A buief introduction to

the Department of Pathophysiology

     The Department of Pathophysiology was established in 1954,with Professor Pan Shicheng, the famons pathologist and pathophysiologist of China as its founder and Professors Luo Zhizhi, Chen Guozhen, Luo Zhengyao, Yao Kaitai, Sun Qubing, Wen Shangwu and Hu Youqiu as the early collaborators. The department was disbanded when the Cultural Revolution began and reconstructed when the revolution was put an end to. The development of the Department of Pathophysiology gained speed ever since the Third Plenary Session of the 11^th Central Committee of the CPC when China witnessed the great stability in politics and economy. In 1984, the department was divided into two sections, namely the Department of pathophysiology and the Institute of Tumour. Guided by Professor Zhengyao Luo, the Department of Pathophysiology focused on the research of the mechanism, prevention and treatment of septic shock. The Laboratory of Shock was founded in 1986 and the Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science was founded in 2002.

The discipline of Pathophysiology was authorized to enroll students for master and doctorial degrees in 1977 and 1981 respectively and listed in the first national key disciplines in 1990. It was authorized as a center for postdoctoral exchange of basic medical sciences and one that had ad hoc positions of professorship granted by Cheungkong Scholars Programme in 2000. It was confirmed for the second time as the national key discipline of pathology and pathophysiology in 2001.

The recent foci of the research are on septic shock and cardiovascular pathophysiology. In the past few years, under the guidance of Professor Xiao Xianzhong, leading profersor and director of the department, the research work has reached the internationally advanced level in gene cloning relating to cardiovascular diseases and their functions, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), heat shock proteins, etc, combining the new ideas and techniques of frontier realms in life science with the classic pathophysiological theory and practice.