The Medical Media Review

Radiology Review Manual

The 25 Best Medical Books of All Time

Here is the Medical Media Review’s as-of-year-2015 list of the best medical books of all time:

  1. Dr. Gerald de Lacey, The Chest X-Ray: A Survival Guide by  (2008, reviewed here).
  2. Igbaseimokumo, Usiakimi, MD, Brain CT Scans in Clinical Practice (2009, reviewed here)
  3. Herring, William, MD, Learning Radiology, Recognizing the Basics, 3e (2015, previous edit reviewed here)
  4. Kurtz, Ira, MD, Acid Base Case Studies (2004, reviewed here)
  5. Desai, Samir P., MD, Clinician’s Guide to Laboratory Medicine: Pocket (2009, reviewed here)
  6. Peters, Wallace, MD, Atlas of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology (2007, reviewed here)
  7. Schlossberg, David, MD, Differential Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases (1996, reviewed here)
  8. Klatt, Edward C., MD, Robbins and Cotran Atlas of Pathology, 3e (2014, previous edition reviewed here)
  9. Howick, Jeremy H., Dr., The Philosophy of Evidence-based Medicine (2011, reviewed here)
  10. Hauser, Alan R., MD, PhD., Antibiotic Basics for Clinicians: The ABCs of Choosing the Right Antibacterial Agent, 2e (2012, reviewed here)
  11. Orient, Jane M., MD, Sapira’s Art and Science of Bedside Diagnosis (2009)
  12. Hoppenfeld, Stanley, MD, Physical Examination of the Spine and Extremities (1976, reviewed here)
  13. Buttaravoli, Philip, MD, Minor Emergencies, 3e (2012, previous edition reviewed here)
  14. Blackbourne, Lorne H., MD, Surgical Recall, 6e (2012, reviewed here)
  15. Jarrell, Bruce, MD, NMS Surgery Casebook (2003, reviewed here)
  16. Silen, William, MD, Cope’s Early Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen  (2010, reviewed here)
  17. Ovalle, William K., PhD., Netter’s Essential Histology (2007)
  18. Gallagher, Christopher, MD, Board Stiff TEE: Transesophageal Echocardiography, 2e (2013)
  19. Bain, Barbara Jane, Prof. Haematology, A Core Curriculum (2010, reviewed here)
  20. Murray, Lindsay, Toxicology Handbook, 3e (2015, previous edition reviewed here)
  21. Fischer, Randall, G., Moffet’s Pediatric Infectious Diseases: A Problem-Oriented Approach (2005)
  22. Burning, Kevin G., Browse’s Introduction to the Symptoms & Signs of Surgical Disease, 5e (2015)
  23. Feier, Chris, MD, The Chief Complaint, Emergency Medical Handbook (2014)
  24. Harper, Richard A., MD, Basic Ophthalmology, 9e (2010)
  25. Dähnert, Wolfgang, MD, Radiology Review Manual, 7e (2011)

    Radiology Review Manual
    Radiology Review Manual, 7e (2011)

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Mark Yoffe, MD

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33 responses to “The 25 Best Medical Books of All Time”

  1. Sepehr Avatar
    Sepehr

    Thank you for updating “The Great List”!
    and I think there’s a new edition of NMS Surgery Casebook out!

    Reply
    1. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
      Mark Yoffe, MD

      Thanks, Sepehr, for your comment.

      I am aware of the very recently published new editon of NMS Surgery Casebook (which I’ve been looking forward to for a very long time). Unfortunately, I have not been able to convince myself that the new edition is superior to the previous one.

      Perhaps I will look at it again sometime soon and reconsider.

      Either way, thank you very much for the astute observation!

      Reply
    2. none Avatar
      none

      De Virgilio’s Surgery book is what most med students use now. De Virgilio’s is better than Pestana which is better as a supplement rather than core learning for surgery. De Virgilio’s is better than Surgical Recall which is best read before a case in that surgical specialty or subspecialty to be able to answer questions but not as strong for the shelf. The NMS Surgery Casebook is similar to De Virgilio’s but NMS take a more topical approach and is written in a more mundane style, whereas De Virgilio’s is more case based and Q&A format (similar to Surgical Recall with regard to the latter but far more in-depth). De Virgilio’s looks intimidating because it’s such a big book, but it reads casually and informally, and with tremendous erudition and information. If you can only pick one surgical book, I’d pick De Virgilio.

      Reply
      1. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
        Mark Yoffe, MD

        Thank you for your suggestion.

        Surgery: A Case Based Clinical Review is indeed a more detailed book. The second edition is slated to come out next month. I would love to see if the authors made it more user friendly with better graphics and images.

        Reply
  2. Patrick Avatar
    Patrick

    I also really like OphthoBook which is available as a book on Amazon but at the same time is completely free online! 🙂

    Reply
    1. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
      Mark Yoffe, MD

      Thank you for your comment, Patrick.

      I also like the Ophtho book a lot. In fact, I gave it a very favorable review here.

      Reply
  3. Amirul Hakim Avatar
    Amirul Hakim

    What are your thoughts on Mechanisms of Clinical Signs, by Dennis, Bowen and Cho?

    Reply
    1. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
      Mark Yoffe, MD

      Thank you, Amirul, for your question.

      I think that Mechanisms of Clinical Signs is an interesting and sometimes useful niche book. However, I don’t think it is comprehensive enough to be useful as s physical examination book per se.

      Reply
  4. Vivienne Avatar
    Vivienne

    Thank you, Dr. Yoffe, for your helpful book reviews! 🙂 I’m a med student soon to graduate. Could I ask you please how you decided on a specialty and what made you interested in your current specialty? I like anesthesiology a lot, but also internal medicine (with a hope for pulmonary and critical care) but I’m not 100% sure about it. Thank you in advance. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
      Mark Yoffe, MD

      HI Vivienne,

      Please send me a message using the “Contact” tab. I’d be happy to reply to you that way, since my reply will be off-topic for this blog post!

      Reply
  5. Rob Steiner Avatar
    Rob Steiner

    This list does not even mention Family Medicine or Primary Care as categories for physician practitioners! So now I I wonder about the validity of the list.

    Reply
    1. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
      Mark Yoffe, MD

      Hi Rob,

      If you have any family medicine or primary care books you’d like to recommend, please post as a comment. I’d be happy to consider it for the 2016 list.

      Reply
  6. Brian Avatar
    Brian

    No Netter Anatomy?

    Reply
    1. chris amsden Avatar
      chris amsden

      yes, big chunks of medical practice are missing here. I don’t see the list of books I’d take for a winter in Antarctica. not sure what the criteria are to be on the list. maybe just higher quality reads or sources of info, without consideration of whether they round out most or all corners of medical knowledge? some are regarding fairly specialized topics, when a more general book would work better on my shelf. I do see some faves here though, so I’ll want to check out some others that I’ve not heard of. Some good titles that refer to reference or educational capabilities are notable.

      Reply
      1. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
        Mark Yoffe, MD

        Hi Chris,

        Thank you for your comment.

        My criteria for inclusion are (1) conciseness, (2) usefulness, (3) accessibility to non-experts, (4) timelessness, or likelihood of the book to remain relevant for a long time.

        You mention that you might prefer more general medical books. Any particular ones in mind?

        Reply
    2. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
      Mark Yoffe, MD

      Hi Brain,

      Thank you for your comment.

      Dr. Netter was certainly a pioneer. However, his drawings are not easy on my eyes and, due to no fault of his own, his work belongs mostly to the pre-computer era. My favorite anatomy book is Gray’s Atlas of Anatomy, 2e (2014). The colors are more subdued, less “artistic” and more natural. It also has much better 3-D rendering.

      Reply
  7. Sepehr Avatar
    Sepehr

    Is there any good and “concise” internal medicine book that you recommend?
    Everyone talks about “step-up to medicine” but that doesn’t seem exciting enough for me!

    and by the way, I’m really enjoying your list. being a huge book lover, its a great pleasure discovering this precious books, although as a busy med student, it takes a lot of sacrifice going after these books when you are expected to memorize cheap review books,

    Reply
    1. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
      Mark Yoffe, MD

      That’s a great question, Sepehr!

      I think that the best internal medicine book overall is The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine, 9e (2014). It is the only relatively concise (900 pages, but dimensions are small!) internal medicine book that can be described as “sufficient.”

      I am glad that you so enjoyed going through this list. Happy learning!

      Reply
      1. Sepehr Avatar
        Sepehr

        Thank You! 😉

        Reply
    2. Sherianne Davis Avatar
      Sherianne Davis

      Frameworks: A Diagnostic Guide to Internal Medicine by Dr Andre Mansoor

      Reply
      1. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
        Mark Yoffe, MD

        I like it too. I reviewed it here.

        Reply
  8. Patrick Avatar
    Patrick

    What do you think about Muir’s Textbook of Pathology (15th edition)? It’s a UK publication. It’s concise for a pathology book, very useful since it ties in pathophysiology with clinical cases, accessible to clinicians and other healthcare professionals as well as non-experts learning pathology for the first time, and it’s been in print since 1924. It’s not Robbins (big or baby or handbook), which are more strictly about pathology, but it’s more about teaching pathology in a clinically oriented way for all. It’s probably most similar to Pathology for the Health Professions but more in-depth, clinical, and written as a team effort rather than single author.

    Reply
    1. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
      Mark Yoffe, MD

      Hi Patrick,

      Thank you for your comment!

      I looked at excerpts of the book only (at Amazon and Google Books). It looks pretty well written, and I like the clinical cases you’ve mentioned. This was a bit of a surprise to me because many books fall apart conceptually after they reach the third or fourth edition, especially when multiple authors are involved.

      I’d have to see the whole book to make up my mind for sure, though.

      Reply
  9. Aditya Avatar
    Aditya

    What are your thoughts on the Oxford Textbook of Medicine (OTM) ? I feel that it covers the pathophysiology behind signs and symptoms and lab findings in much more detail and more lucidly compared to either Harrison or Goldman Cecil. For a beginner, this is much more important than debating the pros and cons of the latest modalities of treatment. Sadly, very few textbooks truly help explain a subject, they would rather throw statistics at us and make us grope around for the significant bits that can actually make a difference.

    Reply
    1. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
      Mark Yoffe, MD

      Thank you, Aditya, for your comment.

      I haven’t seen the book you mentioned. It looks like a pretty long book, though (more than 1,200 pages!), and I usually run out of gas way before reaching half that!

      Also, generally speaking, I think that almost anyone’s area of expertise could be condensed into a few hundred pages worth of material, and almost nobody specializes in something that takes more than 1,000 pages to articulate. Therefore, if a book is that long, it often suggests a multi-author publication of inconsistent quality.

      Reply
  10. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    Hi Dr. Yoffe,
    Thank you for posting your list. You gave me a couple idea. Wanted to get your thoughts on a good Dermatology reference guide. A book as well that is somwhat affordable. Thank you.

    Reply
    1. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
      Mark Yoffe, MD

      Dermatology: Illustrated Study Guide and Comprehensive Board Review (2012) would make for a pretty good reference guide, and it costs less than $50 USD on Amazon.com.

      Happy reading!

      Reply
  11. Nils Avatar
    Nils

    Thank you for this list! Would you have any updates or additions to this list from 2015? Or would they remain the same? 🙂

    Reply
    1. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
      Mark Yoffe, MD

      Hi Nils,

      This list is definitely due for an update. I’ve since found many outstanding new and old medical books. You can see some of them in my more recent posts. For example here: https://medicalmediareview.com/malformed-infant-and-child/ .

      Do you have any suggestions?

      Reply
      1. Nils Avatar
        Nils

        Thank you again Dr Yoffe! I tried to submit a comment but it is not showing up apparently. Let me try again:

        Thank you, Dr Yoffe! I hope to read your updates! 🙂

        I am only a medical student in my country and learning still. But additionally to your brilliant list, maybe we can consider,

        Felson’s principles of chest roentgenology by Goodman

        Top 3 differentials in radiology by O’Brien

        The ECG made easy by Hampton

        Oxford cases in medicine and surgery by Farne

        Oxford handbook of clinical medicine (cheese and onion)

        I feel today we benefit watching videos more than books on physical examination — I heard Stanford Medicine 25 have good videos on physical examination? Fellow medical students use also Geeky Medics.

        Maybe it is also true with anatomy (3D models on phone or ipad)
        Do you think some of these are good? Only my ideas. But maybe I don’t know well enough because I am only a medical student.

        Reply
        1. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
          Mark Yoffe, MD

          Hi Nils,

          I really like all the books you mentioned, with the exception of The ECG Made Easy. Instead, I’d recommend A Visual Guide to ECG Interpretation Second Edition (2016). It’s more advanced, but it’s a great book that contains everything that’s important and nothing more. (I reviewed an older edition of the book here).

          As for what media to use for optimal learning: overall, I believe that the more different kinds of media you use to learn, the better. However, printed books are unique because they have dimensions and mass, and I believe that the physical properties of printed books enhance retention. Further, printed books allow us to better control of the rate at which we learn from them and the timing of our learning (because they don’t require any special equipment or connections to operate).

          Either way, whatever you choose, happy studying and best of luck!

        2. Nils Avatar
          Nils

          Thank you again Dr Yoffe! I recently come across another book, Ferri’s colour atlas and text. It looks like a good internal medicine but also obs & gyn book. But might be limited pathologies. Have you seen it?

        3. Mark Yoffe, MD Avatar
          Mark Yoffe, MD

          Hi Nils!

          I’ve seen only a preview on Amazon. It looks fairly good for a medicine atlas. I will probably look at it more closely one day and perhaps post something about it if warranted. Thank you for the recommendation!

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