Essential Orthopaedics and Trauma

One of the best Trauma and Orthopaedic books I own. Clear definitions and very readable.

good info (2/3 people found this helpful)

This book pitches just at the right level - practial info and easy-read format. A great one to gain a deeper understanding of the topic.

The lesser of many evils? (23/23 people found this helpful)

This book is a standard undergraduate text for medical students undertaking attachments in orthopaedics or trauma. It certainly is pitched at an undergraduate level and would not be appropriate for someone like a casualty officer who has to manage fractures on a day to day basis.
As with most undergraduate books, this one aims to teach you the principles and practice of 'important' orthopaedic conditions.
However, as most medical students will know, there are no good books on orthopaedics and this one is no exception.

Firstly it is important to recognize that the book has only two main authors - both orthopaedic surgeons. The paragraphs about neurology are very poor and very basic. Any mention of 'medical orthopaedics' ie rheumatology is also outdated and very poor. Therefore i strongly suggest you ignore these bits in the book. Clearly the book would have benefited by having a spinal surgeon/neurologist on board and a practicing rheumatologist.

The section on fractures is not surprisingly the best bit of the book. These chapters are very useful for medical students. Although, even here detail is missing and apart from the overall classification of fractures in the introductory chapters, further classification is not covered. Salter Harris classification is covered.

The chapter on examination of the musculoskeletal system is very deficient and i wouldn't bother reading it.

The book utilises a two tone colour format. There are no colour photographs which is a shame - the book could really benefit from some well chosen quality pictures. As usual with these kinds of politically correct books there is the usual picture of a wheelchair race - why?

A stronger point of the book is the many radiographs which are of a reasonable quality. I would say about 70 percent of them can be interpreted, the rest either being deficient in terms of quality or in terms of a medical student simply not being able to see the abnormality. Some well appointed arrows would have been useful.

In summary, if your aim is simply to pass the othopaedics module then this book will probably suffice for fractures and joint replacement. For those with more interest i suggest looking towards books aimed at senior house officers. It is also certainly necessary to read a good text on rheumatology such as the chapter in Davidson's or Kumar.

Great guide to orthopaedics (3/3 people found this helpful)

I have mainly used this book for trauma reference, found it invaluable when starting work on trauma ward and still refer to it. I haven't yet found another trauma guide, especially for the very reasonable price. Am starting to use some of the elective stuff now, once again explains everything clearly and simply, yet in sufficient detail. Great book for nurses, physios, docs, anyone in trauma work.

David J. Dandy, Dennis J. Edwards

Reader Reviews:

Wonderfully clear (1/2 people found this helpful)

good info (2/3 people found this helpful)

The lesser of many evils? (23/23 people found this helpful)

Great guide to orthopaedics (3/3 people found this helpful)

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