Respiratory Medicine

(how to apply the education to medical writing and lecturing). It probably can not, but it certainly should help those really willing and able to use good advice. Besides, despite a careful reading, I could only find one typographical error-on page 23! Lecture Notes on the Liver is, quite simply, an overview of the diseases of the liver and biliary tree. The book does not attempt to be comprehensive; instead, it quickly discusses each disease entity, providing the basic facts as well as a few details that the author feels are interesting. Although one can argue that the book is too lacking in depth, it may prove helpful for certain uses, such as the medical student seeking a quick introduction to the subject that can be read in two or three sittings, thus avoiding the problem of missing the forest for the trees. Moreover, the text covers many obscure causes of liver disease-from parasites to unusual metabolic diseases. The chapter on "investigations" is a helpful presentation of the many diagnositc modalities available for investigating liver disease. This volume is well written, although there are a few typographical errors. Each chapter contains a list of references, a helpful supplement to such a brief book. Given its brevity, this text is a fairly effective introduction to liver disease. In taking care of hospitalized pulmonary patients, a concise clinical manual would often be of great value to both house staff and medical students, and, consequently, to patients. Respiratory Medicine is intended not only to be such a reference manual but also a concise review for board examinations. This book contains seven chapters, each of which is intended "to stand on its own," justifying the significant overlap. Chapters one and two thoroughly and concisely cover clinical history and physical examination in outline format, with explanatory illustrations and helpful tables for the differential diagnosis of symptoms and signs. All the current diagnostic techniques in respiratory medicine, including chest X-ray, pulmonary function tests, bronchoalveolar lavage, and immunological tests are discussed in the thirteen sections of chapter three. Almost all sections answer three main questions: when each technique is useful, how each one is performed, and what their typical results and respective pertinent differential diagnoses are. Chapter four, with more than 20 illustrations, presents the common X-ray findings of various pulmonary disorders as well as a brief summary of their causes and management. This chapter serves as …