Physician-informed medical book reviews and clinical education resources.
The stated aim of Primary Care Otolaryngology (2019) is “to provide the necessary information for medical students and allied health professionals.” The book “is designed to provide guidance on how to manage uncomplicated problems that can be taken care of by a patient’s primary care provider” and to “facilitate the recognition of potentially serious problems … Read more
A review of a detailed surgical anatomy text designed to connect anatomical knowledge with the technical demands of open operations.
There are very few good orthopedics books that are suitable for the non-orthopedist audience, and I think I know why. Generalists often lack the specialized knowledge that orthopedists have, while orthopedists tend to see more extreme versions of musculoskeletal conditions—a problem known as spectrum bias—so their recommendations often seem overly aggressive to generalist readers. This … Read more
Surgical Recall (2017) is a marked improvement upon Surgical Recall (2012), which I reviewed elsewhere. The 2017 edition, like its predecessor, is packed with high-yield clinical information. While the book is obviously surgery oriented, most of the material in it is extremely relevant to most major medical specialties, including internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics. … Read more
Basic Ophthalmology: Essentials for Medical Students (2016) is an excellent book about the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. The book provides a coherent and organized approach to ocular disorders. Namely: The Eye Examination Acute Vision Loss Chronic Vision Loss The Red Eye Ocular and Orbital Injuries Amblyopia and Strabismus Neuro-Ophthalmology Eyelid, Orbital, and Lacrimal … Read more
Surgical Recall, 6e (2012) by Lorne H. Blackbourne MD is an 800-page handbook that is packed with very high-yield clinical information that all primary care physicians should find relevant. The book is obviously is surgery oriented, but I find its content to be extremely relevant to all major medical specialties. Solid tumors, relevant to almost … Read more
The best way to appreciate and remember the differences between Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, both inflammatory bowel diseases, is to juxtapose them and compare them in a pairwise fashion: Transmural vs. Mucosal Only Transmural: This is the most important distinguishing feature of Crohn’s disease. The transmural nature of the disease is what leads to … Read more