Pulmonary Function

From The Critics

Reviewer: Edward R. Garrity, Jr., MD(Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine)
Description: This is a review text and reference source for pulmonary function testing as used in clinical medicine. It is a single-author text, liberally referenced with a good index.
Purpose: Dr. Laszlo's purpose is to place respiratory physiology into a clinical context while providing a rigorous discussion of this physiology for students and doctors in training. These are certainly worthwhile goals and the need for such a text is clear. The author's style falls a little short of authoritative, but the quality and number of references clearly make this a useful text, especially for the beginning student in the area. The text does meet the author's objective but falls slightly short of the rigorous nature of discussion proposed.
Audience: Pulmonologists and fellows comprise the intended audience, but general physicians who desire a good reference in this area will also be interested. The text will not be as useful for experienced pulmonary physicians.
Features: The text is well-written, but somewhat superficial. It is well illustrated with black-and-white line drawings that contribute nicely to the message of the accompanying text. Occasional illustrations will cause some confusion in the U.S. because of the display of physiological graphs and charts in a style more common in Great Britain. A careful reader will have no significant difficulty with these graphs, however. The book is very well referenced, and those references are up-to-date and support the author's contentions. The book's appearance and presentation are excellent. The striking feature of the book is its format: this is a reference for problem-oriented pulmonary function testing. To my knowledge such a text did not exist previously.
Assessment: This is a sound text dealing with pulmonary physiology as it relates to clinical medicine. A nice starting reference work for the pulmonary fellow or resident, it is too superficial for the experienced pulmonologist. Individuals will definitely find it quite instructive, but libraries may find it too basic to be of serious reference value. Bookstores will find this a useful text for their inventory because trainees require a good starting source for pulmonary testing. This is a solid text but falls slightly short of the mark in its depth of discussion.

Edward R. Garrity

This is a review text and reference source for pulmonary function testing as used in clinical medicine. It is a single-author text, liberally referenced with a good index. Dr. Laszlo's purpose is to place respiratory physiology into a clinical context while providing a rigorous discussion of this physiology for students and doctors in training. These are certainly worthwhile goals and the need for such a text is clear. The author's style falls a little short of authoritative, but the quality and number of references clearly make this a useful text, especially for the beginning student in the area. The text does meet the author's objective but falls slightly short of the rigorous nature of discussion proposed. Pulmonologists and fellows comprise the intended audience, but general physicians who desire a good reference in this area will also be interested. The text will not be as useful for experienced pulmonary physicians. The text is well-written, but somewhat superficial. It is well illustrated with black-and-white line drawings that contribute nicely to the message of the accompanying text. Occasional illustrations will cause some confusion in the U.S. because of the display of physiological graphs and charts in a style more common in Great Britain. A careful reader will have no significant difficulty with these graphs, however. The book is very well referenced, and those references are up-to-date and support the author's contentions. The book's appearance and presentation are excellent. The striking feature of the book is its format: this is a reference for problem-oriented pulmonary function testing. To my knowledge such a text did not exist previously. This is a sound text dealingwith pulmonary physiology as it relates to clinical medicine. A nice starting reference work for the pulmonary fellow or resident, it is too superficial for the experienced pulmonologist. Individuals will definitely find it quite instructive, but libraries may find it too basic to be of serious reference value. Bookstores will find this a useful text for their inventory because trainees require a good starting source for pulmonary testing. This is a solid text but falls slightly short of the mark in its depth of discussion.

3 Stars from Doody