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The Merck Manual of Medical Information: Home Edition (Merck Manual Home Health Handbook)
 
 
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The Merck Manual of Medical Information: Home Edition (Merck Manual Home Health Handbook) [Hardcover]

Robert Berkow (Editor), Andrew J. Fletcher (Editor), Robert M. Bogin (Editor)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)


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Library Binding $28.95  
Hardcover, September 1997 --  
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There is a newer edition of this item:
The Merck Manual of Medical Information, Second Edition: The World's Most Widely Used Medical Reference - Now In Everyday Language The Merck Manual of Medical Information, Second Edition: The World's Most Widely Used Medical Reference - Now In Everyday Language 4.8 out of 5 stars (42)
Out of Print--Limited Availability

Book Description

0911910875 978-0911910872 September 1997 Home ed
The Merck Manual of Medical Information--Home Edition continues the impressive 100-year heritage established by The Merck Manual. This completely new book provides the information found in the physician's version written in easy-to-understand, everyday language for today's health-conscious individuals. Each section contains overviews on anatomy and physiology, in-depth information on symptoms, diagnoses, and treatment options, and detailed illustrations. With contributions by more than 200 leading medical experts, The Merck Manual--Home Edition features informative discussions on virtually all topics in medicine, including cancer, heart disease, digestive disorders, bone and joint disease, women's health, and children's health, as well as detailed discussions of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Whether you seek better understanding of a diagnosis or a quick reference to a medical term, The Merck Manual--Home Edition is the only book you need. This "must-have" home medical reference is an invaluable source of information for parents with young children, adults with elderly family members, or anyone who wants to communicate better with a healthcare professional.


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Need to find the definition of a medical term and comprehend it? Need fast information about your child's illness? Need help defining that redness in your eye? Or maybe you need a reality check on the progress of your pregnancy. For the first time, Merck--the leader in medical research since 1899--has opened its treasure chest of medical knowledge to the general public.

The team of nearly 200 experts, consultants, and authors has assembled a body of information so vast that listing select items fails to do it justice. The Merck Manual provides reams of useful medical information, ranging from fundamentals such as anatomy to crisp, easily understood descriptions of complicated diseases. Clear drawings of basic anatomical details and helpful sidebars that define terms and proffer advice are invaluable features, as is the up-to-date counsel on choosing the right form of exercise.

The Merck Manual's 30-page section on drugs is itself an excellent resource. Here you'll find descriptions of the biological impact of high-powered pharmaceuticals, plus a table of drugs that put the elderly at risk. Its five appendixes on such topics as legal issues and commonly used medical terms segue handily into a guide of institutions that offer information and counseling for a multitude of medical conditions. This exhaustive volume clarifies both the workings of the human body and the geography of its demise, not to mention Western medicine's solutions to its failures. If knowledge is power, buy this book to arm yourself with a world of information.

From Publishers Weekly

This covers the same topics as the Merck Manual for healthcare professionals [El manual de diagn"stico y terapeutica], but for the lay reader. Some statistics, microbiology, and therapeutic information have been excluded. The section on pharmaceuticals addresses the issue of different drug names and includes nonprescription medications. Appendixes on normal laboratory values and weights and measures round out the well-indexed text. [This is also available free online at (www.msd.es/ publicaciones/mmerck_hogar/index.html).DEd.]
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 1509 pages
  • Publisher: Merck Publishing Group; Home ed edition (September 1997)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0911910875
  • ISBN-13: 978-0911910872
  • Product Dimensions: 10 x 2.2 x 7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,238,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark H. Beers, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The Merck Manuals, is Executive Director of Geriatrics and Medical Literature at Merck & Co., Inc., and Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, MCP -- Drexel University. Dr. Beers assembled a group of nearly 200 eminent experts as Editorial Board members, consultants, and authors for this book.This outstanding group has dedicated years to the development of The Merck Manual Of Medical Information -- Second Home Edition, ensuring that the information contained within it is complete and easy to use and understand, while meeting the same standards of excellence that health care professionals have trusted in The Merck Manual for more than a century.

 

Customer Reviews

34 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (34 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars 1500 pages of information, not watered down!, July 15, 2002
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This reference book is easy to use and understand. When I first leaned of this home edition version of the Merck manual I was hesitant. Over the years many books have been published that are medical in nature, some published by doctors, but the content is watered down or so vague that a layperson doesn't derive much information from it. Some books are actually condescending in attitude, some patronizing. So many books briefly skim symptoms and then caution to call a physician for more information.

Recently my son was diagnosed on the phone by our pediatrician with chicken pox and it was made clear that they did not want to see him for a physical exam. I was given a tiny bit of information by the office staff but was still curious for more information. I spent over an hour surfing the Internet looking for information but found watered down information, repeated many times over on multiple websites, including some written by physicians intended for laypeople to use. I looked at my parenting books written by doctors (one titled "The Portable Pediatrician", no less) and was still lacking any substantial information. When I consulted the Merck Manual home edition, (which I had forgotten I bought recently and had not yet used), I was surprised at the level of information given. There are many details that I had not found elsewhere, such as number of days from exposure to outbreak, how long it takes the pox to change from first appearance to crusted over, about how long the infection lasts, and treatment suggestions. Reasons why some children have a mild outbreak vs. a severe outbreak were even provided, something I had not found anywhere else.

The information here is not dumbed down in that it is not so vague that it is not useful. There is a lot of information here but it is written in a style for the layperson to understand. I appreciated the writing style, which presents information to the non-physician without putting on airs.

Anyone who, like me, prefers to gather information and learn about things rather than making a call or office visit to their doctor to get just one opinion will appreciate owning this book. At about 1500 pages it covers many illnesses and ailments. If you are interested in this book I suggest you buy it so that you have it at your fingertips 24 hours a day, for whatever may arise. I am not suggesting this take the place of a doctor, but I know from working with physicians that there are certain calls that are non-emergent in nature that are not appreciated when the office is closed!

If you are looking for a book about children's ailments that encompasses not only western medicine but lists an array of other treatment methods, I suggest Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child: A Practical A-To-Z Reference to Natural and Conventional Treatments for Infants and Children by Janet Zand. I found this to be an excellent companion to the Merck manual, home edition. The Merck manual gives more information about the disease or ailment itself through a Western medicine viewpoint while the Zand's books' specialty is sharing treatment options grouped by category (herbal, homeopathic, western, etc.).

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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Medical Information Source For Every Home !, April 27, 2000
This review is from: The Merck Manual of Medical Information: Home Edition (Merck Manual Home Health Handbook) (Hardcover)
This hardbound 1,509 page authoritative health care encyclopedia will serve you well. Designed for home use, it covers every major medical/health care topic. Complete table of contents, and well indexed (over 11,000 entries) to make finding the information easy. Major topics range from Anatomy, Drugs, Bone, Joint and Muscle Disorders to Disorders of Skin, Eyes, Immune System, and Children's Health Issues. Many informative tables are provided. You'll find clear, easy to understand answers to most of your health questions. Even though I am a health professional and have access to the standard Merck Manual, I keep this volume at home for ready reference and refer to it often. Well worth the price. There are many books on the market about health care topics, but this one IS AUTHORITATIVE !
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive AND comprehensible, August 29, 2001
Let me start with my own qualifications for reviewing this invaluable book: 25 years' editing and indexing of professional medical texts and reference books; 20 years of creating "translations from the medicalese" for the rest of us; 3 years as consulting reviewer for an online health publication.
In this work, I use both the "senior" Merck Manual, which is written for professionals (though many nonprofessionals have been referred to it by librarians and such), and this recently developed "home" version, which I can't praise highly enough. It is literally the first text I have encountered that provides essential medical information in terms the average educated person can understand, WITHOUT writing down to people. It covers all the basic diseases and conditions and many unusual ones, including prevention where prevention is possible. Clear, understandable charts cover such topics as common blood and laboratory tests. The index is superb, so finding things is easy, whether you are coming at the topic by way of some medical jawbreaker your doctor has mentioned (myocardial infarction) or by way of what most people call it (heart attack). Any household would benefit from having this reference on its bookshelves. Even as a professional, I look in this edition first and tackle "Papa Merck" or a specialized textbook only if I need more than the basic information.
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