British Journal of Radiology (2003) 76, 507
© 2003 British Institute of Radiology
doi:
Oxford handbook of clinical and laboratory investigation. Ed by D Provan and A Krentz, pp. xxiii + 597, 2002 (Oxford University Press, New York, NY), £19.95 ISBN 0 19 263283 3
T Healey
This book fits neatly into the pocket and is packed with information. It is in two parts. The first is arranged according to symptoms and signs; the second according to specialties. It is assumed that the latter section will be consulted after a rough diagnosis has been made from consideration of the first section.
The "symptoms" selected for the first part are arbitrary, e.g. one is "Gout", where one of the recommended investigations is AIP, which is not mentioned in the index, nor in the list of Symbols and Abbreviations. This is typical. Another example is that the Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers do not feature in the index, but are found (p. 300) under Infections and Tropical Disease, yet neither Infections nor Tropical appears in the index and you cannot find Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers by looking up Fever. There is a plethora of information herein, but it is by no means easy to retrieve.
Thus this work is by no means useful for occasional consultation, but regular use of this book in conjunction with the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine would familiarize one with the whereabouts of what you want to know. To be fair, that is the intention behind the book.
In summary, very good but decidedly idiosyncratic.
