Physiology by Numbers, 2nd Edition

As the title states, Physiology by Numbers allows the unskilled mathematician to understand sometimes confusing and complex physiological principles through a concise and simple quantitative approach. While I would not recommend this book as the sole source for the firsttime physiology student, it is a great accompaniment to lecture notes and USMLE Step I board review books, which often emphasize concepts rather than the actual equations. As a workbook, Burton reinforces fundamentals with numerical examples to help make the concepts in physiology more concrete. The book itself is organized into nine easy-to-read chapters and walks the reader through the basics of calculation (approximation and units) to every physiologist's mantra acid-base balance. Throughout, Burton seems to understand the mindset of the student reader. Concepts are explained in a paragraph or less and followed by a number of practice problems no lengthy explanations, no derivations of equations, just basic concepts and many illustrative examples. One of the charts I found extremely helpful was placed at the very beginning of the text in chapter 2. It connected, using a line diagram, all of the quantitative relationships among physiological variables (i.e., cardiac output can be derived from heart rate and stroke volume and can also be calculated if mean circulation time and blood volume are known and can help calculate venous oxygen content, etc.) The chart was not only an excellent guide for the rest of the book, but a great reference when studying on my own. Of the nine chapters, two that were particularly effective were the chapters on renal function and acid-base balance. For the kidney, numerous step-by-step example problems reinforced the location of exchangers and transporters in the various parts of the nephron which always present a daunting memorization task for students. In the acid-base chapter, metabolic acidosis and respiratory alkalosis and the ensuing compensatory mechanisms became something that could be easily understood from lab values. Although not highlighted, other sections of the book should not be overlooked and include: energy and metabolism, the cardiovascular system, respiration, body fluids, and nerve and muscle. Overall, Physiology by Numbers is a good book for those looking to supplement lecture notes and textbooks with a good workbook. Besides size (compact and not a pain to lug around), numerical examples are plentiful and the explanations of the answers are very instructive. Although the writing is not complicated, I do not recommend this book for the lay person who does not have a science and/or physiology background there is simply not enough basic background information in the text. On the other hand, for students, it is a plus; text can be skipped and the sample problems are challenging enough to make one think, yet not so difficult as to frustrate. Having just recently completed a medical physiology course, I found the book useful for practice problems where my notes and other review books left off, and especially good for preparation before exams to reinforce equations which are often the easiest to forget.