Jeffrey B Kerr. Published by Mosby (Elsevier Australia), 2010. ISBN 9780729538374. Contains 512 pages. Price AU$112.50 (online price at Elsevier Australia)

This is an informative and beautiful book. It is well organised with an appealing layout of the text and illustrations.

The careful juxtaposition of the text with the related illustrations greatly facilitates comprehension and concentration.

In the preface, the author outlines the scope of the book and the target audiences, which seem to include students and practitioners in the health professions, as well as those involved in biomedical research. A quick check of reviews available on the internet shows that it appears to be highly regarded as a histology textbook by undergraduate students in the health sciences. I expect that many medical practitioners would enjoy this book, not only for the stunning photographs, but also because it provides a very accessible review and update of normal structure and function of human cells, tissues and organ systems. It would be an excellent resource for aspects of continuing medical education.

My only criticism, which is a minor one, is that the author has included at the conclusion of his discussion of each organ system a very brief discussion of important and common diseases affecting that system, including pathological changes. I did not think these discussions were of an equivalent high standard to the rest of the book. But they are a minor component and do not significantly detract from the overall excellence of the book.

In summary, I found this book very useful and a pleasure to use. The author is an effective communicator who has utilised an outstanding collection of illustrations to accompany his lucid text, thereby providing an excellent overview of normal structure and function of human cells and organ systems.