Wills' Biochemical Basis of Medicine, 3Ed

Rezensionen / Stimmen

In the preface to this edition, the authors summarise the aims of the original author - Professor Eric D. Wills - in preparing such a text. They were to 'present those biochemical principles that are fundamental to the study of medicine; to relate biochemistry to other basic medical sciences such as histology, physiology and pharmacology; to discuss in biochemical terms, studies on the structure of organelles, cells, tissues and the whole body; and to apply this knowledge to an understanding of health maintenance and of disease processes. To this end, the book consists of 43 chapters divided into five main sections: Cellular and Molecular Biology; Human metabolism and nutrition; Specialised metabolism of tissues; Health, disease and the environment; and a Biochemical perspective on disease and its treatment. The first section examines in quite some depth (for undergraduate medical students) the various intracellular structures and their relationship to the body as a whole. In this section, I found the authors' treatment of the modes and importance of biochemical communication occuring between the functionally different cells quite enlightening... classified as 'spatial' (e.g. for organisation of cells into tissues) and 'temporal' (e.g. targeted cells information of when and for (how) long to alter their chemistry)

... To complete the picture, the contribution of each of the food groups as a whole to maintenance of the metabolic equilibrium, as well as the effect of a prolonged surplus or deficit of any of these nutrient groups have on the preservation of this state is examined. To consolidate this section for future clinicians, the author describes the assessment of nutritional status, the classification and measurement of obesity, and also mentions the effects of toxicity due to food additives and contaminants. Part three of the book examines specialised metabolism of specific tissues - blood (its intracellular metabolism and the coagulation mechanism), liver, kidney, muscle, endocrine tissues, bone, brain, eye and the immune system. He describes the differing metabolic roles played by this diversity of cell types, as well as targeting specific metabolic dysfunctions involving them. In the fourth section, the positive and negative effects of the environment on the health of the body are examined. He defines these environmental challenges broadly as free radicals and toxic substances (both organic and metallic). After examining the toxicity of some specific substances, the author first considers the metabolic processes available to the body to dispose of foreign compounds, then devotes a chapter to the consideration of cancer formation in the body as a result of multiple environmental challenges. Here, he reminds his readers of the interrelated contributions of the environment (toxins

The stated goal of the final section is to encourage the readers to develop a biochemical perspective on the development and treatment of disease. He introduces the techniques and applications of recombinant DNA and genetic engineering, as well as the spectrum of chemotherapy (antibiosis and cancer treatment), in each case, endeavoring to relate their activity to the molecular or cellular level. I found the next chapter fascinating, as it describes the role of metabolism to the phases of trauma and injury (ebb/shock phase, flow/catabolic phase, and the convalescent/anabolic phase). The author seeks to make the point that in their treatment of trauma victims, his readers will perform their task more effectively by appropriately modifying their management of the patient through consideration of these three altered metabolic states. Finally, three conditions - diabetes mellitus, asthma and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (motor neuron disease) - are examined in some detail; considering possible causes, their deleterious effects on the body's metabolism, and the metabolic effects (and side-effects!) of some agents used to treat these conditions. The book is well supplied with clearly annotated diagrams and the occasional photograph. ... it is bountifully filled throughout, with the useful information collected into tables and diagrams set in their respective sections. The text I found to be distinctly authoritative as well as clear and informative. ... this text can place in contex
Mr. P. Allan, Supervising Scientist, Queensland He