Review by Choice Review
As stated on its dust jacket, this is "an A-Z reference guide to over 5,000 medical terms including symptoms, diseases, drugs and treatments." A carefully crafted combination of technical and nontechnical language makes the book accessible to both laypersons and students while providing succinct descriptions for professionals. Explanations of some conditions, treatments, or tests are more than a page long; other topics receive only a paragraph, and the variation seems appropriate to factors such as incidence and interest. More than 2,200 drawings and pictures clearly illustrate physical anatomy, disease processes, and medical techniques. Words used in a definition that are themselves explained elsewhere in the book are printed in italics. Some mild sexism and other bias mar an otherwise exemplary work: a picture of a nude woman was unnecessarily chosen to illustrate "cosmetic surgery," "bunions" are blamed on wearing high heels, and "macrobiotics" is dismissed as a dietary practice that leads to malnourishment. Information in this encyclopedia is more precise than that in The American Medical Association Family Medical Guide (rev. ed., 1987; 1st ed., CH, Jan '83) and the encyclopedia is organized purely to inform rather than to encourage self-evaluation of health problems. Reasonably priced and highly recommended for all libraries. -K. Bradley, Bellevue Community College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
This wide-ranging, up-to-date dictionary describes diseases, conditions, symptoms, medications, tests, procedures, and surgical operations for the layperson. Its authority, broad coverage, and excellent diagnostic charts distinguish it from similar works, although the AMA Family Medical Guide ( LJ 11/15/82) provides more diagnostic information but less detailed description. Although it attempts to be layperson-oriented, it often fails; e.g., there are no cross-references from upper and lower gastrointestinal to ``barium X-ray examinations,'' and many terms in its short entries must be looked up elsewhere in the book. A short list of self-help organizations (with phone numbers and addresses) emphasizes the limited usefulness of any work of this type. Nonetheless, for quick explanations, this book is among the best.-- Robert Aken, Univ. of Kentucky Libs., Lexington (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Library Journal Review
