Lucy Blair, University of Keele

This is a very well organised, very readable book that covers all aspects of the nervous system. It begins by introducing basic concepts such as the general organisation of the nervous system which equips you with the foundations to progress and tackle other larger chapters. This book has an excellent use of fact boxes, figures and diagrams. However there is a lack of colour throughout this book, but don’t be perturbed - this simply illustrates the ‘no messing,’ focus on the facts attitude of the book.
There is a whole chapter that is dedicated to clinical examination of the nervous system which is very useful for practical or skills examinations in the preclinical years. There are also a number of self assessment questions with model answers in the back to monitor progress.
In later chapters this book incorporates a number of clinical cases. The chapters are developed to surround the case so that the case illustrates the information in the chapter. This feature is especially useful if this textbook is to be used in a PBL environment.
Throughout the book there are a number of self assessment questions with model answers in the back to monitor progress.
The nervous system is a very complex area and this book covers it really well. At first glance it doesn’t look like the most exciting book but content-wise each topic is covered in a logical order and explained with clarity. Therefore I would definitely recommend it as a reference text.

Posted 1st Jul 2008