Category: Basic Sciences

  • Book Review: Antibiotic Basics for Clinicians, 2e

    Book Review: Antibiotic Basics for Clinicians, 2e

    I believe that it is not possible to practice general medicine intelligently without knowing the contents of this book very well. This is the only monograph about antibiotics that I know of which focuses heavily, and sometimes exclusively, on the why of antibiotic selection. And when it comes to antibiotic selection, you need to know why you are…

  • Book Review: Robbins and Cotran Atlas of Pathology, 2e

    Book Review: Robbins and Cotran Atlas of Pathology, 2e

    Robbins and Cotran Atlas of Pathology by Edward C. Klatt MD contains more than 1,500 high-yield medical images, including clinical and intraoperative photographs, pictures of gross pathology specimens, blood smears, H&E stains, electron micrographs, funduscopic and endoscopic images, plain radiographs, CTs, ultrasonographic images, MRIs, and many other. The pictures are generally clear and clinically relevant, with  authoritative and concise…

  • The Best Basic Sciences Books for Medical Students

    The Best Basic Sciences Books for Medical Students

    Here is my list, in no particular order, of the best basic sciences books for medical students: Robbins and Cotran Atlas of Pathology by Edward C. Klatt MD (2009, reviewed here) Basic Clinical Neuroscience (2007) by Paul A. Young PhD. Netter’s Essential Histology. 2007. William K. Ovalle PhD. Molecular Biology Made Simple and Fun. 2010. David P.…

  • Book Review: 2013 EMRA Antibiotic Guide by Brian J. Levine MD

    Book Review: 2013 EMRA Antibiotic Guide by Brian J. Levine MD

    My overall favorable impression of the 2013 EMRA Antibiotic Guide is similar to that of the 2011 edition, about which I wrote: For almost any infectious disease, the text advises you about which antibiotic to use, along with the appropriate dose, route, frequency and duration. In addition, the text provides you with various alternatives and contingency antibiotic…

  • Book Review: Acid-Base Case Studies, 2e

    Book Review: Acid-Base Case Studies, 2e

    I’ve been looking at Acid-Base Case Studies (2004) by Ira Kurtz MD for a long time now, at least since I’ve written several months ago, wrongly, that a solid book with a case-based approach to acid-base disorders does not exist. It does in fact exist, and this is it. The book presents the reader with dozens of  clinical…

  • Teach Yourself Infectious Diseases!

    Teach Yourself Infectious Diseases!

    “a well-developed knowledge of clinical microbiology is critical for the practicing physician in any medical field. Bacteria, viruses, and protozoans have no respect for the distinction between ophthalmology, pediatrics, trauma surgery, or geriatric medicine. Microbiology is one of the few courses where much of the ‘minutia’ is regularly used by the practicing physician.” Mark Gladwin…

  • Book Review: Atlas of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology (2007)

    Book Review: Atlas of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology (2007)

    Atlas of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology (2007) by Wallace Peters and Geoffrey Pasvol offers a bleak and sometimes depressing window into the state of health, or lack thereof, of underdeveloped countries, particularly those in Africa. The names of the diseases and symptoms are fearsome and sometimes curious: dengue, blackwater fever, rabies, leprosy, bubonic plague and more. The…