Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease (Hardcover)

by Ramzi S. Cotran (Author), Vinay Kumar (Author), Stanley L. Robbins (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Review of Previous Edition: "...A welcome and much needed reassertion of the central importance of pathology in all of medical education." -JAMA --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
It is hard to imagine a pathologist, whether a trainee or consultant, who would not benefit from reading or at least referring to this book. Most older pathologists will possess earlier editions as Robbins has been a standard text for many years. This seventh edition represents the evolution of the best single volume textbook on general pathology and the editors are to be congratulated in having resisted the temptation to overturn the book's familiar order in the name of innovation. Instead, they have sympathetically expanded the text, which now includes a phenomenal amount of information. A particularly welcome development is the chapter on ocular pathology for the generalist and the reorganisation of the chapter on infectious diseases taxonomically. The book has a very broard appeal: it could be read with profit by consultant pathologists, but is still suitable as an undergraduate text for medical students, as it starts from first principles and extends to the limits of knowledge. Robbins will remain the book of choice for diligent students, who will be inspired by the thorough scientific grounding in pathology that it provides. UK universities that believe this factual knowledge to be redundant should consider the popularity of Robbins in the US, and with practicing diagnostic pathologists in the UK, and think again.
BMA Awards 2005

A well laid out book covering the entire spectrum of disease in clear, concise detail. The sections are clearly headed and a separate index at the start of each chapter means finding them becomes a doddle. The book makes a point of making it easy to tackle such a large amount of text - from basics, slowly working up to the more complex. The book has an excellent additional feature in the form of a MCQ CD. The book is just about worth buying for the CD alone. It really helps your revision of pathology and challenges you to think more deeply about the topic.
It may seem too much for students, but this book will last for your whole medical education and no doubt beyond.
Edinburgh Medics, a Res Medica supplement courtesy of the Royal Medical Society, July 2005

This new edition is praiseworthy for the breadth and depth of its content and its ability to remain up to date. It serves the needs not only of the beginning student, the pathologist in training, but all practitioners of medicine with intellectual curiosity.
Modern Pathology, 2005 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1424 pages
• Publisher: W B Saunders Co; 5th edition (October 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0721650325
• ISBN-13: 978-0721650326
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,810,798 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE path book for ppl who don't mess around!, February 20, 2005

By	Jennifer Aron "med student" (La Jolla, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, Seventh Edition (Hardcover)

If your pathology lecture handouts look like this:
"toxoplasma - immunocompromised host - cardiac transplant"
and you are thinking, "What causes what? Can professors use verbs?"
then this may be the book for you.

I found myself in the situation of requiring more explanation, and R&C PBD fits the bill.

Pros:
- Thorough (at over 1500 pages, it better be!).
- Readable - I noticed that people disagreed on this point. No, it is not "fun" to read, but I think it is as good as you can get. The text does not assume that you have mastered the previous chapters, it provides explanation throughout, making it possible to open it anywhere and still understand what is going on.
- Summary tables, nice photos, clear diagrams - could maybe use more of them.

Cons:
- It's enormous! of course, that's a problem with the subject, not the book. I guess you have to ask yourself if you can set aside the time and concentration to get through it, if not, purchase BRS pathology. (Tip: if the weight of a 1500-pg. book bothers you, get the binding removed at a copy shop and carry the currently relevant pages)
- No study questions - I recommend its Review of Pathology companion with 1100+ questions for ample board review.

Good luck, you hardcore path master!

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "As goes your Path..., January 7, 2003

By	Rheumor (New Orelans) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease (Hardcover)

...so goes your Medicine". That was on a T-shirt made by a path professor in med school, and while it seemed pretty self-serving at the time, it turns out to be largely true. To master the trade, you need a clear, concise understanding of pathology, and Robbins has been and continues to be the best source from which to learn our trade. I read mine through on schedule, re-read it each weekend with a highlighter one chapter at a time, then transferred my highlights to a notebook (I think for me that was where most of the info actually sunk in) and then at exam time used only my notebooks to review. It worked great for me, and while the "mini-Robbins" was loved by many, I never really used mine, finding the above system more than adequate. Robbins remains a great book that you must digest. Good luck!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, January 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease (Hardcover)

This book is excellent. I used the 4th edition as a medical student and am currently reading this edition in preparation for my pathology boards. The book is much improved in terms of readibility, great tables, diagrams, and color photographs. It is a must have for medical students interested in pathology as well as pathologists.