This text is for medical students use as a succinct complement to the standard pathology sources, for seminar and discussion group preparation, and as a review for USMLE pathology questions. Occasional mnemonics and some 2000 questions are included to aid the study process.
The book is thoughtfully organized and sequenced into the classical subjects seen in standard pathology texts. Five authors contribute five of the 24 chapters, while the author does the remainder. Each chapter is subdivided by questions that are a mixture of lower and upper taxonomic types. The subject areas constitute a relatively comprehensive treatment of pathology core knowledge for a volume of this size. Particularly notable for their excellence are the digestive system chapters: gastrointestinal tract, hepatobiliary, and pancreas. The molecular basis of neoplasia is likewise well done. The chapters on nutritional disease and infectious disease are a bit spare.
Simple but instructive black and white drawings are included in each chapter. Those submitted by the author are particularly instructive. These drawings are employed especially well in the gastrointestinal, pancreatic, renal, and male genital chapters. The author skillfully uses tables; even more could have been utilized throughout the text. A greater effort to include brief clinical descriptions would have been helpful.
Pathology Secrets is best used as a guide after having read the subject area in a standard text. The subject areas are presented in a way that will spark an "aha!" of understanding by many students. Medical students should strongly consider using this text as a study guide during their pathology instruction.
