Merck Manual (1997)

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0911910875, Hardcover)

Need to find the definition of a medical term and comprehend it? Need fast information about your child's illness? Need help defining that redness in your eye? Or maybe you need a reality check on the progress of your pregnancy. For the first time, Merck--the leader in medical research since 1899--has opened its treasure chest of medical knowledge to the general public.

The team of nearly 200 experts, consultants, and authors has assembled a body of information so vast that listing select items fails to do it justice. The Merck Manual provides reams of useful medical information, ranging from fundamentals such as anatomy to crisp, easily understood descriptions of complicated diseases. Clear drawings of basic anatomical details and helpful sidebars that define terms and proffer advice are invaluable features, as is the up-to-date counsel on choosing the right form of exercise.

The Merck Manual's 30-page section on drugs is itself an excellent resource. Here you'll find descriptions of the biological impact of high-powered pharmaceuticals, plus a table of drugs that put the elderly at risk. Its five appendixes on such topics as legal issues and commonly used medical terms segue handily into a guide of institutions that offer information and counseling for a multitude of medical conditions. This exhaustive volume clarifies both the workings of the human body and the geography of its demise, not to mention Western medicine's solutions to its failures. If knowledge is power, buy this book to arm yourself with a world of information.