The Department of Basic Sciences at the College of Medicine is the backbone and the first educational gateway for the Medical program. It includes main subjects that are essential in understanding the biology of the human body and the different ailments & diseases that might affect it; these include: Anatomy, Embryology, Histology, Physiology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Microbiology, immunology, Pathology, and Pharmacology. These subjects are integrated into 9 main courses that makes up the first two years of the MBBS program, each of which includes one of the systems of the human body. This integrative and systematic approach works to train the student from an early stage to think holistically about the body in health and disease and preparing them to be creative and innovative future doctors. The Basic Sciences Department has a close relationship with the rest of the college’s departments, as the subjects taught in it represent a link between basic medical sciences and clinical sciences, which is taught later in the third year of the program. The department also has close relationships with other health colleges, as members teach courses in each of these colleges including Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and the Foundation Year, which makes the Department of Basic Sciences the cornerstone of all health colleges at the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.