Customer Reviews

Pathology

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is written for Step 1 of the National Boards. This is a comprehensive review of pathology. The information is clearly written with the most improtant points in bold letters. This makes the matterial easy to absorb. In addition, the information is strictly categorized, and there is little irrelevant and wasteful writing. You will find this quick reading (for a comprehensive review) simply because of the way it is written. Furthermore, each chapter is followed with a short but thorough Q&A review section. Another additional feature is the frequent use of very useful tables, which often give a good understanding of a whole chapter. Although the book is thorough, I have never regretted having read it. I have found it useful even though I did not specialize in Pathology. It is enlightening in just about any general specialty one may be interested in. The book's only short coming is its number of pictorials which are few and far in between.

This book has strong word-of-mouth press, as well as a glowing review from the First Aid book. Its thickness is intimidating, especially for the BRS series, but the pages aren't too dense, so that it can be covered in its entirety in four days or less. Without having compared it to its competitors, I can still say that it does cover just about everything necessary to study pathology. Sometimes the book is a little skimpy on details that, in my own case, were filled in by previous overlapping study through other subjects.

A more substantive complaint is that the book is in dire need of an update: it was published in 1993. For example, the sections on lymphoma classifications and HIV treatment are hopelessly outdated. Along the same lines, the questions at the end of each section and the comprehensive exam at the end don't reflect the current USMLE testing style. For one thing, about 70% of the questions in this book are phrased negatively, as in "all of the following are true, EXCEPT...". For another, many of the questions are quite a bit pickier than my experience with the USMLE step 1 (three days ago).

The book also contains far too few photomicrographs, and those are all black and white, but this can be remedied easily with supplemental materials.

This book provides a good outline of pathology by organ systems. Useful as an overview of pathology for medical school classes, and tremendously helpful for Step 1 of the USMLE.

Pathology is one of the hardest and longest subjects in medical school, and when finally you are on the other side thinking you wouldn't dare to take the course again, USMLE comes...... but fortunately, the Lord has inspired this people to write this excellent book. With key essentials, friendly text, excellent organization, handy review questions and a comprehensive exam, I just wish I had this book during my course of pathology. If you don't want to get admitted in a mental institution when reviewing pathology for the USMLE step 1, well....then what are you waiting for buying this book.

Like other review texts in this series, the pathology review is authored in a language and style which is easy for the medical student, resident, or physician to follow, covering the basics of pathology while extending its subject matter into areas and diseases often neglected by textbooks and reviews. As an academic subject and a clinical science, pathology is often a bane to medical students and others who must study it as part of their formal biomedical education, and books such as this one offer a good starting point for diving into this vast subject. As pathology covers a variety of systems and organs as well as variety of diseases, the information in any pathology text must be complete yet concise and easy to find as a reference. The information presented in this review also includes very recent research findings, something that is more often than not missing from many pathology textbooks, even when they are of a recent edition. Most of all, this review is exactly that: a review of importent pathological information, and it presents this information in a manner that is as concise as possible given the amount of ground it has to cover within its pages. The visual layout and design of this text is also quite interesting and effective, an aspect of publishing that too many medical texts neglect.

An excellent review but first edition is a bit out-dated. I hear the new 2nd edition will be out in Dec 2001, so if you need it for the Boards, wait for the new one! (UPDATE: new edition is now available from the publisher 12/11/01).

This book is an absolute must for any medical student studying for pathology finals or for Step 1 of boards. I was able to get through this book in five days to review for my path final, where my lecture notes would have taken at least 2 weeks. The outline format of this review is easy to follow and there are many tables and charts comparing different disease processes and such. These tables make it a little easier to remember all of the picky details. I highly recommend this book.

I did not use any other study materials for the USMLE except this little red book. Everything in this book was relevant and anything not in the book, you probably do not want to know. Schneider and Szanto are preaching from the mountaintop and I am listening.

This refers to the new fully updated edition. A whole new section on diagnostic tests. Key points highlighted. This fabulous book continues the good work started years ago. A definite must for any usmle candidate. Needs to be memorised from cover to cover!!
Schneider and Szanto have done it again! Thanks a million.

This book is unmatched for its outline for discusion of pathology. It breaks down all the important key points. The key that can make this book useful to all levels is the white space... There is plenty of room to write your own notes... A quick reference with room for notes. 10 out of 10...