Old
books for young physicians
(Portuguese
PDF version)
Coordinated
by: Ricardo C. R. Moreira
J
Vasc Br 2004;3(3):291
"For
old physicians, new books; for young physicians, old books." This
is an aphorism frequently uttered by Dr. Lysandro Santos Lima, professor
of the Universidade Federal do Paraná, who died more than 20
years ago and who was one of the most remarkable physicians ever acting
in the medical area in the state of Paraná, Brazil. What Dr.
Lysandro meant was that young physicians need to drink from the spring
of traditional knowledge, which has already been time-tested, and more
experienced physicians need to update constantly. We dare to paraphrase
Dr. Lysandro in the review of the Cardiovascular Physiology1 monograph:
it is an old book for young physicians and a new book for senior surgeons.
This manual is part of the Mosby's successful physiology monograph series,
which presents, in a single volume, the entire knowledge on vascular
physiology an angiologist or vascular surgeon need to approach clinical
problems in a scientific manner. The book develops on 288 text pages,
and with the addition of appendices and exercises it reaches a little
more than 300 pages. Even though, it is a brief text, considering the
large amount of information it makes available.
The book
was written by two Physiology professors, Robert M. Berne & Matthew
N. Levy. Its first publication was in 1967 an now it is in its 8th edition,
thus confirming its importance and quality. It is worth noticing that,
although Professor Berne was born in 1918 and Professor Levy was born
in 1922, the book seems to have been written by two young physicians
of our time, such their worry in showing the most update aspects of
the circulation physiology was.
Comparing it against other books, we can say that it focus on the "vascular"
aspect of the circulatory system, what makes a strong difference. The
topic is divided into 13 chapters: the first four are dedicated to heart
and the remaining to other organs and systems. The first part of the
book, which is almost 40% of the total, is concerned with the heart,
mainly its electrical activity and the mechanisms of myocardial contraction.
The most interesting part for angiologists and vascular surgeons are
the other 60%, which cover the arterial circulation of organs, the capillary
system and the venous and lymphatic circulations. The following chapters
5 (Hemodynamics), 6 (The arterial system), 8 (The peripheral circulation
and its control), and 11 (Peripheral Circulations) are particularly
useful for reviewing old concepts or learning new ones. The text is
clear, concise and filled with practical examples for the angiologist
and vascular surgeon.
Another
remarkable characteristic of this monograph is the fact that authors
do not use many mathematic formulae to explain the mechanisms of the
circulatory system, as it happens, for example, with the masterpiece
Hemodynamics for Surgeons by Strandness & Sumner, published
more than 30 years ago (1973). Although it is a great reference book
about vascular physiology, it is a challenge even for those (few) physicians
that are inclined to mathematical reasoning. In the Cardiovascular
Physiology monograph, graphics and equations are used only when
they are strictly needed for the understanding of concepts presented
in the text. Even those who face difficulties with the exact sciences
will not have problems in understanding the intricate functioning of
the human circulatory system.
Summing up, this is a great introductory text for students and resident
physicians, and, at the same time, a pleasant review for most experienced
vascular surgeons who are worried with keeping update on this topic.
If Dr. Lysandro was alive he would have no doubts about suggesting this
book for his students.
1. Berne RM, Levy MN. Cardiovascular Physiology. 8th
ed. Mosby; 2001.
