI's 2021 list and what candidates recalled from the 2026 paper (Sartha, PrepLadder).
Leprosy, fungal, bacterial and viral skin infections, then STIs. Pair each with its Microbiology chapter and finish the Qbank questions the same day.
Psoriasis, lichen planus, eczema and contact dermatitis, pemphigus and pemphigoid, acne and drug reactions. Build your comparison tables as you go.
Image-tagged Qbank sets, then the Dermatology PYQs topic by topic. Every missed image goes into your own file.
Cerebellum's loop is one topic, short notes, MCQs, then a revision within 48 hours. After that, plan two full passes before the exam, the number Dr Soumyaditya used for short subjects.
During internship, keep Dermatology to short sessions: a rapid-revision chapter, its Qbank questions and a few minutes with your image file. Take a Dermatology subject test after the first pass, and let your Grand Tests show whether the images have stuck.
2026 estimates run from about 4 to 8 questions: PW's July 2026 pattern page says 4–6, and PW's post-exam analysis 5–8. They are built from candidates' recall, so read them as a range. PrepLadder estimates that about half of Dermatology questions are image-based.
Final-year students ask this often under NEET PG resource videos. In the 2025–26 lists we read, students used rapid revision: Dr Sanika Mahar (INI-CET AIR 155) took Dermatology from Marrow's Rapid Revision plus BTR and added selected videos only for weak areas. Watch the main lecture for a topic you cannot follow, not the whole course.
Dr Malcolm Pinto (Marrow), Dr Khushbu Mahajan (PrepLadder), Dr Maddineni Srinivas (Cerebellum), Dr Saurabh Jindal (DBMCI One), Dr Pallavi (DocTutorials) and Dr Jazeer Abdul Khader (PW MedEd). Choose the notes you will revise twice.
Read each photograph in a fixed order (site, morphology, pattern, clinical story), practise with image-tagged Qbank modules, and keep a file of the images you got wrong. Learn look-alikes from comparison tables with pictures.
DigiNerve's final-year book list names Review of Dermatology by Saurabh Jindal for the university exam. For NEET PG, the toppers and students in our sources worked from rapid-revision notes and the Qbank.
Learn it in final year with your postings and the Medicine Paper 2 syllabus, then revise it in internship; DigiNerve's intern plan puts the short subjects in month four. The final-year guide and the internship guide show where it fits.
Yes for the clinical photographs, because colour carries the diagnosis in most skin images; text pages can be black and white. You can bind Dermatology on its own or with your other short subjects as one slim volume. Send the PDF on WhatsApp and we will quote for it.
Send your Dermatology PDF on WhatsApp: Marrow or PrepLadder revision notes, BTR, a DBMCI workbook or your own image file. We print the clinical photographs in colour, keep text pages in black and white, and deliver anywhere in India.
Order on WhatsAppTopper and student resource lists, 2026 coaching estimates, paper recalls and analyses, read in October 2026.