Ryckie Wade, University of East Anglia

A refreshingly comprehensive and vibrant introduction to human pathology. Pitched excellently for medical students; the book is welcomingly colourful, the writing style encouraging and not too broad or detailed! Pathology is perceived to be a dry subject by some people, however, this book smashes the stereotype and makes the reading both interesting and applicable to students of a PBL or tradition style course. The book is logically divided up and indexed, the chapters are succinct yet not insufficient, and the artwork simply unparalleled. Within the book, there is little information on histological diagnostics, newer techniques such as immunohistochemistry & ELISA. Some chapters are lacking in clinical detail and there is no online material provided; however, this shouldn’t put you off! For those looking to gain a strong foundation of broad-brush knowledge and harness understanding of basic pathological processes throughout all the body systems, this is the book for you.

Posted 7th Dec 2008

Aniek de Coninck, Maastricht University

Flesh and bones pathology is a very easy to read book about the core subjects of pathology.Although the given information is not detailed, making it unsuitable as a detailed reference book, it does however give a clinically-orientated account of the subject, covering the key concepts requirements. This makes the book a great quick read, the chapters are concise and allow you to quickly grasp the concept. The topics are all laid out in one spread on a double page, so you don’t have to cross-reference to other pages and the pictures section is a great help in relating the details to the subject. I would recommend this book to everyone who is looking for an introduction to pathology or as a revision aid for undergraduate students.

Posted 3rd Dec 2008

Elena Hazelgrove-Planel, University of Bristol

A well written book, with a straightforward style. The main part of the book is comprised of 60 core topics, for example ‘prostatic cancer’ or ‘shock’, and has a double page (A4 size) spread for each. Plenty of coloured pictures make this an attractive read. The blurb at the back of the book praises the section of the book called ‘High Return’. This is in fact 6 pages with a list of facts, in no specific order, and which seemed to me much less useful and less well presented than the main section of the book, the pathology topics… Given that this slim A4 book covers pathology of all parts of the body, the information is not in great depth and so wouldn’t be suitable for a detailed reference book. However I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for an easy access overview of pathology.

Posted 2nd Dec 2008