Customer Reviews

Textbook of Biochemistry with Clinical Correlations

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

We used this book teaching first year medical school biochemistry. The clinical correlations are well done, but the real strengh of the book lies in the sections on metabolic interrelationships. It is often confusing to the medical student to learn a pathway, and the the metabolic controls of the pathway, and then the added complexity that this system works differently in different tissues. This physiological complexity (which is the layer of integration where diagnosis really happens) is tackled head on in the first few chapters. This helps keep the student oriented to the system (the patient) and not get totally lost in the trees of enzyme names and co-factors.

I wish this book had been around when I went through medical school.

duke out

I am 4° semester medical student and ever since I was introduced to this book (about a year ago by my biochemistry class teacher), it has proved to be a very useful biochemistry information resource. I have other biochemistry texts because I like to study from different points of view, but this text is a little bit different from the basic biochemistry textbook in that the information presented here is most relevant to the clinical setting. After reading any chapter it will be clear to you that you made a good investment. The most important thing is that the book is written in a very understandable reading wiht many examples and illustrations. The chapter on metabolic interrelationships will proof of great value to understanding biochemistry as a fundamental discipline in medicine; in a sense it opened my eyes (and yours too) to what at first seems a boring subject.

If you are thinking that because the book is presented in a clinical way you'll loose basic information, don't be. I took the chance and believe me I am not dissapointed at all, otherwise I wouldn't be recommending it to you. Good luck.

This is a very comprehensive biochemistry textbook: well-written and well-organized. It maintained both analytical and interpretative approach in most of its chapters. Its clinical applications were evident in the way it handled nucleic acids, nucleotides, bioenergetics, immunochemistry, enzymology, and gene replications. Each metabolic pathway it discussed is well-detailed, and is supported with illustrative charts.
The only thing this book demands from its reader is good Organic Chemistry foundation. It is a very good text, although that its retail price is clearly on the high side.

I have a copy of this book for my biochemistry as well as molecular biology class. It becomes my tool to understand many complicated materials. The good part of this book is that there is not only one or two authors of this book, but, I guess, more than 20 contributors to this edition. The experts in each field are more likely to present the material more accurate than others. Moreover, this book also provides the address as well as e-mail address of each contributor in the content which I think very helpful when I need more advise on a specific topic. Hence, this book is one of my favorite texts.

I wanted to get a textbook that allows me to get up to speed again with mammalian biochemistry and I bought this book in preference to more general textbooks. And on the whole I am impressed - the writing and the diagrams are clear and accurate. There is one issue however that has made a serious black mark: units. I would expect a modern textbook to use SI units throughout. The problem here is that the book skips between Calories and Joules almost at random depending upon the particular author involved. The chapter on Bioenergetics gloriously uses both - but in different parts of the chapter (for example Free-Energy Change for hexokinase is in kcals whereas the section on Free-Energy Changes in redox reactions is in joules! - without the other unit in both cases). I have an elderly copy of Lehninger from the 1970's that exclusively uses SI units and so to see a modern (2005) book still using Calories is deeply disappointing. Yes it's an irritant (even I can convert between joules and calories - 4.18) and shouldn't detract from the book but thats not the point. It just shouldn't happen and it reflects badly on the general editor

I expected better from a 6th edition medical textbook. There are still grammatical and sentence errors that need to be corrected, and we have found multiple diagram problems throughout the book. The sentences can be poorly worded at times, and the book occassionally makes leaps in thought that are difficult to follow. It does contain a large amount of information, which is good, but the presentation of that information definitely needs to be further refined.

As an undergraduate professor who teaches Biochemistry, I feel that this text is about as good as it gets with regard to "real world" applications. I will agree that it can be a somewhat difficult read - even the most well-educated novice might be overwhelmed by the details and progression of thought. The enzyme chapter in particular is less than stellar in its organization/presentation (a step back from the 5th edition when a different author penned that chapter). However, Devlin and his associates have done what so many authors of biochemistry texts have not... provided relevance. Often, this facet alone can make tackling an otherwise daunting amount of subject matter possible. As long as you have the proper guidance/instruction, this text is an invaluable tool for appreciating the signficance of biochemical pathways in the onset/progression of human disease.

I am currently teaching my first year of medical biochemistry and this book is a nice balance. Not as "hard core" on the chemistry as Voet & Voet, but more comprehensive than Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews or Baynes and Dominiczak's Medical Biochemistry. Similar in depth to Marks' Basic Medical Biochemistry but slightly less emphasis on the medical aspects. Decent illustrations and the clinical coorelations boxed seperately within the text is a nice feature.

great text. a lot of detail. not good for reviewing, but good for finding detailed information.

This book has a wealth of information that will thoroughly educate you not only about biochemistry, but about practical clinical correlations springing directly from the biochemistry. Along with beautiful illustrations and a comprehensive index, the text is clearly written by experts from each field. Dr. Devlin has hit a major-league home run with this bright new work.