The GMC publishes the MLA content map — the definitive guide to what can appear on the UKMLA AKT and CPSA. But reading it is an exercise in endurance. Over 430 conditions, 212 clinical presentations, six domains of clinical practice, and a dense formatting style that rewards completists and punishes scanners.
This breakdown makes the map study-friendly.
What Changed in January 2026
The core conditions list expanded from approximately 311 to 430. The most significant additions are in women's health (substantially broadened), safety-critical presentations (giant cell arteritis, torsades de pointes, and other "don't miss" diagnoses), and increased specificity in existing categories that previously grouped related conditions together.
The map remains "indicative and non-exhaustive" — meaning the 430 named conditions are the priority, but the exam can test uncommon-but-critical conditions not explicitly listed if they follow the general principles. This is deliberately designed to prevent tick-box revision strategies.
How the Map Is Organised
The content map is built around clinical presentations, not diseases. You are expected to start from "the patient presents with X" and differentiate between causes. This mirrors real clinical practice — a GP does not see "pneumonia"; they see "cough with fever" and must determine what it is.
The six domains cover clinical practice areas (medicine, surgery, paediatrics, O&G, psychiatry, GP), professional knowledge (ethics, law, technology), professional and clinical skills (safeguarding, risk management), practical skills and procedures, patient presentations (signs, symptoms, investigations), and conditions (the 430 core conditions).
The High-Yield Areas
Certain areas consistently generate the most exam questions based on their weight in the content map and feedback from recent sittings. These include acute medical emergencies (sepsis, ACS, stroke, DKA, anaphylaxis), common chronic disease management (diabetes, hypertension, COPD, asthma, heart failure), prescribing safety (drug interactions, renal/hepatic dosing, monitoring requirements), professional behaviour and ethics (capacity, consent, confidentiality, safeguarding, GMC Good Medical Practice), and the new-for-2026 additions in women's health and safety-critical diagnoses.
How to Study Against the Map
The most effective preparation maps your revision directly to the content map. Download the official GMC version. For each condition, test yourself: can I recognise this presentation? Can I generate a differential? Can I describe the UK management pathway? If not, study it.
iatroX's Q-Bank is mapped to the MLA content map. The adaptive algorithm identifies which areas you are weakest in and prioritises them automatically. As you work through the Q-Bank, your coverage grows — and the spaced repetition algorithm ensures you retain what you have studied.
When you encounter an unfamiliar condition, Ask iatroX gives you the UK management pathway with a citation in seconds. The Knowledge Centre provides structured, condition-by-condition access to UK guidelines for systematic coverage.
Track your progress. Target the gaps. Trust the spaced repetition. And remember: the exam tests reasoning, not recall. Understanding why is more important than memorising what.