Product Description
The 7th edition of Kumar and Clark’s Clinical Medicine is a thoroughly updated, reworked and revised new edition of the first-prize winner in the Medicine category in the BMA 2006 Medical Book Competition. It is the market-leading comprehensive and authoritative single-volume textbook of internal medicine, consulted by students and doctors alike throughout the world. Covering the management of disease, based on an understanding of scientific principles, and includin… More >>
Kumar and Clark’s Clinical Medicine: With STUDENTCONSULT Online Access
Tags: Access, bma, Clark's, Clinical, clinical medicine, doctors, Kumar, kumar and clark, medical book, Medicine, medicine category, new edition, Online, prize winner, STUDENTCONSULT, textbook of internal medicine
#1 by Justin Reilly on April 15, 2010 - 2:07 am
Very inaccurate regarding ME/CFIDS. ME is a common, extremely disabling, neuro-endocrine immune disease which also incorporates mitochondria pathology and cardiomyopathy. ME is strongly associated with two retroviruses (CAV and XMRV) and otherwise rare lymphomas.
The authors of this section- Peter White and Anthony Clare- are widely regarded as having unscientific biases. They make many statements here based on studies relying on the Oxford/British definition of “CFS” which no serious scientist gives any credence. The Oxford definition is literally the symptom of chronic fatigue with one other chronic symptom from a list; essentially idiopathic chronic fatigue. The section is misinformation which will cause iatrogenic morbidity. Shameful.
Rating: 1 / 5
#2 by Mustafa Feroze on April 15, 2010 - 2:08 am
Those who believe that medicine can be learnt by reading journals and articles are wrong. One must have a sound base before any benefit can be derived from readng journals. This is an excellent text book of medicine for both under and postgraduate students. I qualifed 25 years ago and now I teach medicine but still read it. Each time I open my book, I learn a new thing which I did not know before. If you have grasp over this book, you undoubtedly are an astute clinician.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by F. A. Alkharboush on April 15, 2010 - 2:16 am
Before I start the review let me get some stuff out of the way:
- I dont have Davidson to make a comparative review with K&C.
- Whatever book you read, realize that you won’t find all you need in a single volume. Look up different sources including Online, and most importantly, think.
- I own Essentials of Cecil (Dept. recommended book) and K&C, none of them goes deep into step-by-step patient management. If you want that check Kelly’s Textbook of Medicine or the Washington Manuel.
There’s a general census that the Internal Medicine’s got the most number of good options when it comes to textbooks. Davidson and K&C particularly are popular among med students all over the world. There is a RICH International Advisory Board (K&C did an extensive tour in India, Middle and Far East recently, Kumar changed more than 60% of our Anatomy course by rendering at as “too much for students to know”). If you’re looking for a text thats written specifically with undergraduate students in mind then this is it. Unfortunately, this is also part of the problem.
While I don’t like it, the writing style is a mixed bag among students. It discusses diseases in a systemic fashion, while thats a very good thing it does feel encyclopedic. Unlike Essentials of Cecil’s explanatory style, what you get here is the information written in a bullet-style concise way, almost too concise in some areas. Sometimes you know you’re reading superficial information with a “this is as much as you need to know” feel. A lot of students like this since they’re getting the information they need and nothing else. If thats what you want then this book is made for you. If you’re a natural reader and want to understand concepts (like Guyton with Physiology ), look somewhere else.
One big downside in K&C is the brief sections on signs and symptoms. You won’t find information approaching febrile patients. If you want to check Chest Pain, read it from the Respiratory and Cardiac chapters, and don’t get me started on Abdominal Pain.
The layout is FANTASTIC. This is one of the best looking textbooks I have seen in any given field. The quality of the paper and cover is excellent. It looks and feels nice. Thinner than the previous edition, they took down the number of pages though managed to increase the material thanks to the layout and the use of online resources.
Online is a big feature when it comes to Kumar. All the sounds (heart,breath ..etc) with or without commentary. Excellent surface anatomy from student’s Gray’s Anatomy. A free Cecil, which is worth the price of admission.
In summery, alot of work was put into this to make it the perfect textbook for students. They even made a separate book called Medical Sciences meant as a companion volume to K&C, covering genetics, biochemistry …etc. This is a book ( or series rather ) that directly addresses the students needs and globally succeeds at that. In doing that,however , it hit itself with the “this is as much as you need to know” feel, which can be frustrating to some students. The lack of good elaboration on interpreting signs & symptoms is a definite downside. Maybe they left it for the clinical methods books, since they do want to minimize the size of the book.
I gave it 4 stars, despite the signs & symptoms issue, because if you’re a fan of this kind of writing then this book is a blessing (try the free sample chapter from [...]), if not, then you simply won’t read it.
Rating: 4 / 5