Customer Reviews

Pocket Companion to Textbook of Medical Physiology

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

 

 

I wish many other books with complex topics had a pocket companion comparable to this one. If the topic is important to your success, then having the pocket companion is indispensible. I see the pocket companion as the architect's view (high level design) of physiology and the first step to learning. Depending on interest and time, you can selectively drill down into the textbook to explain topics of greater importance to you. If a particular topic is not that important you can just read the companion. I have already swept through many chapters and when I hit a chapter I wanted to understand in more detail, such as sports physiology, I went off and read the entire textbook chapter. When other chapters have more detail then I need I stick with the companion.

Count yourself lucky to have this pocket companion as a first "cut" to the knowledge in the textbook, it will help immensely during the absorption and after for the quick and convenient recall.

This pocket companion serves as a concise overview of the most important facts & concepts from the parent textbook (Guyton's Textbook of Medical Physiology). However, it does not contain all the details or some clinical relevances, that's why you have to go back to the parent textbok for furthur info.

Lets be realisitic. In medical school who has the luxury of reading the text book from cover to cover? No one! If your class is following Guyton, forget the big book and follow this instead. It is pointless to read the big book because it is far to dilute. The important points become difficult to pick out. Rather than being dilute, this pocket book is concise and it gives information in a narative, not bullet point, format that makes it a quick read. I will give a warning, however. Although this book is much better than the big Guyton textbook, you may find it, just like the big book, deficient in only a few points needed for USMLE step 1. However, no source is perfect!

Good figures. Text is easy to read. Guyton's text is especially good in explaining cardiovascular material. It complements the larger text well, and is recommended as a good, shorter version of the main text.

Does what I expected... gives a complete concise review of pertinent material without all the extra filler of experiments and lengthy discussions. Not the best as a primary resource, but I generally read the bigger version first and then use this for review.

I really like this book. It's not necessarily the best book to use for board review, but it's a wonderful reference tool when you want a relatively fast, yet more in-depth explanation than you'd find in BSR physiology. For example, I'm reading pharmacology mechanism of action--who helps me out? mini-guyton! That said, most of my friends don't love it like I do because it's a little dense. Sometimes I need the specificity to truly understand systems.

It has nearly every major highlight from it's larger companion text. I would say nearly 85% of the material is covered in one form of the other.

My medical physiology course is extremely intense and there is no time to read all of the assigned reading in the textbook. Thanks to this pocket version of the text I am able to review chapters in half the time. I also recommend the textbook which provides detail description of figures that may not be covered in the pocket companion.

I love this book, it's good for brief review any time I want to go over the little things that one forgets after school's over. It's much simpler in the bed than a huge hardcover textbook.

I have been using this book, along with the 'Big Daddy' version for preparation for my surgical primary exams. In summary, it's gold. No, it won't tell you everything that the big book does, and certainly not as much detail as thicker texts like Ganong, but I think that is the real benefit of it. ALL IT HAS IS THE BASIC FACTS, and that is all you need to grasp the concepts and therefore answer most questions. If you are looking for a high distinction on your exams, then take a month off work and read Ganong. If you have less than a week and are trying just to pass, then 'Baby Guyton' is gold. Five stars.