Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine »

Tony Hope has handed co-authorship to Dr Ian Wilkinson, Consultant Physician, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, who becomes the new hospital-based author (Dr Longmore is a general practitioner). The junior author for this edition is Dr Estée Török, Specialist Registrar in Infectious Diseases in Oxford.

As ubiquitous in hospitals as stethoscopes, the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine is a guiding star for all medical students, junior doctors, and residents. The culmination of more than 20 years of clinical experience, and containing the knowledge and insight gained by more than 15 authors, the new eighth edition continues to be the definitive pocket-sized guide to today's clinical medicine.

Packed with clear, clinical management advice which is practical to implement at the bed-side, the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine is written in a clear and didactic style. With witty, esoteric asides liking medicine to everything from the classics to popular culture, all the material is presented in a way that is instantly memorable and even easier to put into practice.

With extensive improvements based on reader feedback, the new eighth edition boasts even more black and white and full-color images, which are now larger to improve their clarity and ease-of-use. Mindful of how doctors' training is constantly evolving, a new chapter on "history and examination" explores this relevant critical skill in depth, enabling you to elicit as much information from the patient as possible. An expanded radiology chapter features improved images, and new topics are devoted to new cancers such as noscomial infections, and further common surgical procedures. The references have been thoroughly overhauled with "key references" identifying the best places to start when researching the subject, and all references are fully accessibel via the supporting website.

Loved and trusted by generations of doctors, the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine is a reassuring beacon of wisdom, knowledge, and skills, that is forever in your sight.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Vincent F Carr, DO, MSA, FACC, FACP(Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences)
Description:This is the eighth edition of a clinical medicine handbook last updated in 2007.
Purpose:It is a compendium of the physiology, diagnosis, treatment, and human perspective of the major illnesses afflicting mankind.
Audience:It is written primarily for British clinicians, with another version, Oxford American Handbook of Clinical Medicine, Flynn (Oxford University Press, 2007), focused on American clinicians. As a U.K.-oriented book, it reflects some of the disparities between British and American practice. However, I have said many times that this distinction is frail as all can learn from the unique approach and manner of description of these gentlemen-physicians. This book is for every level of clinician, from student to consultant, and it is a quantum leap better than any U.K. books that I have seen.
Features:The book is divided into traditional organ systems, but the pearls come from the authors' approach of combining the information with classical literature and medical history to produce an easy to read and entertaining book. The opening chapters are absolute gems. The Cosmological Background to the Eighth Edition is a parody of medicine in general and all too accurate. The prologue story of Dag Hammarskjold is priceless in its portrayal of how to act as a physician and as a team member, and the section on communications and bedside manner is just plain thought-provoking. The section on death and the active management of death is a piece that every clinician should refer to periodically for the wisdom beyond the knowledge. The clinical pictures and diagrams are well done and intuitive. Finally, the index is exceptionally complete and the plastic cover and size make it easy to carry the book in a lab coat pocket or instrument bag. May I suggest (somewhat in jest) adding a plastic magnifying lens as the print is necessarily and understandably quite small?
Assessment:There are many books that all clinicians wish they had available during their training, and then there are the books that they wish they had the ability to write. This handbook is one I wish I were able to author. It is clearly one of the best with its accurate and comprehensive fund of knowledge and its emphasis on the human aspect, written by compassionate educators. I highly recommend it to all clinicians on both sides of the Atlantic. While there are points where U.K. and U.S. clinicians differ, there is clearly something to be learned by all.

From the preface to the first edition     iv
Preface to the seventh edition     iv
Conflicts of interest: statement by the authors     v
Acknowledgements     v
Symbols and abbreviations     vi
Prologue to medicine: Dag Hammarskjold on team work     x
Thinking about medicine     0
Clinical skills     20
Signs and symptoms     52
Cardiovascular medicine     78
Chest medicine     146
Endocrinology     188
Gastroenterology     226
Renal medicine     276
Haematology     308
Infectious diseases     362
Neurology     436
Oncology and palliative care     510
Rheumatology     526
Surgery     550
Epidemiology     642
Clinical chemistry     652
Eponymous syndromes     686
Radiology     710
Reference intervals     736
Practical procedures     746
Emergencies     766
Index     842