Diseases of the Human Body, 2d ed.

Both the text and instructor's manual are included in this review. The intent of the text is to provide allied health providers, medical assistants, and medical office personnel with concise, basic information about common diseases. Organized by body system, each chapter provides a description, etiology, and signs and symptoms of common diseases. Diagnostic procedures, possible treatments, prognosis, and information about the prevention of disease states are provided.

Each major body system is covered in this text. There are also short chapters about the disease process, pain, and holistic management of disease. The chapter on communicable diseases contains information about the incubation periods of common communicable diseases, which may be useful in making administrative decisions in clinical settings. Normal laboratory reference values are given and are helpful references as well. The text is well organized and concise. The level of information is basic and simplistic.

The instructor's manual contains objectives and test questions that could be useful for beginning instructors. Objectives in the instructor's manual are limited to recall and identification of facts. Chapters contain vocabulary words and medical terminology appropriate to disease states.

As written, the text and instructor's manual require the student to achieve only a basic knowledge level of this material. As such, the text is a suitable reference for medical office personnel and may be useful in the education of such personnel or for medical assistants. The limited information contained in this text, however, makes it too simplistic for use in physical therapist programs or physical therapist assistant programs.

Susan A Scherer, PT Univ of Colorado Health Sentences Center Denver, Colo

Ms Scherer is an assistant professor in the physical therapy program at the Univ of Colorado, where she teaches in the areas of cardiopulmonary and clinical medicine.