Cataract is the major cause of blindness in man throughout the world. It is usually dealt with by surgery but surgery is expensive and may lead to other ocular damage. Apart from surgery one might hope to prevent cataracts or to cure them, but these approaches require a much greater understanding of the structure and metabolism of the lens and of its weaknesses and strengths. The emphasis of this book is on recent findings. The first chapter deals with the normal lens and its structure, cellular composition, metabolism and proteins. In the following chapter the ageing of the lens will be discussed, and the third chapter discusses the epidemiology of cataract emphasizing the size of the problem of cataract and the associated risk factors. Surgery is discussed briefly but without detailed discussion of recent changes in surgical procedure. That is followed by a chapter on experimental cataracts and related in vitro studies. The studies of human cataracts are discussed in chapter 5. The last chapter deals with the prevention of cataract and its delay by anti-cataract agents. There have been advances in this area recently and there is the promise of an effective therapeutic treatment soon.

This book is designed to aid preclinical medical students in exam preparation by providing three complete mock short answer question examinations that cover material from all of the disciplines represented in typical undergraduate medical courses. For medical students approaching these important exams this guide provides realistic and high quality exam questions on which to sharpen their skills. The questions have been created by experienced medical educators to reflect the popular cross-modular style. The answers include marking schemes and explanations. The book has been organized to mimic the exam experience as closely as possible, even to the extent of suggesting timings for each section and using paper sizes and answer spacings familiar to most medical students. This book is ideal for a candidate who is close to taking the relevant exam and wishes to prepare for the likely exam experience.