The Class of 2011 has provided commentary below on all of the required and suggested textbooks we are provided. You are able to access an official textbook list through iApply, but the list below has become the unofficial guide for written medical resources at Case Medical School.

Contents 1 Click on the links to take you to Amazon.com to purchase the books 2 Block 1 2.1 Physiology 2.2 General Pathology 2.3 Clinical Reference Manuals 3 Block 2 3.1 Embryology 3.2 Endocrinology 3.3 Genetics & Cancer 3.4 Reproduction 4 Block 3 4.1 Gastroenterology 4.2 Biochemistry 5 Block 4 5.1 Cardiovascular 5.2 Renal 5.3 Pulmonary 5.4 Pharmacology 6 Block 5 6.1 Microbiology 6.2 Immunology 6.3 Heme/Onc 7 Block 6 7.1 Neurology 7.2 Musculoskeletal 7.3 Psychiatry 8 Block 7 8.1 Anatomy 8.2 Histology & Histopathology 9 Block 8 9.1 Physical Examination 9.2 Pocket Reference Manuals 9.3 Equipment

[edit] Click on the links to take you to Amazon.com to purchase the books

[edit] Block 1

[edit] Physiology

• Least In-Depth/Most High Yield: BRS Physiology- ~$30
  • BRS Phys makes it easy to get a quick overview of an area and generally understand it before moving to a more in-depth source for the details. It’s small and easy to carry, but also lacks graphics, color, has small print, etc. Some people are able to use it as their main physiology text. Great for boards studying.

• Medium Depth/Medium Yield: Physiology by Costanzo - ~$45
  • This book is by the same author as BRS Physiology, but it covers everything in more detail, with big glossy pages and lots of colorful diagrams which makes it easier to read than BRS Phys. This is the physiology text of choice for many, but may lack essential details sometimes, requiring further reading in another source. This book is beloved by many, especially when it comes time to review for exams.

• Most In-Depth/Low Yield: Principles of Physiology – Berne & Levy - ~$65
  • This book is the physiology bible. If you need a detail, it can usually be found in Berne & Levy. But it’s also 800+ pages and makes for dense reading, which can lead to less comprehension and more frustration overall. Some swear by it, others refuse to touch it.

[edit] General Pathology

• Least In-Depth/Most High Yield: BRS Pathology- ~$30
  • BRS Path makes it easy to get a quick overview of an area and generally understand it before moving to a more in-depth source for the details. It’s small and easy to carry, but also lacks graphics, color, has small print, etc. Some people are able to use it as their main pathology text. Great for boards studying.

• Medium Depth/Medium Yield: Rapid Review Pathology – Goljan- $30
  • Goljan’s text is a Step 1 bible for many, but can also be very helpful for class. It’s pretty comprehensive in an easy to read outline format with lots of photos and clinical pearls throughout.

• High Depth/Low Yield: Pathologic Basis of Disease – Robbins and Coltran- ~$95
  • Can be found for free on MD Consult, must be logged into VPN
  • This is the path bible and is a gigantic hardcover. A great overall reference but it tends to go too much in-depth in some areas (like histology & pathophysiology) and too little in depth in others (epidemiology, clinical diagnosis/treatment)

[edit] Clinical Reference Manuals

These should be your “go-to” resources for all the important info. on any disease that comes up in IQ

• Harrison’s Internal Medicine - ~$95
  • Can be found for free here on Access Medicine, must be logged into VPN
  • This is the internal medicine bible, yet it’s strangely very accessible/readable. Covers the epidemiology, pathophysiology, signs & symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment for pretty much every disease. Can get lengthy, but has lots of useful tables too. Lots of people (in med school, residency, and beyond) swear by Harrison’s.

• Up To Date – free, but requires being on Case wifi and not logged into VPN
  • This is the leading peer-reviewed online clinical database. Up To Date’s writers read all the peer-reviewed resources and summarize everything that’s known about any disease. Like Harrison’s, this will cover the epidemiology, pathophysiology, signs & symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. Up To Date is used as a daily clinical reference by clinicians in every specialty so it tends to have more detail (such as dosage instructions) and be more, uh, up to date, than Harrison’s, which is an actual book and published every few years.

[edit] Block 2

[edit] Embryology

• Embryo section of First Aid for Step 1
• High Yield Embryology
• Langman’s Medical Embryology

[edit] Endocrinology

• General physiology text, as described in Block 1 - Physiology

[edit] Genetics & Cancer

• Thompson & Thompson’s Genetics in Medicine- ~$60
  • Sometimes the recommended text really is the best resource. Thompson & Thompson’s has a good level of detail, is easy to read, and has a great reference section in the middle on major genetic disorders. If you need more detail on the genetics of a disorder, go to the web resources. If you need more detail on the clinical side of the disorder, use the clinical pathology resources.

• Genetics Home Reference
  • Good database of genetic disorders, gives you an easy to read overview of any major disorder

• Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM)
  • When you need to know EVERY complex detail of a genetic mutation, go here.

• Gene Reviews
  • “Expert-authored, peer-reviewed, current disease descriptions that apply genetic testing to the diagnosis, management, and genetic counseling of patients and families with specific inherited conditions.”

[edit] Reproduction

• General physiology text, as described in Block 1 - Physiology
• An atlas of Human Anatomy, as described in Block 7 - Anatomy

[edit] Block 3

[edit] Gastroenterology

• General Physiology Text, as described in Block 1 - Physiology

[edit] Biochemistry

• Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry
  • An essential book for getting you through Block 3. Has concise descriptions of the pathways, some clinical references, and excellent illustrations. This book will also come in handy in preparation for boards.

[edit] Block 4

[edit] Cardiovascular

• Cardiovascular Physiology Concepts - Klabunde
  • Great for basic concepts in cardiovascular physiology. Used at the beginning of the block to introduce cell physiology. Some parts are redundant with other texts, but still a valuable resource. Although the library has copies of these, its probably better to just buy you own.

• Pathophysiology of Heart Disease - Lilly
  • Another must-have for cardio physiology. Many IQ cases go over specific chapters in this book. It provides excellent descriptions of the pathology that is not covered in the Kablunde book.

• Rapid Interpretation of EKG's - Dubin
  • Don't be fooled by the simplicity of this book, it is a great way to learn how to read EKG's and has been one of the standard learning tools for over a generation. It has lots of pictures and works through all the concepts in a easy-to-understand manner. Although not officially required by the med school curriculum, many students wound up buying this book in order to master the skill of reading those squiggly lines!

[edit] Renal

• Physiology text, as described above in Physiology in Block 1 - Physiology
  • You will already have this book from previous blocks. Good to cover basic physiology concepts. Some people used Costanzo and some people used Berne & Levy - its a matter of personal preference.
• Renal Pathophysiology - Renke
  • Not absolutely essential, but highly recommended that you purchase a copy. Like Lilly to Kablunde for cardio, this goes over much of the pathophysiology that is not covered in a general physiology text.
• Renal Physiology - Lange
  • Optional book that may cover some of the information found in your general physiology book in a different way.
• BRS Physiology - Costanzo
  • This small book has a bullet-point form of going over many concepts of the block; use it to review at the end. Not essential, but is useful for Block 3 and the boards, so you should consider purchasing a copy.

[edit] Pulmonary

• Pulmonary Physiology - John West
  • Many of the assigned readings come out of this book and it is very helpful over a regular physiology book. Works in conjunction with Respiratory Pathophysiology.
• Pulmonary Pathophysiology - John West
  • Very useful for learning various diseases of the lung. You might be able to get away with just buying this book, but many of the readings and IQ cases draw from the Physiology text above.

[edit] Pharmacology

Search any drug name in either Access Medicine, MD Consult, or Up to Date’s drug database and you’ll get the drug sheet on it which includes its other names, classification, mechanism, indications/contraindications, side effects, etc.

• Principles of Pharmacology: The Pathophysiologic Basis of Drug Therapy – Golan - ~$60
  • This book covers all the relevant physiology and pathology behind the drug and its clinical use. Not difficult to read and makes for a comprehensive way to learn drugs.

• Pharm Section of First Aid for Step 1
  • The need to know stuff for the boards.

• Goldman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics
  • This book contains alot of the specific details of the various drugs you will be learning in Block 4. Its not worth buying since it is online and expensive. However, it is good to use it as a reference when doing IQ research. Some of the chapters go over the basics, including the equations you'll use in Block 4.

[edit] Block 5

[edit] Microbiology

• Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple (Gladwin & Trattler)
  • The standard. Universally recommended by the Class of 2010. "Micro is egregiously overlooked and this book is a simple, easy read with tons of mnemonics that basically everyone uses. Not a bad idea to read over the summer."

[edit] Immunology

• Immunology for Medical Students (Nairn & Helbert)
  • "The title suggests the target audience, it's only 344 pgs, and it's everything we need toknow. GREAT book, wonderful cartoon illustrations, loved it."

• Kuby Immunology (Kindt et al)
  • "I think this is the *best* immuno book, it's shorter and easier to read than Janeway and a few of our SEQs came straight from it (i.e. word for word)."

• How the Immune System Works (Sompayrac)
  • "...was a great book that really helped me learn immunology. I would even suggest getting it early and reading it before the block if you can - it's a tiny book and really easily written. It will give you a great foundation because jumping into block 5 with no background - I felt so lost for weeks!"

• Immunobiology (Janeway)
  • "Absolute overkill and a total waste of your time."
  • "Some people hated this book, but I actually really liked this book. I think this was a very love it or hate it kind of book. I would recommend reading a chapter in the library, and if you like it, then buy it. Almost the entire book was assigned, so I also think it is easier to keep up with immuno if you read this book."

[edit] Heme/Onc

• Lecture Notes on Haematology (Hughes-Jones)
  • "Very to-the-point."
  • "This is what they recommend from Case Med. Real good book, can use it for med school and boards study, really easy read especially after taking immuno."

[edit] Block 6

[edit] Neurology

• Neuroscience (Purves)
  • "A few chapters from Purves Neuro were okay, but for the most part I felt it didn't serve our purposes well (too basic-sciencey)."
  • "I found totally useless and written badly, and most people I know agreed. I ended up not using it at all."
  • "...was really difficult to read - though it has some parts on cell signaling that the Nueroanatomy book doesn't go into much detail about."
  • "I think this is another love/hate kind of book. Again, I liked it, but I know some people didn't. However, again, most of the book is going to be assigned, so I think you are much better off just reading this book as the chapter are assigned instead of trying to keep up with a totally different book."

• Neuroanatomy (Haines)
  • "The Haines atlas isn't great for pics and visualization in my opinion, but I (belatedly) found the disease summaries very helpful."
  • "I found really helpful for the tracts and it's the only resource to learn brainstem slices & anatomy."

• High-Yield Neuroanatomy (Fix)
  • "A must-have."

• Neuroanatomy Through Clinical Cases (Blumenfeld)
  • "...was a really amazing book. I worked through it right before Block 6 exams - and it was only then that I felt that things were coming together and that I was getting it.

[edit] Musculoskeletal

• Musculoskeletal Medicine (Bernstein)

[edit] Psychiatry

• BRS Behavioral Science.
  • "You really don't need anything else."

• Behavioral Medicine Made Ridiculously Simple (Seitz)

[edit] Block 7

[edit] Anatomy

• Gray’s Anatomy for Students – Drake - ~65
  • Gray’s is mainly an anatomy text, but also has many drawn anatomical images. Some like it, but many others don’t think the text is very well written and the images/atlas isn’t as complete or nice as Netter’s. Some supplement Gray’s with Netter’s Atlas (see below) while others use a completely different anatomy book, such as Moore’s (see below) + Netter’s.

• Atlas of Human Anatomy – Netter - ~$70
  • This is a Must-Have book for Anatomy for many and is used across the country. It’s all beautifully drawn images of every part and detail of anatomy, usually from several angles. You can spend as much or as little time with the cadaver as you want, but you’ll still need an atlas to learn what everything’s supposed to look like.

• Essential Clinical Anatomy – Moore - ~$50
  • This book is also known as “Baby Moore’s” which means that it’s a more concise version of Moore’s much larger anatomy bible. This is an excellently written and fairly concise anatomy text. It’s a popular and recommended book for those taking the graduate anatomy class.

• Color Atlas of Anatomy: A Photographic Study of the Human Body – Rohen - ~$70
  • This is an anatomy atlas that’s all photographs of cadavers with the relevant anatomy pointed out, so it’s an excellent supplemental to Netter’s or Gray’s which are only drawings. This book is especially useful if you haven’t spent a lot (or enough) time with the cadavers to learn about what the anatomy actually looks like outside of a book.

• BRS Anatomy - ~30
  • When you need just the basics, in an extremely concise outline form. Some love it, some hate it.

[edit] Histology & Histopathology

• Histology: a Text & Atlas – Ross - ~$60
  • This is the histology bible, but it has two major “cons” for med school studying – a) it just covers normal histology, not histopathology and b) it includes a LOT of cell & molecular bio and lots of other extraneous text so each chapter is bloated with tons of info. you don’t need to read. The good news is that each chapter’s most important images/slides + explanation are located at the end of each chapter, called “Plates.” So if you do use this book, focus on the Plates.

• Color Atlas of Histology – Gartner - $60
  • This is a good atlas of normal histology and is much more condensed (just histo) than the Ross text. This is the recommended text for the graduate Histology class.

• WR2 Histology & Histopath Quizzes – free!
  • This is the most important resource for Histo/Histopath. Most of the images used in these quizzes will be on the exam. Many people just study these images and very little else.

• Web Path
  • “This popular web resource includes over 1900 images along with text, tutorials, laboratory exercises, and examination items for self-assessment that demonstrate gross and microscopic pathologic findings associated with human disease conditions.”

• Path Web
  • Similar to Web Path but run by a diff. school, it includes tons of histopath images (and need to know info.) for almost any disease (all searchable by disease or organ).

[edit] Block 8

[edit] Physical Examination

You should purchase one or the other, you do not need to purchase both. They will be especially useful during 3rd and 4th year, so you might as well buy them now. They are both acceptable and will be useful to you for this course and throughout your medical training. You should choose the one that feels more comfortable to you.

• Bates’ Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking - Lynn S. Bickley, published by J. P. Lippincott Co. The Ninth edition is the most recent, but the Eighth edition remains fairly up to date.
  • There are various copies of older version of this book in the Medical Library that may be borrowed and renewed.

• Textbook of Physical Diagnosis - Mark H. Swartz, published by Saunders. The Fifth edition is the current one.

[edit] Pocket Reference Manuals

• Maxwell's Quick Medical Reference Pocketbook - This handy pocket-stuffer is used by most 3rd and 4th year students, so you might as well buy it now. It has an eyechart and ruler on the back, plus some pretty useful information included (dermatomes, classical signs, etc). You can pick it up at Matthew's Bookstore over by the Cleveland Clinic.

[edit] Equipment

• Oto-ophthalmoscope: Probably not necessary for your first two years of medical school. Hold off on buying this even though they say its required.

• Stethoscope: There will be a sale at the school that will have stethoscopes on hand for you to try. They all work basically the same, so don't go overboard on purchasing the most expensive, electronic one that only a cardiologist could truly appreciate. Most students get a Littmann Cardiology III or equivalent.

• Reflex hammer: The triangular, hatchet-shaped hammer is very forgiving for a beginner, as well as inexpensive. Do not get a device that has a built in needle for testing sensation; these cannot be used in an era of universal skin/body fluid precautions. Also note that some reflex hammers used by neurologists look like little rubber saucers at the end of a stick. These work just as well as the hammer.

• Plastic centimeter ruler: This can be found on your copy of Maxwell's Pocket Reference (and doesn't get lost as easily).

• Tuning fork: 256 Hz is the usual compromise to test both vibration and hearing with one instrument. These are also sold at Matthew's Bookstore.

• Short White Coat: - given to you at White Coat Ceremony. Keep clean by getting it regularly dry cleaned.

• Pocket eye chart: The University Bookstore sells plastic ones for $3.95 or you can use the back cover of your Maxwell's.

• Sphygmomanometers (blood pressure cuffs) are not needed; they are readily available in the wards or clinics.