Abstract
This revised edition of Lachman’s Case Studies in Anatomy once again aims to bridge the gap between the gross anatomy that medical students learn in the dissection room and the clinical situations where they are expected to apply that anatomy. With this aim in mind, a large number of clinical case studies have been compiled (including 19 new cases unique to this edition), spanning the entire anatomy of the human body. These case studies are presented to the reader before the underlying anatomy is discussed in detail.
The book comprises 51 case study chapters, which in turn are split into seven units according to the anatomical region in which they lie. These seven units are Head and Neck, Back, Thorax, Abdomen, Pelvis and Perineum, Upper Limb, and Lower Limb, a useful separation as these are often the units into which medical school anatomy teaching is broken down. Each chapter follows a similar formula, it begins with the presentation of clinical case before explaining the necessary examinations and what is likely to be found, a diagnosis is then given and the required therapy is described. After this preliminary section, the underlying anatomy surrounding the case study is discussed clearly and in detail and then used to explain the patients symptoms as well as justify the treatment prescribed. This approach allows the student to apply what is being learnt in the dissection room to the clinical setting in which it will be relevant, it also makes this book useful not only to the preclinical medical student learning gross anatomy but also during the clinical years.
A range of review questions at the end of each unit are a useful tool for self-testing. Each question is answered with a full explanation along with a page reference allowing easy review of that area if necessary. Illustrations and diagrams aid the descriptions; however, these are perhaps not as detailed as can be found in other textbooks.
In conclusion, this text sets out to take the detailed, sometimes stale, anatomy learnt during preclinical training and present its relevance to the clinical setting and succeeds in doing so. Whilst probably not a core text for gross anatomy teaching, this book provides useful further reading for those students wanting to apply that anatomy to clinical practice and therefore maybe a more useful tool for students in the later stages of their training.