Gillian Beagan, University of Glasgow

Stevens and Lowe Histology is a fundamental book when studying medicine. It gives detailed and precise information on cells, cellular structures and their interactions. The information is presented in a clear manner interspersed between slides of cells and diagrammatic representations. The overall presentation and layout of the textbook is very clear and simple.
An important element of the textbook is the provided online access. The online text is similar to the textbook layout. The online access via the student consult website allows the user to access the text from any computer with internet connection and means the book does not need to be carried everywhere it is needed.
The books only downfall is the scratch panel at the front of the book. It is difficult to remove and when removed the panels often remove the student consult code with them. An essential text.

Posted 1st Jul 2008

Mohammad Adnan, University of Liverpool

Histology is not a subject that excites many but this book does much in the way of making it something worth studying, especially with all the clinical boxes to remind us how relevant histology is to medical students. There are some pretty good features, for example, summary headings, which give you in one sentence what the next few paragraphs are about. I think overall, that it fulfils the two important things that a book on histology should: (1) it’s detailed enough for passing exams, and (2) it’s interesting enough to read and informative enough for us to grasp practically everything in histology we need to understand for our future careers, (although a companion pathology book would be essential reading to achieve the complete benefit). And don’t forget, you can get it all online, so you don’t have to carry the book around with you all the time.

Posted 1st Jul 2008

Stacey Priddle, University of Keele

Unlike other histology books, Stevens and Lowe also includes a little physiology which is useful for establishing the foundations of a topic. However, the book does lack the extensive range of histology slides that others offer. At the end of each chapter is a section called ‘practical histology’, a collection of slides that lack depth, having usually only one example of each tissue described. This lets the book down, as it is obvious that all tissues will not look the same on every slide, thus variation needs to be shown. I use this book as a basis for understanding before I begin a topic. However, as a histology book alone I would not rely solely on it, but instead supplement it with another (such as Wheaters). It is well divided into topics and subheadings which make the text more manageable. Equally, the ‘key facts’ boxes are good for consolidating what you have just read. Another positive feature is the ‘advanced concept boxes’. These provide information that although sometimes irrelevant, can also be invaluable in drawing together knowledge by extending understanding one step further. Finally, the book also provides some clinical boxes, however I very rarely use these, as, although the book provides a little physiology, if you haven’t already covered it the clinical boxes can seem very insignificant, and once understanding is better, are not detailed enough to rely on as a clinical source.

Posted 1st Jul 2008