Book review and contest

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 50, No. 6, July August 2008, Page 332 News
By: David R. Richardson, MD

Book cover for Principles of Internal Medicine

Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th edition. Edited by  A.S. Fauci, MD, E. Braunwald, MD, D.L. Kasper, MD, et al. Toronto: McGraw Hill, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0-07-146633-2. Hardcover, 2754 pages plus index. $199.

Come on, admit it, we all have  one somewhere in our office, and by checking the edition we can gauge how close we are to retirement (I have the 10th edition). Harrison’s remains the gold standard of internal medicine, and with the 17th edition, for the first time, they have included a nifty DVD full of digital chapters, atlases, and over 1500 clinical images. 

The DVD even has video clips of endoscopic diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, cardiac diagnoses, and animations of the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis. The textbook now has chapters on stem cell biology and tissue engineering along with an expanded focus on global health and medicine. They also have a companion web site, which offers updates, sample chapters, podcasts, and more.

Now the contest part: the book will be given to the reader who submits the most interesting anecdote of what their old Harrison’s has been used for—mine is currently balancing the back of the old TV in the office. Students may submit fake answers, in which case creativity will win the book. Please submit your entries to journal@bcma.bc.ca by 15 August 2008. 
PS. I’m keeping the DVD

—DRR

David R. Richardson, MD. Book review and contest. BCMJ, Vol. 50, No. 6, July, August, 2008, Page(s) 332 - News.


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