Synopsis
The strengths of this popular text - its conciseness and logical progression through renal physiology and pathophysiology - are retained in the 4th edition. The text has been updated throughout, and the content has been expanded to make the book eminently suitable for `systems-based' courses.
The book is designed for the needs of medical undergraduates but many doctors are likely to find it useful too.
B. Peter Sawaya
This book is based on the author's lecture course in renal physiology. It is a simplified and easy-to-read review of the subject. This is the fourth edition, and the third was published in 1994. The purpose is to set out the principles of renal physiology for preclinical medical students. The main focus is to review normal renal function. A second objective is to discuss renal adaptation to many disease states. In this newer edition the author provides further integration of renal anatomy, pharmacology, and pathology to renal physiology. The author successfully achieves his goal. This book is written primarily for undergraduate medical and medical science students. It is obvious that the author is very experienced in the subject and has an excellent, easy-to-read style. He does make complex concepts easy to understand. The author follows a traditional sequence of topics in renal physiology. First, he provides a comprehensive review of body fluids composition, followed by the normal function of each segment of the nephron. Subsequently he discusses the role of the kidney in fluids, electrolytes, and acid-base regulation. This book contains a few unique and very desirable features. The figures are very clear and generous in size, which makes fine details easy to depict. The frequent use of ""shaded titles"" and legends to figures and tables is very pleasing to the eyes. The author provides a few ""problems"" to solve at the end of some chapters to further highlight important topics. This book is excellent as a primer in renal physiology. All the major topics are covered in an easy-to-read style. The author clearly has the experience to transform a complex concept intosomething that is easy to understand. This is particularly important to students who are just beginning to learn these materials. This book can be useful to interns and residents who may be struggling in some aspects of renal physiology. In addition, I find it quite suitable as a framework for instructors of renal physiology.