Robert Wilkins - Oxford Handbook of Medical Sciences

OXFORD MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS
Oxford Handbook of
Medical Sciences

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Second edition

Edited by

Dr Robert Wilkins

University Lecturer in Physiology,

University of Oxford;

American Fellow in Physiology,

St Edmund Hall, Oxford

Dr Simon Cross

Reader and Honorary Consultant,

Academic Unit of Pathology,

Department of Neuroscience,

School of Medicine, Dentistry & Health,

University of Sheffield, UK

Prof Ian Megson

Head, Department of Diabetes & Cardiovascular Science

University of the Highlands and Islands,

Inverness, UK

Dr David Meredith

Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry & Biomedical Science,

Oxford Brookes University,

Oxford, UK

Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP

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Oxford University Press, 2011, except pp172181 section of

Chapter 2 ( Keith Frayn)

First edition published 2006

Reprinted 2008 (with corrections), 2009

Second edition published 2011

Reprinted 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

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Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always check the product information and clinical procedures with the most up-to-date published product information and data sheets provided by the manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. The authors and publishers do not accept responsibility or legal liability for any errors in the text or for the misuse or misapplication of material in this work. Except where otherwise stated, drug dosages and recommendations are for the non-pregnant adult who is not breastfeeding.

This Handbook is written by Biomedical Scientists and Clinicians to disseminate the fundamental scientific principles that underpin clinical medicine. Frequent cross-referencing with the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine helps to highlight the clinical relevance of specific issues. The challenge of this ambitious undertaking was to distil the contents of information found in several voluminous textbooks into a conveniently-sized handbook, without loss of important information. This has been achieved by sifting out the key facts that are crucial to understanding fundamental principles and presenting them as clear, brief statements or straightforward diagrams. The Handbook has been deliberately divided into sections that mirror modern medical teaching strategies; it builds from a clear, easily digestible account of basic cell physiology and biochemistry to an investigation of the traditional piers of medicine (anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, and pharmacology), intertwined in the context of each of the major systems relevant to the human body. Although primarily aimed at medical students, this Handbook will also provide a useful reference for science students studying any of the traditional biomedical sciences.