Hematology is difficult to teach at the medical school level. The curriculum is necessarily fragmented across different years of study, and often separated considerably in time. Understanding hematology requires insight into several distinct aspects: applied physiology (generally taught early), an understanding of the essential pathological processes involving the blood are taught somewhat later (if at all), and the (necessarily) strong laboratory aspect is generally taught more or less concurrently with other clinical pathology topics, such as clinical chemistry and immunology. By the time the student is faced with blood diseases in the wards, the laboratory/pathological bias is well entrenched. It is thus difficult for the student to get an integrated view of the subject. The unspoken assumption, often reinforced by clinical tutors trained in the traditional perspective, is that blood tests are all that are required for a diagnosis in blood diseases.

The result has been that clinical expertise in blood diseases is generally poor. This is reflected in the importance given to the examination of the hematological system in most student primers. The hematological system, by and large, is almost completely neglected. Such relevant features such as pallor, jaundice, bleeding, splenomegaly and so on are dealt with either in passing or in relation first to another system or the general examination . It is almost as though it is taken for granted that the haematological system cannot be assessed clinically and yet, as demonstrated later in the book, it is in very many cases impossible to reach a complete haematological diagnosis without clinical assessment.

Effective, patient-centred care of hematological patients requires, as with all other patients, a comprehensive clinical insight into these disease processes, i.e. an integrated clinical and pathological approach. Added to these problems is the fact that the number of laboratory tests has increased explosively, and the laboratory simply does not have the time to attempt more than a brief, generalized, and increasingly, an automated interpretation of the results. Thus the onus of clinical interpretation necessarily falls more and more on the attending clinician, whose grounding in clinical haematology is too often inadequate, for the reasons mentioned.

Hematology is emerging as a clinical specialty in its own right. The training of hematology physicians today includes extensive clinical exposure (indeed they are expected to handle the clinical aspects themselves), while training of medical registrars requires considerable knowledge of haematology and its reports. Achieving an integrated approach would be made immeasurably easier by a book presenting the subject in a fully integrated, clinical way. This then has been the motivation for this book.

There is no shortage of hematological texts, some of them very good, and it would be presumptuous and self-indulgent to add to them without clear justification. However, practically all of the student-orientated texts tend still to teach hematology from a formal and largely static laboratory perspective, and the reports emanating from the laboratory tend to reinforce this. Many of the Crash Course types of hematology book on the market have (at least) two major weaknesses: they considerably oversimplify the subject, contributing to the very mechanistic and almost anti-intellectual approach to blood diseases and especially to the FBC and Hemostatic Screen; and they tend to concentrate on primary blood diseases, whereas in practice most abnormalities of the blood and in the FBC are secondary to disease outside the system that is to say, they work primarily from a pathological and not from a clinical viewpoint. The FBC is one of the most common and valuable tests in use; it is a relatively expensive test and generally speaking is poorly interpreted, and the potential wealth of information that can be gleaned is missed.

The approach described in this book is different from that in most student texts, and has been very successful in practice, starting almost from scratch, but omitting many of the basics such as the details of hematopoiesis, laboratory technology, and so on, which are hardly relevant to the practising clinician and student in the wards, and are primarily of interest to the hematologist and sometimes to the clinical specialist. Considerable emphasis is given to the clinical history and examination, and the interpretation of the clinical patterns thus exposed. Hopefully it will overcome many of the traditional problems experienced in practical diagnostic haematology.

All the practical essentials are covered, and effectively this book contains all the information the student will ever need, apart from details of therapy (until and unless they enter certain specialties).

The book is restricted to adult haematology, for practical reasons. While there are considerable areas of similarity between adult and paediatric haematology, there are also very significant differences. Thus, the only congenital diseases discussed in this book are those that can present after childhood and occasionally those that pose a significant problem in adult practice. Generally these are discussed only briefly. Often with these the assistance of a haematologist would have to be sought anyway. Sometimes even the haematologist may have to further consult someone sub-specializing in paediatric haematology."

In an era of ever-increasing dependence upon technology, physicians are losing the basic skills of patient examination and taking the medical history. This book describes the scenario in which the physician sits down with a patient to elicit a medical history. For example, how to greet a patient, how to discover the patient's chief concern, how to elicit symptoms, how to manage feelings as the patient and physician interact, and how to choose topics to explore, and use the appropriate word selection, phrasing, and tone of voice. A good history leads to trust and rapport, and also to the determination of the best management of the patient's condition. Dr. William DeMeyer, a well-known physician and author of the major text on the neurologic exam, describes how to take a medical history, and also explains the reasons why it is done in a particular way. The author reviews the actual questions that a health provider should ask and the responses to a patient's answers. More importantly, the author describes how to listen to the patient's real needs as a person, rather than just a repository of symptoms.

Tools, techniques, and progress in cancer biomarkers discovery
The completion of a number of gene sequencing projects, recent advances in genomic and proteomic technologies, and the availability of powerful bioinformatics tools have led to promising new avenues and approaches in the search for cancer biomarkers. This book provides a comprehensive overview of current methodologies and technologies. It discusses biomarker discovery as a whole, rather than focusing on one specific marker or cancer. With information on both existing and potential biomarkers, Cancer Biomarkers: Analytical Techniques for Discovery:
* Provides insights into the current technological platforms for biomarker discovery, including mass spectrometry combined with multidimensional chromatography, DIGE, and various chip technologies
* Includes a detailed discussion of protein networks and protein phosphorylation in cancer
* Details the use of imaging mass spectrometry, laser capture microdissection, serial analysis of gene expression, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, protein microarrays, antibody-based microarrays, and bioinformatics
* Covers the emerging role of surface-enhanced laser desorption ionization (SELDI) and various tagging and labeling strategies
* Discusses related regulatory and ethical issues
With a wealth of information that can be applied to a broad spectrum of biomarker research projects, this is a core reference for biomarker researchers, scientists working in proteomics and bioinformatics, pharmaceutical scientists, oncologists, biochemists, biologists, and chemists.

Practicing physical medicine and rehabilitation physician Grant Cooper, MD, provides a concise step-by-step approach to confidently establishing a working clinical diagnosis and finding appropriate treatment options for the most common musculoskeletal ailments. Organized by body region and written with superb clarity, this guide details the important questions to ask in history taking, the physical examination maneuvers appropriate for each pathology, the possible explanations and additional tests needed to diagnose the condition, and the most up-to-date treatment options available. The author offers clear explanations why each step in the history and physical examination is performed and discusses the basic pathophysiological processes involved. The ailments covered include neck and shooting arm pain; shoulder pain; elbow pain; wrist and hand pain; low back, hip, and shooting leg pain; knee pain, ankle pain, and foot pain. Numerous photographs demonstrate the correct hands-on methods for physical examination of the patient. A value-added CD-ROM version of book is included for downloading and use in the reader's PC or PDA.

Biomedical imaging is a fascinating research area to applied mathematicians. Challenging imaging problems arise and they often trigger the investigation of fundamental problems in various branches of mathematics.

This is the first book to highlight the most recent mathematical developments in emerging biomedical imaging techniques. The main focus is on emerging multi-physics and multi-scales imaging approaches. For such promising techniques, it provides the basic mathematical concepts and tools for image reconstruction. Further improvements in these exciting imaging techniques require continued research in the mathematical sciences, a field that has contributed greatly to biomedical imaging and will continue to do so.

The volume is suitable for a graduate-level course in applied mathematics and helps prepare the reader for a deeper understanding of research areas in biomedical imaging.

The manifestations of dermatologic disease in the geriatric population are often subtly different to those in the younger age groups and there is a need to produce a practical and clinical reference for dermatology fellows and residents, geriatricians and related clinicians to identify dermatoses and their differential diagnosis specific to the aging population. Diagnosis of Aging Skin Diseases will provide the clinician with a visual encyclopedia of geriatric dermatoses that can be used on rounds or in a reference environment. It also provides a structured review of the differential diagnosis of the lesions illustrated within the book, which will make this a priceless reference resource for all physicians dealing with older skin.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First International Conference on Medical Biometrics, ICMB 2008, held in Hong Kong, China, in January 2008.

The 17 revised full papers and 23 revised poster papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions for inclusion in the book. Medical biometrics is emerging as a very promising and reliable method for automated medical diagnosis. It integrates multidisciplinary technologies in biology, medicine, electronics, computing, and statistics. The papers are organized in topical sections on feature extraction and classification, health care, medical diagnosis, as well as medical image processing and registration.

The past few years have witnessed rapid progress in the characterization of mechanisms that underlie the generation and processing of inter- and intracellular signals. While there have been significant corollary advances in the area of signaling in disease processes, there is as yet no single resource that connects these advances with an understanding of disease processes and applications for novel therapeutics. Collecting chapters from the leading experts in their respective fields, editors Toren Finkel and Silvio Gutkind deliver a much-needed introduction to signaling and a fruitful discussion of promising directions for future research.

Signal Transduction and Human Disease capitalizes on the current emphasis on translational research and biological relevance in biotechnology and, conversely, the importance of molecular approaches for clinical research. Each chapter conveys the sense of a disease process, what it affects, how it presents, how common it is, and what the treatments are. Clinical descriptions are not exhaustive but rather serve as an outline regarding the disease’s manifestations and current treatment options. Following this introduction, the authors present an in-depth discussion of one or two signal transduction pathways or biological processes relevant to the disease. The editors divide their study into five sections:

• Cardio-Pulmonary Disease
• Oncology
• Endocrinology
• Infectious Disease
• Allergy/Rheumatology
• Neurology/Psychiatry

Biochemists, molecular and cell biologists, immunologists, pharmacologists, and clinical researchers, as well as graduate students in a variety of scientific disciplines, will find Signal Transduction and Human Disease to be an invaluable addition to the literature.

This book is a guide for the medical student or recently graduate MD preparing to take the third part (Step 3) of the United States Medical Licensing Exam. As anyone wishing to practice medicine in the United States must take and pass this examination, the potential market is a very large one, with 16,000 new medical school graduates eligible for the exam every year. There are a considerable number of books for the Step 1 Exam (basic sciences) and the Step 2 Exam (clinical medicine) but very few for the Step 3 Exam. It had been common to study for Step 3 using Step 2 materials since both cover clinical medicine, but in recent years the Step 3 exam has separated itself from Step 2, focusing on clinical management of specific medical conditions in a case-scenario fashion. As a result, the few available Step 3 books have become very successful, largely by default. Kevin Schwechten, who has recently taken the Step 3 exam himself and has evaluated the other competing books, has come up with an approach focusing heavily on those questions most commonly asked on the exam, and he follows an outline that is provided by the National Board of Medical Examiners, which is the group that writes the exam. As those taking the exam have just recently graduated from medical school and have been thrown into a very hectic schedule on the hospital wards, with long housr, little sleep, and little time for studying, an effective book for Step 3 must be concise and to the point. Therefore, this book is written not to cover all of clinical management, but to focus on those areas that most ofen appear on the exam. This will be the first book in our effort to produce more books for students preparing for their licensing exams.

Increasing demands on acute hospital resources, together with a reduction in the number of available beds, has placed a greater emphasis on the need for rapid and effective assessment of patients in order to determine their need for hospital adsmission. This has led to the widespread emergence of the specialist Medical Assessment Unit (MAU). This timely book provides an up- to-date guide to the assessment and immediate management of patients with acute medical conditions. It presents a structured approach based on common presenting features and focuses on the first twenty four hours of the patient's stay in hospital. In writing this book, the editors have been able to draw on their own clinical experiences as a charge nurse in Accident and Emergency nursing and a sister in acute cardiology and respectively.

Shaped by Quantum Theory, Technology, and the Genomics Revolution The integration of photonics, electronics, biomaterials, and nanotechnology holds great promise for the future of medicine. This topic has recently experienced an explosive growth due to the noninvasive or minimally invasive nature and the cost-effectiveness of photonic modalities in medical diagnostics and therapy. The second edition of the Biomedical Photonics Handbook presents fundamental developments as well as important applications of biomedical photonics of interest to scientists, engineers, manufacturers, teachers, students, and clinical providers. The second volume, Biomedical Diagnostics, focuses on biomedical diagnostic technologies and their applications from the bench to the bedside. Represents the Collective Work of over 150 Scientists, Engineers, and Clinicians Designed to display the most recent advances in instrumentation and methods, as well as clinical applications in important areas of biomedical photonics to a broad audience, this three-volume handbook provides an inclusive forum that serves as an authoritative reference source for a broad audience involved in the research, teaching, learning, and practice of medical technologies. What's New in This Edition: A wide variety of photonic biochemical sensing technologies have already been developed for clinical monitoring of physiological parameters, such as blood pressure, blood chemistry, pH, temperature, and the presence of pathological organisms or biochemical species of clinical importance. Advanced photonic detection technologies integrating the latest knowledge of genomics, proteomics and metabolomics allow sensing of early disease state biomarkers, thus revolutionizing the medicine of the future. Nanobiotechnology has opened new possibilities for detection of biomarkers of disease, imaging single molecules and in situ diagnostics at the single cell level. In addition to these state-of-the art advancements, the second edition contains new topics and chapters including: * Fiber Optic Probe Design * Laser and Optical Radiation Safety * Photothermal Detection * Multidimensional Fluorescence Imaging * Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging * Molecular Contrast Optical Coherence Tomography * Multiscale Photoacoustics * Polarized Light for Medical Diagnostics * Quantitative Diffuse Reflectance Imaging * Interferometric Light Scattering * Nonlinear Interferometric Vibrational Imaging * Multimodality Theranostics Nanoplatforms * Nanoscintillator-Based Therapy * SERS Molecular Sentinel Nanoprobes * Plasmonic Coupling Interference Nanoprobes Comprised of three books: Volume I: Fundamentals, Devices, and Techniques; Volume II: Biomedical Diagnostics; and Volume III: Therapeutics and Advanced Biophotonics, this second edition contains eight sections, and provides introductory material in each chapter. It also includes an overview of the topic, an extensive collection of spectroscopic data, and lists of references for further reading.

Diagnosing Dental and Orofacial Pain: A Clinical Manual approaches a complex topic in a uniquely practical way. This text offers valuable advice on ways to observe and communicate effectively with patients in pain, how to analyze a patients pain descriptions, and how to provide a proper diagnosis of orofacial pain problems that can arise from a myriad of sources anywhere from teeth, joint and muscle pain, and paranasal sinuses to cluster headaches, neuralgias, neuropathic pain and viral infections. * Helps the student and practitioner understand the diagnostic process by addressing the exact questions that need to be asked and then analyzing verbal and non-verbal responses to these * Edited by experts with decades of clinical and teaching experience, and with contributions from international specialists * Companion website provides additional learning materials including videos, case studies and further practical tips for examination and diagnosis * Includes numerous color photographs and illustrations throughout to enhance text clarity

This concise pocket guide to urological investigative procedures reviews the indications and pitfalls of tests before they are requested and suggests which investigations should be performed in individual urological conditions.

Part I describes principles, methodology, advantages and disadvantages of each investigation and covers all urological investigations/tests from simple X-ray of the abdomen (KUB) to PET scanning. Part II offers advice on the choice of investigations for individual urological conditions. For each investigation in Part I and urological condition in Part II, important bullet points are highlighted in a a ~boxa (TM) - useful during a busy ward round, out-patient clinic, or for last-minute consultation prior a viva examination.

This comprehensive yet easy-to-read hadbook is aimed at urological trainees, urology nurse specialists, recently qualified junior urologists as well as practicing urologists as part of review and audit of practices.

In a world where human disconnection is so prevalent, Prognosis HOPE restores humanity to healthcare and brings hope back to both caregivers and care-seekers. Patients don't always get the care they deserve and it's time for both caregivers and care-seekers to stand up and demand that change. Before becoming a registered nurse, Angie Felts was hit by a drunk driver. She sustained a traumatic brain injury that put her life on hold for nearly twenty years and provides a unique perspective on the dehumanization present in healthcare today. In a candid, yet entertaining way, Angie shares her personal story, along with the stories of her mentors, colleagues, and patients, to demonstrate her method for human connection: Prognosis HOPE. A four-step method that is simple and easy to implement, Prognosis HOPE puts patients back in the driver's seat and enables medical professionals to return to their true callings as healers by celebrating human connection instead of getting bogged down by a diagnosis or complicated care plan. Angie empowers readers to see that they can change their own lives and leads both caregivers and care-seekers back to humanity through joining forces and sharing in the human experience.

Reviews of the First Edition . . .

"This is the first major manual on Bender Gestalt testing in over 30 years, and includes detailed administration and scoring instructions, and data on validity and reliability." —Epilepsia.

"This book will provide both psychologists and psychiatrists [with] a comprehensive yet easy-to-use manual for screening brain dysfunction." —Contemporary Psychiatry.

"Dr. Lacks should be complimented for her treatment of the use of the BGT in screening for organic brain dysfunction." —Book Reviews in Neurosciences.

Utilized for over 60 years by clinicians worldwide, the Bender Gestalt Test (BGT) today continues to be a widely used assessment tool to measure the cognitive domain of visuoconstructive abilities and to screen for brain dysfunction. Much of the BGT's popularity rests on its brevity, simplicity, and proven effectiveness with individuals from age 4 to 100. The test is often employed in inpatient psychiatric settings because of its ability to discriminate between brain impairment and serious mental disorders like schizophrenia. More recently, the BGT has also been used to identify older adults at high risk for cognitive decline.

This Second Edition is fully revised and includes an up-to-date review of the relevant scientific literature on the test's reliability, validity, and diagnostic accuracy. The book also contains additional normative data, a discussion of malingering, and almost all new examples and practice case materials. Five new chapters address issues in neuropsychological screening, eight steps to interpretation of test results, and use of the Bender Gestalt Test with children, adolescents, and older adults.

The book serves as a comprehensive manual for the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the Bender Gestalt Test. The diagnostic significance of general and specific behavioral observations is stressed and a format for recording them is included. For scoring, there are descriptions and multiple examples within the author's adaptation of the 12 errors of the Hutt and Briskin scoring system. The reader can use the 12 varied clinical case examples with explication of the scoring and 10 additional practice cases to gain rapid scoring facility and accuracy. Norms are provided for adult non-patients and psychiatric inpatients, nonpatient and demented older adults, and adolescents.

Designed for practical use and adhering to APA standards for test manuals, Bender Gestalt Screening for Brain Dysfunction is a comprehensive and easy-to-use manual that will enable psychology clinicians, psychometricians, and graduate students to increase their level of diagnostic accuracy in screening for brain damage.

Rapid technical advances in medical imaging, including its growing application to drug/gene therapy and invasive/interventional procedures, have attracted significant interest in close integration of research in life sciences, medicine, physical sciences and engineering. This is motivated by the clinical and basic science research requi- ment of obtaining more detailed physiological and pathological information about the body for establishing localized genesis and progression of diseases. Current research is also motivated by the fact that medical imaging is increasingly moving from a primarily diagnostic modality towards a therapeutic and interventional aid, driven by recent advances in minimal-access and robotic-assisted surgery. It was our great pleasure to welcome the attendees to MIAR 2004, the 2nd Int- national Workshop on Medical Imaging and Augmented Reality, held at the Xia- shan (Fragrant Hills) Hotel, Beijing, during August 19 20, 2004. The goal of MIAR 2004 was to bring together researchers in computer vision, graphics, robotics, and medical imaging to present the state-of-the-art developments in this ever-growing research area. The meeting consisted of a single track of oral/poster presentations, with each session led by an invited lecture from our distinguished international f- ulty members. For MIAR 2004, we received 93 full submissions, which were sub- quently reviewed by up to 5 reviewers, resulting in the acceptance of the 41 full - pers included in this volume."

The 7th International Conference on Medical Imaging and Computer Assisted Intervention, MICCAI 2004, was held in Saint-Malo, Brittany, France at the "Palais du Grand Large" conference center, September 26-29, 2004. The p- posaltohostMICCAI2004wasstronglyencouragedandsupportedbyIRISA, Rennes. IRISA is a publicly funded national research laboratory with a sta? of 370,including150full-timeresearchscientistsorteachingresearchscientistsand 115 postgraduate students. INRIA, the CNRS, and the University of Rennes 1 are all partners in this mixed research unit, and all three organizations were helpful in supporting MICCAI. MICCAI has become a premier international conference with in-depth - pers on the multidisciplinary ?elds of medical image computing, comput- assisted intervention and medical robotics. The conference brings together cl- icians, biological scientists, computer scientists, engineers, physicists and other researchers and o?ers them a forum to exchange ideas in these exciting and rapidly growing ?elds. The impact of MICCAI increases each year and the quality and quantity of submitted papers this year was very impressive. We received a record 516 full submissions (8 pages in length) and 101 short communications (2 pages) from 36 di?erent countries and 5 continents (see ?gures below). All submissions were reviewed by up to 4 external reviewers from the Scienti?c Review C- mittee and a primary reviewer from the Program Committee. All reviews were then considered by the MICCAI 2004 Program Committee, resulting in the acceptance of 235 full papers and 33 short communications.

This book provides medical students at the first clinical stage with comprehensive knowledge for the examination subject of clinical chemistry, laboratory diagnostics, hematology, also with regard to exam preparation. A unique feature are the diagrams of cardinal symptoms (19 cardinal symptoms in all, such as pain, temperature, high blood pressure, etc.) which provide a guide from symptom to diagnosis using decision trees. Such overviews are also useful for practicing physicians. The most important methods and techniques are defined in the glossary.

This text will be of enormous value to anyone involved in the monitoring and investigation of adverse medical events occurring during the clinical trials, or during the post marketing period of a drug. The book reviews the biochemical and physiological abnormalities in each of the bodys organ systems and helps the investigator decide if the problem is of drug-induced origin. Most of the information is presented as a series of observations with accompanying questions which should be addressed in order to make an accurate diagnosis. Easy-to-read with useful flow charts for the management of adverse drug events and examples of specific report forms, this text will be of interest to all those involved in drug monitoring in clinical medicine, pharmaceutical companies, contract research organisations or regulatory authorities.

Molecular Diagnostics: 12 Tests That Changed Everything focuses on specific laboratory tests and emphasizes how the availability of these tests has altered how clinicians treat their patients. Presented as a standard outline, each chapter focuses on a specific molecular test and provides background on the test and its clinical applications. Continuing with some discussion on how the test is done, interpreted, and used clinically, each chapter then concludes with a discussion of how that test has changed the way medicine is practiced with respect to the disease or condition in question. Authored by renowned experts in the field, Molecular Diagnostics: 12 Tests That Changed Everything is a valuable resource for pathologists, pathology residents, laboratory directors, development personnel, lab medicine fellows and those working in the broad area of oncology, infectious disease and genetics.

The Third Edition of the Handbook of Current Diagnosis and Treatment provides expert recommendations on the management of more than 200 major medical disorders. Each disorder is condensed into two pages of information using a consistent layout and format that shows diagnosis and treatment guidelines, accompanied by clinical photographs. All contributions are prepared by specialists and contain the most recent reference citations and latest clinical data.

What is the probability that a patient with a sore throat has strep? How about the likelihood of DVT in a patient with leg symptoms? What is the prognosis for patients with melanoma, pneumonia, or breat cancer? Covering a full range of topics from cardiovascular and pulmonary disease to ophthalmology, hematology and pediatrics, EVIDENCE-BASED DIAGNOSIS is the only single volume, quick reference designed for use in daily practice. Containing over 150 clinical prediction rules as well as need-to-know background information on each rule to determine its validity and relevance for your practice, these rules are essential for every physician in a time of limited health care resources. Designed as an aid in diagnosis and treatment, clinical prediction rules will allow you to make more accurate diagnosis and treatment decisions while eliminating superfluous testing. As an added bonus, a CD-ROM with software designed by the author is included with this volume. The software is designed to allow you to calculate clinical prediction rules with the ease and convenience of the computer. Simply check the boxes, click enter and receive the probabilities. Mark H. Ebell, M.D., M.S. is Associate Professor in the Department of Family Practice at Michigan State University. He is editor of the "Journal of Family Practice" and coeditor of the "Evidence-Based Practice" newsletter, and is the author of over 80 peer-reviewed publications.

Full exploitation of the DSM-5 allows for more comprehensive care By demystifying the DSM-5, author Sophia Dziegielewski goes beyond the traditional diagnostic assessment and suggests both treatment plans and practice strategy. She covers the changes in criteria to the DSM-5 and what those changes mean for mental health professionals. This resource has been updated to include: * New and updated treatment plans * All treatment plans, interventions strategies, applications, and practice implications are evidence based * Instructions on doing diagnostic assessments and differential diagnosis using the DSM-5 * Changes to coding and billing using the DSM-5 and ICD-10 The book includes robust tools for students, instructors, and new graduates seeking licensure. DSM-5 in Action makes the DSM-5 accessible to all practitioners, allowing for more accurate, comprehensive care.

Despite diagnosis being the key feature of a physician's clinical performance, this is the first book that deals specifically with the topic. In recent years, however, considerable interest has been shown in this area and significant developments have occurred in two main areas: a) an awareness and increasing understanding of the critical role of clinical decision making in the process of diagnosis, and of the multiple factors that impact it, and b) a similar appreciation of the role of the healthcare system in supporting clinicians in their efforts to make accurate diagnoses. Although medicine has seen major gains in knowledge and technology over the last few decades, there is a consensus that the diagnostic failure rate remains in the order of 10-15%. This book provides an overview of the major issues in this area, in particular focusing on where the diagnostic process fails, and where improvements might be made.