A history of radiologic pathology correlation at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and its evolution into the...

The evolution of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) has played an important role in the history of pathology education and in radiologic pathology correlation in the United States. From its humble beginnings as a museum, showcasing dried and varnished morbid specimens--human relics of the Civil War, the institute became a leader in pathology. Later, it became a center of instruction for radiology residents seeking to understand the pathologic findings that underlay the radiologic appearance of disease. Images were gathered by the AFIP and the American Registry of Pathology (ARP) and have been used in research and education in radiology and other fields (ophthalmology, otalaryngology, dermatology, obstetrics and gynecology, and surgery). Despite the contributions of the AFIP, the ARP, and the Radiologic Pathology Correlation Course, high-ranking members of the military and the federal government frowned on a military-owned educational system that also served civilians. Although support from the radiology community dissuaded military officers and federal officials from taking action against the participation of civilians, the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) provisions mandated the disestablishment of the AFIP, forcing the redistribution of some of its resources to other military-only organizations and disbanding other AFIP functions. To ensure that the correlation course, known to radiology residents as the "rad-path" course, was not a casualty of the BRAC, the American College of Radiology (ACR) and leaders of the AFIP and ARP agreed that the ACR should continue this vital educational endeavor. In January 2011, the American Institute for Radiologic Pathology of the ACR debuted and successfully instructed 268 radiology residents, including 40 international residents. The faculty and staff, who had been part of the course at the AFIP, continue to help enrich and improve the course established by their predecessors.