This book, which has been produced by the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, is based on the premise that a good image is better than many words. It utilises many illustrations from the late and famous Frank Netter, supplemented by images by two Netter clones, interspersed with text.

I selected twelve topics of interest; two of them (hyponatraemia and myeloma) received no mention at all. Another three (AF, COPD, and thromboembolic disease) were dealt with in a very satisfactory fashion and the diagrams were highly useful. I also found some interest in the other seven topics, but, overall felt that they lacked balance and were not always appropriate for the New Zealand medical scene. For example, I doubt whether irritable bowel syndrome warrants more space than TIA and stroke. Within this latter section, I found that there was one page on thrombolysis and only five lines on stroke rehabilitation. Another disconcerting feature is that the S.I. system is not used in the laboratory information.

In the publisher’s blurb, the claim is proudly made that it ‘doesn’t bog down its readers with basic science, ethics, clinical trials, medical research, differential diagnosis, radiologic tests, or anything else which are topics better handled elsewhere.’ I think this just about sums it up and I believe most topics are better handled elsewhere.