Pathology Illustrated

Citation

Roberts, F., & MacDuff, E. (2018). Pathology Illustrated (8th ed.). Elsevier.

Chapter Summary

The eighth edition has sixteen chapters; Elsevier's inspection-copy listing gives about 730 pages. Like the other books in Elsevier's Illustrated series, it divides the subject into short units, each topic summarised in one or two pages, with a visual presentation that the publisher presents as the key to easy learning and recall. Both authors are pathologists in Glasgow, one a consultant ophthalmic pathologist and honorary senior lecturer. The book covers both general ("basic") and systemic pathology, and the eighth edition adds new and expanded material on genetic disease, haemodynamics and shock, and basic techniques in molecular biology. An interactive eBook with multiple-choice questions for each chapter is included.

Chapter 1: Cell and Tissue Damage

The opening chapter deals with how cells and tissues are injured, the starting point of general pathology.

Chapter 2: Genetic Disease

A chapter on disease of genetic origin, one of the areas the publisher says has been expanded in this edition.

Chapter 3: Inflammation, Healing and Repair

The tissue response to injury and the processes by which damage is healed and repaired.

Chapter 4: Haemodynamic Disorders, Thrombosis and Shock

Disorders of blood flow and fluid balance, thrombosis and shock, also expanded in this edition.

Chapter 5: Infection and Immunity

Infection and the immune response, treated in one chapter.

Chapter 6: Neoplasia

The last chapter of general pathology deals with tumours.

Chapters 7–9: Cardiovascular Diseases; Respiratory System; Gastrointestinal Tract

Systemic pathology starts with the heart and blood vessels, the lungs and the gut.

Chapters 10–11: Liver, Gall Bladder and Pancreas; Haemopoietic and Lympho-reticular Tissues

The liver, biliary system and pancreas, followed by the blood-forming and lymphoreticular tissues, the setting for diseases of blood cells and lymphoid organs.

Chapters 12–13: Genitourinary System; Female Genital System and Breast

The genitourinary system has one chapter, while the female genital system and the breast have a chapter of their own.

Chapters 14–16: Nervous System; Musculo-skeletal System; Endocrine System

The book ends with the nervous system, the musculoskeletal system and the endocrine glands.

Key Concepts

Chapters 1–3: Injury and response

• Cell and tissue damage: the ways in which cells and tissues are harmed, the foundation of general pathology.
• Genetic disease: disease arising from inherited or acquired genetic change.
• Inflammation, healing and repair: the reaction to injury and the restoration of tissue.

Chapters 4–6: Circulation, infection and tumours

• Thrombosis: the formation of a clot within the circulation.
• Shock: circulatory failure, discussed with other haemodynamic disorders.
• Infection and immunity: microbial disease and the immune response to it.
• Neoplasia: abnormal, autonomous growth of tissue.

Chapters 7–16: Systemic pathology

• Systemic pathology: the general processes applied organ by organ.
• Lympho-reticular tissues: the lymph nodes and related tissues, considered with the blood-forming tissues.
• Female genital system and breast: given a chapter separate from the genitourinary system.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Visual units. Each topic is summarised in one or two pages with a visual presentation, which suits students who learn from diagrams and need to recall pathways and appearances quickly. A reader review on Elsevier's inspection-copy site recommends it for a fundamentals module in biomedical science, suggesting use beyond medicine.
• General then systemic. Six chapters of general pathology precede ten systemic chapters, the standard order in which pathology is taught, so the book fits most curricula.
• Updated in key areas. Genetic disease, haemodynamics and shock, and basic molecular techniques were added or expanded in the eighth edition.
• Self-testing. The interactive eBook adds multiple-choice questions for each chapter.
• Clinically focused. The publisher stresses concentrating on what is most clinically important and presents pathology as the bridge between basic sciences and clinical medicine.

Limitations

• Summaries, not explanations. One or two pages per topic leaves little room for mechanisms or the reasoning behind them; students will need a main textbook for depth.
• Some subjects lack a chapter title. There is no chapter titled for the skin, the head and neck, the kidney by itself, or postmortem and molecular pathology as disciplines. These may be treated within other chapters, but readers should check before relying on the book for them.
• Edition age. The eighth edition dates from 2018, so recent changes in classification and molecular diagnostics are not reflected.

Where It Fits in the Course

In this pathology course, Pathology Illustrated is the most visual of the introductory books. Crash Course Pathology covers similar ground in a text-led revision format with hints-and-tips boxes and SBA and EMQ questions, and adds separate chapters on postmortem and molecular pathology and on the skin and head and neck. The two work well together: this book to see a process, Crash Course to rehearse it for an examination.

For learning in depth, Robbins & Kumar Basic Pathology is the shorter companion to the comprehensive Robbins reference, written for a first course and strong on the gross and microscopic appearance of lesions, and Underwood's Pathology links mechanisms to clinical presentation with cases and key-fact summaries. Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease and Rubin's Pathology are full references for students who need detail on particular topics. Pathology Illustrated is best read alongside or before one of the main textbooks rather than instead of it.

How to Use This Book

The publisher addresses medical and other health science students, and the book assumes basic anatomy, physiology and histology from the first stage of a medical or biomedical course.

A practical plan:

• Read Chapters 1–6 first and in order. Cell damage, genetic disease, inflammation and repair, haemodynamic disorders, infection and neoplasia supply the concepts used in every systemic chapter.
• Use the systemic chapters with teaching. Read Chapters 7–16 in the order a course covers the systems; before each unit, preview the relevant pages, then return after the lecture to consolidate.
• Learn from the pictures. Study each unit's illustrations first, then try to explain them in words or redraw them from memory; this is what the format is designed for.
• Use the eBook questions. Do each chapter's multiple-choice questions soon after reading it, and again before examinations.
• Supplement where needed. For mechanisms, use a main textbook; for topics without a chapter title here, such as skin disease or postmortem practice, check the index and, if necessary, use another source.