Abstract
Rubin's Pathology is a human pathology text that covers basic disease processes in the first 9 chapters followed by 21 chapters on pathology of specific organ systems. According to the authors, it “seeks to relate the clinical and histological manifestations of disease to their basic manifestations” and is successful in achieving this goal. The text is written in an easy-to-read style and is logically organized by section headings, many of which are succinct statements that emphasize important points. Judicious use of boldface, italics and capitalization as well as bulleted lists contributes to easy navigation of the material. Highlighted sections indicated by icons contain succinct information on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical features and pathology of many disease entities. Color illustrations are abundant and include line diagrams and drawings, tables and gross photos as well as light and electron photomicrographs. Line diagrams and drawings summarize and emphasize important concepts and tables neatly organize detailed information. The quality of photomicrographs varies from chapter to chapter and while many are excellent, some have uneven lighting and poor white-balance. Most are not annotated with arrows and none have magnification bars but photo captions do well at indicating salient features. Gross photos are generally of excellent quality and are accompanied by descriptive captions.
Changes in font style, use of white space, table design and colored backgrounds make the 5th edition of Rubin's Pathology much more aesthetically pleasing and reader-friendly than the previous edition. Some chapters have been reorganized and most have been revised for conciseness. The most recent edition also includes several updated sections, including those on proteasomal degradation, stem cells and biowarfare agents. Many illustrations are carried over from the 4th edition but some new tables and diagrams are also included. “Suggested reading” selections were provided at the end of each chapter in the previous edition but are no longer printed in the 5th edition; however, they have been updated and are available for download from the online resources website. The index is comprehensive and quite helpful, as it includes entries for many acronyms or abbreviations not included in the previous edition's index.
Rubin's Pathology is well-suited for medical students and their instructors, who are the intended audience. The first several chapters on basic disease processes would be equally as useful to veterinary medical students and their instructors in a general pathology course. Pathology residents might also find the initial chapters useful in preparing for the certification exam and would likely glean additional information on organ specific pathology from later chapters. Rubin's Pathology holds true to its subtitle and adeptly relates clinical and morphological manifestations of disease to basic disease mechanisms. The book does well at emphasizing pathologic processes as they relate to the patient without getting bogged down in minutiae. While this approach is preferable for veterinary students, it is less beneficial for pathology residents. It leaves the text lacking some of the emphasis on details of molecular pathologic mechanisms that are best presented in Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease. Even though Rubin's Pathology doesn't offer quite the in-depth coverage of general pathology necessary to serve as a replacement for Robbins and Cotran, this book would be an excellent choice for the pathology resident seeking an additional text for board exam preparation.