NEET PG 2026 non-clinical branches: Pathology closed at a median 30,945 in R1

In NEET PG 2026 Round 1, All India Quota (AIQ) General seats in the eight non-clinical MD branches closed at a median rank of 53,797. Pathology was the most sought after of the eight, with a median closing rank of 30,945. Anatomy closed latest, at a median of 96,459.

A later closing rank means a seat was easier to get. The eight branches are far from equal: the typical Anatomy seat closed more than three times later than the typical Pathology seat.

How we counted

We used the Round 1 closing ranks in our seat data, which come from MCC's Round 1 allotment result.

• Branches: the MD courses in Pathology, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Community Medicine (SPM), Forensic Medicine, Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry. The first five are para-clinical; the last three are pre-clinical. DNB and diploma courses in these subjects are separate and left out.
• Seats: AIQ quota, General (GEN) category, unless we say otherwise.
• Listings: one row per college and branch. Our data has 958 such listings with a 2026 Round 1 closing rank, holding 1,492 seats.
• Median: half of a branch's listings closed earlier and half later. Medians are rounded to the nearest rank.
• Stipend: the first-year stipend per month as listed for each seat in our data. It is set by the college or state, so it is usually the same across branches in one college.

Branch by branch

Sorted by median closing rank, AIQ General, 2026 Round 1.

Branch	Listings	Seats	Median closing rank	Earliest	Latest	Median stipend (₹/month)
Pathology	174	344	30,945	9,175	46,664	85,050
SPM (Community Medicine)	121	191	49,066	12,801	71,442	88,320
Pharmacology	106	158	51,085	3,650	81,803	85,050
Forensic Medicine	83	107	53,904	10,652	79,802	81,126
Microbiology	135	215	56,292	4,072	84,064	81,126
Biochemistry	125	170	68,338	12,378	97,763	81,126
Physiology	110	160	78,067	18,528	121,940	88,320
Anatomy	104	147	96,459	16,690	127,533	88,320

Pathology stands apart. Its latest listing, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Bhagalpur, closed at 46,664, earlier than the median of every other branch in the table. 43 of its 174 listings closed within rank 25,000.

At the other end, 46 of the 104 Anatomy listings and 23 of the 110 Physiology listings closed after rank 100,000. The latest was Anatomy at Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, Naharlagun, at 127,533.

A few early ranks are single choices, not the norm. Pharmacology at Lokmanya Tilak Medical College, Sion, Mumbai closed at 3,650 and Microbiology at Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences at 4,072, far earlier than the rest of those branches. VMMC, Delhi had the earliest closing rank in Pathology (9,175), Forensic Medicine (10,652), Biochemistry (12,378) and Physiology (18,528).

Seats and how fast they filled

Our data has 3,515 AIQ seats in these eight branches across all categories in Round 1: Pathology 809, SPM 538, Microbiology 502, Pharmacology 392, Biochemistry 345, Physiology 331, Anatomy 322 and Forensic Medicine 276. Every one of them was allotted in Round 1, and for all of them our count of empty seats is certain. Deemed university (management) seats are a separate quota with 923 more seats in these branches.

So no AIQ seat in these branches was left over after Round 1. Any that come up in Round 2 will come from candidates who resign, leave or upgrade, or from newly added seats.

Compared with 2025

In all eight branches, the typical listing closed later in 2026 than in 2025. Across 592 listings with an AIQ General Round 1 closing rank in both years, 445 closed later and 147 closed earlier.

For listings with a rank in both years, the median moved:

• Pathology: 25,462 to 29,407 (102 of 123 listings later)
• SPM: 37,986 to 48,973 (74 of 86 later)
• Microbiology: 46,418 to 55,125 (72 of 86 later)
• Anatomy: 79,931 to 88,971 (43 of 55 later)
• Physiology: 69,617 to 76,710 (45 of 67 later)
• Forensic Medicine: 46,333 to 51,089 (31 of 48 later)
• Pharmacology: 44,734 to 48,053 (42 of 66 later)
• Biochemistry: 62,513 to 65,668 (36 of 61 later)

SPM moved most: its median closed 10,987 ranks later than in 2025.

Stipends

The median first-year stipend for the 956 non-clinical listings with a stipend in our data was ₹85,050 a month. For all AIQ General listings with a Round 1 rank, in every branch, it was ₹81,126. The range was the same as for the wider list: from ₹43,000 at IGMC and RI, Puducherry and NAMO MERI, Silvassa, to ₹136,062 at UCMS, Delhi and VP Chest Institute, Delhi.

The stipend is listed per seat, so the small gaps between branch medians mostly reflect which colleges offer each branch. Open any college from the colleges list to see the fee, stipend and bond for every course.

What it means for Round 2

• Dates: MCC's notice of 7 November 2026 says Round 2 choice filling runs from 10 to 15 November and the final result is due on 17 November. The MCC notice has the full timeline.
• Round 1 is a guide, not a promise. Since every AIQ seat in these branches was allotted, Round 2 depends on how many are given up and how many new seats are added.
• Read the branch pages. A branch median hides a wide range. The table above links to every branch page, which lists each college with its closing rank in every round since 2024.

Here are the AIQ General Pathology seats that closed latest in Round 1:

All ranks here are NEET PG All India Ranks from 2026 Round 1. A later closing rank means the seat was easier to get.