Robbins Basic Pathology

7th ed, edited by Vinay Kumar, Ramzi S. Cotran,† and Stanley J. Robbins, 873 pp, Philadelphia, Pa, Saunders, 2003.The seventh edition of Robbins Basic Pathology is a condensed version of the classic Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease, a textbook well known to medical students and pathologists as a standard reference for pathology. The book is rightfully dedicated to the memory of Ramzi S. Cotran, MD, long-time coauthor of many of the Robbins editions.In the 6 years since the last edition, there has been an explosion in the understanding of disease processes at the molecular and subcellular level. This edition integrates an enormous amount of this new information and does so in an understandable way by the use of colorful illustrations, figures, and graphics. The significant revisions, updating, and new information keeps this text at the forefront of pathology references. In the preface, the authors state, “we have strived to provide a balanced, accurate, and up-to-date view of the central body of pathology.” This edition most certainly meets that goal.The general format has remained the same as in past editions, with 2 major sections: general pathology and diseases of organ systems. The chapters in the general pathology section include cell injury, adaptation and death; acute and chronic inflammation; tissue repair—cell regeneration and fibrosis; hemodynamic disorders, thrombosis, and shock; diseases of immunity; neoplasia; genetic and pediatric diseases; environmental diseases; and general pathology of infectious diseases.The section on diseases of organ systems includes chapters on the blood vessels, the heart, the hematopoietic and lymphoid systems, the lung and upper respiratory tract, the kidney and its collecting system, the oral cavity and the gastrointestinal tract, the liver and the biliary tract, the pancreas, the male genital system, the female genital system and breast, the endocrine system, the musculoskeletal system, the skin, and the nervous system. The authors of the various chapters are well-recognized experts in their fields.The first page of each chapter has a brief outline of the organization and topics covered. Inclusion of abundant clinical information and correlations has always been a strong point of the Robbins texts, and this edition continues that tradition. Etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, clinical features, clinical course, and prognosis are included in the information on organ system–specific diseases. Gross and microscopic descriptions are highlighted throughout in blue-background “Morphology” sections. The illustrations are almost all in color and of high quality. Tables provide excellent summations of information, and schematic figures and diagrams are used very effectively to illustrate disease processes and demonstrate comparisons and contrasts.While the format has remained essentially unchanged, this new edition has been extensively rewritten and revised. Black-and-white photographs have been replaced with high-quality gross and microscopic photographs. The number of illustrations has increased by 10%. New tables, charts, schematics, and graphics have been added to conceptualize complex data for more comprehensible presentation. These features are some of the strengths of this classic textbook. The other great strength is the easily readable, narrative style of writing with a logical and consistent format chapter to chapter, something often lacking in multiauthored texts. The index is comprehensive, with illustration pages shown in italics and “t” notation for pages with tables.The book is accompanied by a single-user-version CD-ROM for both Windows and Macintosh that contains the electronic image collection from the textbook. The hardware system requirements are accessible and installation is simple. The opening page includes 2 selections, “FAQ” (Frequently Asked Questions) and “Enter Image Collection.” The FAQ includes information on the minimum system requirements, software requirements, how to navigate the image collection, how to save images, and how to troubleshoot problems.After clicking on “Enter Image Collection,” there is a word or phrase search capability to link to images. There is a “View Chapters” selection that opens the book's “Table of Contents” and allows selection of all images chapter by chapter. There is a “Get All Legends” selection that allows the user to download all legends into an Excel format by chapter. All images are presented in a small format, but can be easily and quickly enlarged by clicking on the image. Images are available in either .jpg or .pdf format for downloading.Robbins Basic Pathology, seventh edition, remains a classic pathology teaching and reference textbook. The significant updates and revisions and inclusion of a CD-ROM image collection make it an essential acquisition for those wanting an abbreviated version of the “big” Robbins. Although less comprehensive than Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease, it has value for pathology residents, pathologists, other physicians, and medical libraries as a more succinct resource.