Customer Reviews

Star Trek: Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual

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This has to be the best of those early Star Trek technical books to come out. The premise it that Doctor McCoy has authored this manual for Star Fleet and the information is really comprehensive and well thought out. My only problem with this book is not the book itself, but Paramount, Rick Berman and the other powers that be who tend to ignore a lot of this great reference material when making their new shows.

When I say comprehensive I mean it. This book gives you entries for the physiology of all the major races seen in the original series. Did you know that Vulcan bodies retain as much moisture as possible in response to the inhospitable environment of their home planet? The manual even tells you what that results in their waste (they poop owl pellets). Did you know Andorians have a relatively uncommon problem with their antennae getting dislocated? Did you know Klingons have two livers? Did you know Gorn lay eggs? The level of detail is really impressive.

Sentient species aren't the only ones that get entries. You also get medical information on notable creatures like tribbles and get to see exactly what that Denebian Slime Devil McCoy uses to insult people really is (and what they look like). Certain plant life that made notable appearances on the series like the Mako Root also get a detailed description.

The alien physiology entries are just a portion of what's in this manual. There is a historic timeline that chronicles all the major events in the original series; obviously peppered with medically relevant events in that history. There is a detailed list of drugs and other chemicals noted in the Star Trek universe as well as a list of diseases (including symptoms and treatments).

First aid is also featured on this book. Some of it is actually useful for our own day to day lives like CPR and patient carrying techniques, and others are more alien specific like treating mugato bites and how to recognize when a Vulcan is having a heart attack. There is also details on medical equipment like the medical tricorder, hypo spray, medkits, and even an explanation on how to read the medical scanners in sick bay.

All in all this book is a wealth of info that any Star Trek fan would love. Just keep in mind some of the information is outdated by the newer ST shows (I blame you Rick), while others aren't officially verified just yet. Unfortunately there have been no attempts to classify this book as being canon, but then again the mantra of Paramount is "nothing is canon until you see it on the screen" and even that shows conflicting information. Either way get this book. It's well worth it for even just the little tidbits that can be 100% accounted for.