Biochemistry of Disease

Abstract

MOST text-books of clinical biochemistry are written chiefly from the biochemist's point of view, and differ little from text-books of biochemistry proper except that practical details are given of the many laboratory tests that have clinical importance. Their arrangement is also biochemical, and it is unlikely that many readers derive much intellectual enlightenment from studying them, apart from those routine clinical biochemists whose job it is to perform these tests. The book under review is original in that the text is divided up on a clinical-anatomical basis. The successive chapters deal with diseases of the blood, heart, respiratory tract, kidney and urinary tract, digestive tract, liver and biliary tract, pancreas, adrenals, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroids, bone, muscle and male gonads. There are additional chapters on biochemistry in obstetrics and gynaecology, in disorders of nutrition and metabolism and in neurologic and psychiatric disorders. It is apparent that the emphasis is laid on the clinical rather than on the biochemical aspect of the subject. The book is also original in that the treatment of each chapter is theoretical and factual. There are no details of the chemical methods involved in the performance of the’ various tests; instead are given the normal results of such tests, the findings in the various pathological conditions and an outline of the theories postulated to explain the abnormal results and the cause of the disease. The clinical procedure adopted in performing the tests is generally described.

Biochemistry of Disease

By Prof. Meyer Bodansky Dr. Oscar Bodansky. Pp. x + 684. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1940). 30s. net.