Sarah Edwards, Peninsula Medical School

Waller's Medical Pharmacologgy and Therapeutics has always been a text close to my heart, well the heart of my pharmacology knowledge. It is a comprehensive text used by my medical school for early pharmacology teaching. This book covers all the pharmacology you need, from basic science pharmacology and pathophysiology, through to clinical pharmacology to therapeutics, in line with the integrated approach of new medical curricula. The first section covers the basic principles, and the rest is organised by body systems. Being able to read the book by body system, helps to focus revision and studying. The book ends with sections on toxicity and prescribing practice. This book has fantastic diagrams and has so far been the only pharmacology text to explain to me how the clotting cascade works and where the srugs work! Super read!

Posted 10th Mar 2010

Dominic Haigh, University of Birmingham

Medical Pharmacology and Therapeutics begins with general principles of pharmacology, giving advice on its study, including learning the generic name of drugs, whether they are available over the counter and their propensity to cause interactions. The principles of homeostasis, action of drugs at receptors and the major types of receptor and second messenger systems are detailed. Drug action, tolerance and drug responses are explained. A huge table listing receptors with their agonists, antagonists and some extra useful information is near-comprehensive, and certainly more than any medical student needs to know. It is written more for reference than for reading through before more detail has been acquired in subsequent chapters. A limited student formulary is more accessible for the casual reader, detailing the core drugs for common clinical problems encountered in medical practice. Its approach encompasses both acute and chronic management, so the box on acute coronary syndrome includes both GTN and a statin. The entire chapter dedicated to pharmacokinetics is one of the most useful in the entire book. Using named examples, phases of drug metabolism are explained in diagrammatic form, as are drug-protein complexes, the blood-brain barrier and all the other key points. Information on drug discovery stresses the history precedents, cost implications and the essential nature of the different stages of clinical studies. There is a clear explanation of different forms of randomised controlled trial and the use of meta-analyses in post-marketing surveillance. The book takes a disease-based approach to pharmacotherapy wherever possible. Sections of the text detail therapeutic options for treatment of diseases of different body systems. Disorders which are notorious for affecting multiple organ systems, such as diabetes mellitus, are filed under their causative system. Chapters are completed with references to more sources of information on the therapeutics of specific illnesses in the literature. The chapter on the chemotherapy of infections contains excellent information on the classification of antibacterial drugs which clinical students typically fail to retain. Further reference tables throughout the book provide information in an easy-to-read format about specific drugs. Self-assessment questions found in each chapter test understanding, and the answers to them which are provided explain how the sometimes tricky questions are solved.

Posted 18th Jan 2010