Abstract
Reviewed by: Sally El-Ghazali, ST4 Anaesthetics, Imperial School of Anaesthesia, London, UK DOI: 10.1177/1751143716653764
Anatomy – one of the topics trainees undertaking the FRCA have a tendency to neglect or dislike! The long names and diagrams are crammed in a few days preceding the exam only to be forgotten the next day. Part of the problem being either anatomy books are bulky and provide too much detail and ultimately off-putting to trainees or alternatively they do not go into enough detail required for a trainee undertaking the FRCA. Moreover, there are few books on the market that incorporate the anatomy with its practical applications and struggle to present the information in a clear, concise and well laid out format
However, “Applied Anatomy for Anaesthesia and Intensive Care” by Georgiou, Thompson and Nickells may be the answer to helping trainees with exams as well as hone their skills in regional anaesthesia and practical procedures. It combines all relevant anatomy for the anaesthetist with great explanations and simple but beautifully drawn diagrams. Concise textual anatomical descriptions, clearly labelled colourful diagrams and succinct descriptions of relevant procedures using ultrasound and landmark techniques make this an invaluable tool for trainees. The easy to follow layout going through indications, contraindications, complications, positioning and description of procedures is particularly useful for those wanting to structure exam answers as well as helping to consent patients.
The colourful simple diagrams are yet another advantage over other books traditionally utilising grayscale complicated diagrams. Superimposed ultrasound probes on diagrams aids probe placement and the labelled ultrasound images not only reinforces learning but also enables trainees to know what images they should be seeing on sonography. This is advantageous as the use of ultrasound is increasingly becoming a requirement and few other books describe this as the expectation is for trainees to learn landmark techniques and pertinent surface anatomy when this is rarely utilised in recent years.
The book layout enables ease of use by subdividing into various parts of the body including upper limb, lower limb, thorax, abdomen, head, neck and spine. Each chapter looks at the neurovascular anatomy and then discusses each block relevant to that body part in more detail with pictures of how to position the patient, how to perform the block using landmark or with ultrasound assistance and the images you should obtain and specific indications, contraindications and complications.
With less than 200 pages, it is a book that can be easily carried and used as a guide in theatre. I particularly like the superimposed ultrasound probes on diagram. This book is useful for all trainees – both going through FRCA and after. It also can be used by consultants wanting to teach trainees anatomy in a clear, concise manner. A highly recommended book.