Product Description

FIRST PRIZE WINNER IN THE MEDICINE CATEGORY IN THE BMA 2006 MEDICAL BOOK COMPETITION!

Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine is a comprehensive and authoritative single-volume textbook of internal medicine that is consulted by students and doctors throughout the world. Its aim is to explain the management of disease, based on an understanding of scientific principles and including the latest developments in treatment. It is written for medical students and doctors preparing for specialist exams, and is an ideal general reference text for all practising doctors. The new edition is part of Elsevier's new STUDENT CONSULT electronic community. STUDENT CONSULT titles comes with full text online, a unique image library, case studies, questions and answers, online note-taking, and integration links to content in other disciplines - ideal for problem-based learning.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60103 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 1528 pages

Review
I have seen this book mature over the editions and the latest incarnation does the lineage proud. This is one of a select few books that deserves to be in most doctors' personal possession and it's as simple as that.
Clinical medicine impacts on every aspect of medicine and so most doctors in most specialties should have one general medical textbook in their possession and this one certainly fits the bill. This is primarily a British textbook with a wide range of contributors. However there is also an international advisory panel which gives this book global appeal and it is good to see a British textbook still slugging it out with the big guns. This is a big book and is over 1500 pages and despite being a paperback, it can survive the ravages of regular use. The depth of coverage is superb and will certainly help the majority of users from general clinicians to all the specialties. It will make a superb reference source as well.
There is extensive use of colour, boxes, tables and pictures whilst the text is eminently readable, understandable and up to date. Over several months usage, I found it comprehensive, accessible and answered the majority of my clinical medical questions with common and unusual topics covered in sensible detail. Dermatology and special senses are also covered as well as all the usual suspects.
The book alone is worth the money but you get more than this when you purchase it. You get free on line access to the full text through http: //www.studentconsult.com/ and this is marvellous. This facility can be accessed through any Internet enabled computer and is dead easy to use. Navigation is easy as is searching and the whole book is there. Also thrownare animations of practical procedures, a drug database, cardiac and breathing sounds. These are nice little extras but it is having the book online and freely accessible (being built into the purchase price) is the big boon.
The beauty of this book lies in its wide appeal which includes students and post graduates, GPs and Consultants and those in the training grades. Having an online twin to accompany the book as standard is truly fantastic. Throw in a competitive price and this makes the book a worthwhile purchase.
"Dr. Harry Brown, www.univadis.co.uk"
Here is what I really like about "Clinical Medicine":
High-quality drawings, graphs and pictures that support and emphasize the important sections in the book, the prefatory sections in every new chapter which freshens up your anatomy, physiology and biochemistry, well thought out info boxes and tables which give you an overview of the more difficult and/or complicated topics, extremely well written text which 'carries' the reader through longer chapters, the online access.
"Medical Student, Copenhagen University"
All the drawings, pictures, tables and flow sheets in this textbook make it easy to read and give the reader a good understanding. The book is constructed in a brilliant way for use as a reference and for repetition.
"Medical Student, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim"

Customer Reviews

An excellent medical reference
Having bought and used the fourth edition since starting medical school nearly 6 years ago, one naturally hopes that the new edition does not need to be added to an already comprehensive and varied medical bookshelf. Unfortunately, only a naive student would follow this line of thought.
The most outstanding and dramatic change to this edition has to be the ability to access the FULL textbook (along with every single image, table etc.) online! Each textbook comes with an unique PIN number that allows one access to the 'kumarandclark' website. Furthermore, the very first page contains a list of websites that have up-to-date information regarding the subject matter in their respective chapters.
Only at closer inspection, can one really see the subtle differences between the fourth and fifth editions (for instance, the Acute Coronary Syndrome now replaces Unstable Angina in this new edition, an important distinction, especially with finals fast approaching!).
Perhaps, the only disappointing aspect of this new edition is the absence of the useful appendices found in the fourth edition. This is because of the new 'ethics and communication' chapter at the start of the book; probably useful for those starting medicine and those of us reaching the end. But still, there are other textbooks that are more useful in bringing across these areas of medicine.
All in all, with finals coming, this new edition ensures that the important imformation needed for finals is up-to-date. And thankfully, the colourful and 'easy-to-the-eye' layout is preserved, thus creating an invaluable medical reference.

Too big for its boots
I have owned every issue of K&C since its first publication and have seen it getting larger by the years. It is the standard but I think med students need something more concise and readable to grasp the basics that are necessary early on. It needs to be more drastically edited or else it will just become a reference text while students read the smaller, more concise alternatives.

Good in Pathophysiology but lacks pictures and tables
I wish Kumar and Clark contained as many pictures and tables as Davidson's does. It makes a hell lot of a difference while studying for examinations and in the wards. Davidson's classification of information in superb Disease Management tables, Differential diagnosis tables ("Major Manifestations of Disease" part) is far superior in this regard. Further, Kumar and Clark lacks those Evidence-Based-Medicine panels in Davidson's which puts K&C backward in time. There isn't enough emphasis on EBM and Problem Based Learning. Although it was K&C that brought in color in print, etc first, the 19th ed of Davidson's has overtaken the 5th ed of K&C even in this regard. Davidson's is probably the most visually captivating book in the undergraduate curriculum. It also boasts of an "International Panel of Advisors" that has helped shape the content of the book. All of these advantages that Davidson's has make it more accessible than K&C in the OP, ward, before exams....you name it!!

Well K&C is better than Davidson's in a few aspects. One thing that I particularly like is the way things are explained in much greater detail than Davidson's. K&C contains a lot more info than Davidson's as far as Pathophysiology is concerned. Also a few more diseases and syndromes (eg. Pearson's syndrome,etc). The Psychiatry section is better. It helps in understanding disease mechanisms better and K&C's style is more explanatory. This is one major factor that made me purchase this book in-spite of all its drawbacks. Also I liked the "Ask the Author" feature in the online edition.

I hope the authors of K&C make the above improvements in the next edition. I really want K&C to be on par with Davidson's, which is what most of my colleagues use.

Undergrad Medical Student,
India