Publisher's Synopsis
This much-needed new textbook provides a fresh and innovative approach to understanding medicine and the fundamental mechanisms of disease. Instead of bewildering the reader with a plethora of unnecessary detail, the text focuses on a carefully selected number of key diseases, each of which clearly illustrates the underlying basic biology and pathophysiology. These exemplars provide the student with a much deeper understanding of the mechanisms and pathophysiology of the disease process, and also a scientific basis for understanding their medical management and treatment. The text is supported throughout with explanatory illustrations, tables, key points and references for directed self-learning. This innovative textbook is designed to complement the changing face of undergraduate medical education, with its increasing emphasis on directed self-learning and the integration of basic and clinical parts of the course. This approach, based on understanding principles rather than learning facts, will be an invaluable source of illumination and comprehension for all students of medicine. Given a Highly Commended Certificate (Basic Book Category) at the Medical Society of London 1998 Medical Book Awards.
