Robbins Essential Pathology, 1st Edition

By Vinay Kumar, MBBS, MD, FRCPath, Abul K. Abbas, MBBS, Jon.C. Aster and Andrea T Deyrup, M.D., Ph.D.

ISBN: 9780323640251

Pub Date: August 24th, 2020

Reviewed By: Anamarija Perry, MD (University of Michigan Medical School)

Description

This book is a new member in the “Robbins family,” the leading pathology textbooks for medical students. Like other Robbins books, it covers both general and systems-based pathology, only in a much shorter format.

Purpose

This book was created to satisfy the needs of medical students who are learning medicine in an integrated, systems-based curriculum that blends basic and clinical sciences. Moreover, since the time devoted to pathology curriculum has significantly decreased, basic concepts of pathogenesis and morphology are distilled and complemented with clinical vignettes to highlight the relevance of pathology to the understanding of disease.

Audience

The primary intended audience is medical students.

Features

The book has three integrated components – 19 chapters, clinical vignettes associated with each chapter, and USMLE-style multiple choice questions also associated with each chapter. General pathology is covered in the first six chapters, while the rest of the chapters are dedicated to systems-based pathology. In Dr. Stanley Robbins’ own words, the subject matter is presented in “logical, concise, readable fashion, devoid of distracting details.” Indeed, the text is very concise and easy to read and covers the most important facts medical students should know, with an emphasis on mechanisms of disease. Like in the other Robbins textbooks, numerous excellent figures that illustrate mechanisms/pathogenesis of diseases as well as tables complement the text. There are also abundant gross and microscopic images of excellent quality. Each chapter is associated with five to six clinical cases that relate pathology to clinical medicine and are available only online. The cases are carefully constructed and underscore the clinical relevance of pathogenic mechanisms.

Assessment

As a practicing pathologist and educator, I am admittedly sad that dedicated pathology curriculum has all but disappeared from modern medical schools in the United States. However, we must adapt and find the way to integrate pathology and pathophysiology concepts into systems-based curriculum, since pathology is in many ways the heart of medicine. The authors of this book have done that superbly and I have no doubt this book will become a must-have among medical students. It is important to emphasize that despite its significantly shortened and simplified format, the book still offers a wealth of information and covers almost everything medical students need to know and more. Figures are excellent and one of the best features of the book. The authors have demonstrated much effort in putting pathology into the context of clinical medicine through clinical cases and self-assessment questions. The book will without a doubt make learning much more interesting. In summary, I would highly recommend this book to all medical students.

© Doody’s Review Service, 2021, Anamarija Perry, MD (University of Michigan Medical School) Review Score: 92-4 Stars!

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