Merck - a world leader in breakthrough medical research - has a long tradition of providing medical information to doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals. Perhaps the best evidence of Merck's dedication isThe Merck Manual, the trusted medical reference doctors have used most since 1899. Although it is one of the most widely used sources of medical information in the world, it isn't written for the general public.The Merck Manual of Medical Information - Second Home Edition is completely revised and contains virtually all of the same information inThe Merck Manual but in easy-to-understand, everyday language with a reader friendly format. The Second Home Edition is generously illustrated and covers all the important diseases and health issues that health-conscious readers want and need to know.Written by nearly 200 medical experts, the Second Home Edition has been completely revised and updated with some new features and recent developments in health and medicine. From Booklist The Merck Manual, now in its seventeenth edition, has been a standard medical reference source for over 100 years. The first home edition, published in 1997 and translated into 12 languages, was a welcome addition to consumer health reference collections. Just as librarians begin to worry about its age, Merck has released a second home edition. The editors have completely revised and rewritten the manual, adding a great deal of new material in the process. All of the editors, contributors, and editorial board members are physicians or academics with doctorates.The format of the book has not changed. A detailed table of contents lists 25 sections divided into chapters. The first, "Fundamentals," explains basic anatomy and physiology, the aging process, fitness, communicating with health professionals, and legal and ethical issues. The others cover specific organs, systems, diseases and disorders, drugs, and first aid. The sections dealing with organs and systems begin with the biology of the system and then explain the symptoms, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of diseases that may affect it. There are color diagrams of relevant anatomy as well as an eight-page insert of anatomical charts. This new edition has added material on violence against women, sexual dysfunction, chromosomal and genetic abnormalities in children, and travel health. The drug section now includes information about medicinal herbs and nutraceuticals and their interactions with other drugs. A new section called "Special Subjects" covers medical decision making, surgery, complementary and alternative medicine, amyloidosis, familial Mediterranean fever, and diseases of unknown origin. A series of appendixes contains information on weights and measures, common tests, generic and trade names of drugs, and resources for referrals.Although it has fewer, less colorful illustrations than the American College of Physicians Complete Home Medical Guide (DK, 1999) and lacks the flow charts of The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide (Simon & Schuster, 1999), The Merck Manual of Medical Information continues to provide the most current, detailed medical information in a format and language that lay readers will understand at a reasonable price. Libraries owning the 1997 edition will want to update and the others will want to add this excellent resource to their consumer health reference collections. RBBCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved About the Author Compiled by 200 internationally respected medical experts for Merck, the market leader in the field of medicine.
