Understanding Acid-Base

Makes the difficult subject of acid-base understandable to medical students, residents, and nonspecialist practicing physicians. Opens with a concise but thorough review of fundamentals, then provides sections on chemistry, physiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment, explaining essentials. Includes chapter summaries, section quizes, and b&w explanatory diagrams. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

For most students of medicine, acid-base homeostasis (and its disorders) remains an elusive and arcane subject. This is not surprising: the concepts underlying the clinical management of acid-base homeostasis are complex, involving chemistry as well as physiology, and textbooks on the subject often fail to communicate these concepts clearly. Understanding Acid-Base is a remarkably successful attempt to cut through this complexity and to present the subject unambiguously....

All the aspects of the book have been given meticulous attention, from the instructive approach to the structure and content of each chapter. The book is organized into five distinct sections: chemistry, physiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment. As the author indicates in the introduction, each is self-contained so that readers can pick a section of interest to read as a "stand alone," depending on their level of knowledge of the subject. The book is so readable, however, that readers can quickly move from one section to the next to get more information.

The first section is preceded by a brief review of the fundamentals, including the definitions of "ion," "mole," and "equivalent." This chapter sets the stage: throughout the book, there is no ambiguity, and there is nothing that is not explained completely. Each section ends with a comprehensive self-assessment quiz, with answers provided, in classic textbook fashion. Although the book focuses on the information necessary to understand and manage acid-base disorders, a valuable feature is the appendix, which covers specific areas in more depth. Readers can peruse these areas or not, depending on their level of interest. The appendix is brief and readable as well....

The clarity, instructive style, and readability of Understanding Acid-Base make it one of the best in the field both for beginning students and for those who want to refresh their basic knowledge in the area....
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