Customer Reviews

Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews : Pharmacology : Special Millennium Update

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I used this book to study for my second year pharm class, and it has to be one of the best medical texts I have used so fair. It is an excellent balance between not enough info, aka ridiculously simple, and sweet jesus Katzung! It is concise, well organized, and has helpful pictures. I can't stress enough that if you are in the market for a pharm book THIS IS THE ONE!!!!!!!!! You will thank me later as you get your H in pharm!

I used this text to prepair for the boards, having already read Katzung's Pharmacology in class. This is a concise book, uniform, with many illustrations (many of them however could easily be omitted, since they simply present drug adverse effects graphically), and does a good job in selecting the prototypical drugs from each class. It could be a lot more complete in the section on CNS pharmacology, and on drugs for heart failure and hypertension (for example, it is stated that beta-blockers are contraindicated in heart failure, whereas it is well-known that this kind of drugs is essential for reducing mortality and hospitalizations in these patients). I particularly liked the section on antimicrobial chemotherapy, another high-yield topic for the boards. I have a positive overall impression of the book, but I found myself consulting Katzung more than often; also, it does not compare to the clearly superior Lippincott title on Biochemistry (keep in mind however than biochemistry lends itself much more easily to illustrated presentations than pharmacology). It will help you, but in order to top the exams, you will need an additional resource.

This book is really superb. I've been using it since the second medical year. One of the best features of this book is its black-and-white illustrations which make your life easy. The info are presented in an outline format for quick reading. It's concise and excellent for review (and for the first time) study! It contains some questions at the end of each chapter. Actually, this is what you need to know for examination purposes.

For most medical students, pharmacology is just route memorization. This book does a great deal to let you understand the mechanism of action and indications for the major drugs. By no means is this book to be substituted for your pharmacology textbook but it perfect to read as a companion to your textbook and lecture. Goes through the high yield material and allows you to know what is important for your test.
I do not recommend this book for USMLE, I think it is too big and detailed. I think you need to stick with a book that allows you to cram. What i would suggest is to read the pharmacology section of First Aid.

The Lippincott's scientific/medical series need no introduction. They have already carved their names with pride. Almost every book in this group have captured the hearts and souls of students. They are affordable as well!
Now, with hundreds of figures and charts, this one, the "Lippincott's Illustrative Reviews: Pharmacology" is truly illustrated. It has the qualities that reminds me of the "Basic & Clinical Pharmacology", (which was edited by Bertram Katzung). I love the simplicity of this book. It is a patient teacher. Very straightforward! It has that step-by-step approach that complex pharmacological and biochemical texts often overlook.
I have nothing to complain about this book; although I understand the feelings of my colleagues who accuse it of not being versatile enough as to serve as a major reference source.

It reads like Phonebook, but that is a problem with all pharm texts. However, it is fairly comprehensive and more concise than Katzung. I used Lippincott's as a primary text and supplemented with Mediglyphics (...). These 2 sources were sufficient to rock USMLE Step 1.

If it were not for this book, you would have to turn your brain into a computer with a high RAM and a large HD capacity in order to learn all that drugh stuff. Highly accurate, concise and precise, and most of all, FOCUSING IN WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT, with questions at the end of every chapter, this book is a MUST for medical students. Why bother to spend near $100 bucks for the Goodman and Gillman while you can get this beauty in $32 something ? When I bought it, my medical classmates where all skeptical, and then, after the first exam, almost ALL of them went to buy it. This is truly a first and reliable knowledge-by-price bargain that you can't miss (unless you want to become a drug geek).

I used this book primarily for my pharmacology course. I really didn't use it much as I prepared for Step 1. If you are going to get this, get it early while you are taking the course. It is too long to use for board prep, so learn it early and learn it well.

This book falls short of being a comprehensive text of pharmacology if one is deeply interested in understanding the principles and foundations of the field. For FMGs taking the USMLE step 1, I honestly do not think that one "needs" to study the whole book to do well on the test. This is because the pharmacology questions on the test are in the context of a clinical scenario, which most FMGs will be familiar with.
If one is to pick and choose, my recommendation is to study the first few chapters on Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics, CNS, CVS, Respiratory, Renal. Antibiotics and Antineoplastics can be quickly reviewd in the First Aid to Step 1.

I love this book, it doesn't assume you already have every mechanism memorized like many teachers assume that you do. Every drug and every mechanism is explained so it is easy to understand. The diagrams are very helpful in understanding the text. Overall it is very easy to read and a good study aid. However, be careful as a veterinary student studying with this book as it has some contradictions between animal and human medications and pk/pd.