The Fall Bookshelf

Recent Books by Faculty of Harvard Medical, Dental, and Public Health Schools

Christopher Crenner
Private Practice: In the Early Twentieth-Century Medical Office of Dr. Richard Cabot
Johns Hopkins
In this study of HMS graduate and physician Richard C. Cabot, Christopher Crenner, of the University of Kansas School of Medicine, examines the eminent doctor’s clinical practice, illuminating the transformation of medicine into a more scientific discipline during the first decades of the 20th century. Serving at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Medical School, Cabot was a champion of both basic science and humanistic patient care. The author tells Cabot’s story by focusing on the relationships between the doctor and his patients, revealing many of the challenges posed by new technologies such as microscopic and serological blood analysis, physiological monitoring, and the increasingly potent medications available to patients.

Steven Bradley Lowen and Malvin Carl Teich
Fractal-Based Point Processes
Wiley-Interscience
Fractals, such as the human heart rate, and point processes, like the sequence of human heartbeats, are constructs that have been applied in scientific studies for many decades. But the domain in which these concepts overlap has received little attention. In this text, Steven Lowen, HMS assistant professor of psychiatry at McLean Hospital, and Malvin Teich, of Boston University and Columbia University, discuss fractals—objects characterized by self-scaling—and point processes—mathematical representations of random phenomena appearing as discrete events—and integrate the two in a framework for understanding biological signals, among other occurrences. The content is geared toward researchers and graduate students with a firm grasp of mathematics and probability theory. To reinforce learning, a set of problems accompanies each chapter.

Richard M. Schwartzstein and Michael J. Parker
Respiratory Physiology: A Clinical Approach
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
“The functions we associate with breathing depend on more than the lungs,” write the authors of Respiratory Physiology: A Clinical Approach. This systems-based view of physiology underscores the concept that organ function is most effectively learned when examined within its larger organ system and is the guiding principle for the book. Richard Schwartzstein, HMS associate professor of medicine, and co-author Michael Parker, HMS instructor in medicine, distill the concepts required for a working knowledge of respiratory physiology in a clinical setting. This streamlined reference covers functional anatomy, mechanical and neural aspects of breathing, the role of respiration in acid–base balance, and exercise physiology. It also describes the causes of breathing discomfort that can accompany disease, a topic typically not covered in introductory texts but germane to the book’s clinical focus.

Robert Fletcher and Suzanne Fletcher
Clinical Epidemiology: The Essentials, Fourth Edition
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Clinical epidemiology aims to predict the outcomes of individual patients by applying strong scientific methods to the study of similar groups. The concepts, methods, and results help guide the practice of evidence-based medicine, not to mention the evaluation of grant applications and peer-reviewed papers. Robert and Suzanne Fletcher, HMS professors emeritus of ambulatory care and prevention, present the rules of evidence for answering clinical questions through research, including the cause of disease, accuracy of diagnosis, and effectiveness of treatment. This latest edition covers more topics in greater depth, such as screening tests and systematic reviews, and adds a chapter on coping with the vast body of research results more effectively and efficiently.

Jerrold F. Rosenbaum, George W. Arana, Steven E. Hyman, Lawrence A. Labbate, and Maurizio Fava
Handbook of Psychiatric Drug Therapy, Fifth Edition
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
This handbook is intended to be a practical guide for psychiatrists, primary care physicians, and other health professionals involved in managing patients with mental disorders. The authors have organized the text by major psychotherapeutic drug classes and provided a disease-specific table of contents for quick reference. To maintain brevity and increase usability, their drug descriptions go easy on the science, emphasizing instead evidence- and experience-based guidelines for clinical use. The opening chapter outlines a general approach to psychiatric drug therapy. The five authors include HMS faculty members Jerrold Rosenbaum, the Stanley Cobb professor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital; Steven Hyman, professor of neurobiology and Harvard provost; and Maurizio Fava, professor of psychiatry at MGH.

Ann M. Dvorak
Ultrastructure of Mast Cells and Basophils
Karger
Mast cells and basophils are closely related secretory cells of the immune system that help carry out hypersensitivity reactions by releasing histamine and other mediators of inflammation. In this book, Dvorak, HMS professor of pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, reviews studies conducted on these cells since her earlier monograph on the subject was published in 1991. She describes rules for using ultrastructural observation for identifying cells and their structures and presents work that reveals new information about the cells’ organelles and secretory mechanisms. The text, which contains more than 180 micrographs, also details various imaging techniques. The book will be useful for basic scientists studying immunology, cell biology, and histochemistry, as well as clinicians interested in allergy, immunology, rheumatology, pathology, and related areas.

Jeffrey Garber
The Harvard Medical School Guide to Overcoming Thyroid Problems
McGraw–Hill
“Your thyroid gland is like one of those auto parts you never heard of until your car breaks down,” explains Jeffrey Garber, HMS assistant clinical professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Problems with the thyroid can cause a range of health problems, including depression, exhaustion, congestive heart failure, and hair loss. Because the symptoms overlap with those of other conditions, thyroid problems can be overlooked or misdiagnosed. In this, the latest publication in the Harvard Medical School Guide series, Garber dispels myths about thyroid disease, describes the different tests and their value, and reviews the available conventional and alternative treatments.

Orrin Devinsky, Steven Schacter, Steven Pacia, Editors
Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Epilepsy
Demos Medical Publishing
In the ancient Roman Empire, epileptics were prescribed the fresh blood of fallen gladiators as a tonic against seizures. Though the treatment fell out of vogue, doctors and patients still struggled to find cures and therapies for the disorder, with varying degrees of success. Even today, 35 percent of patients do not respond fully to medication. In the book, Orrin Devinsky, of New York University; Steven Schachter, HMS professor of neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; and Steven Pacia, of the Lenox Hill Hospital, compile articles on ways in which complementary and alternative medicines can be integrated into traditional epilepsy management to provide a broader range of treatments. The guide includes discussions of Asian and homeopathic therapies; nutrition; oxygen therapies; osteopathic therapies; and music, art, and pet therapies. It addresses studies in which data have shown inconclusive results.

H. Royden Jones Jr., Editor
Netter’s Neurology
Icon Learning Systems
Editor H. Royden Jones Jr., HMS clinical professor of neurology at Children’s Hospital Boston, and his colleagues expect that neurologically savvy readers will recognize the patient vignettes that open each chapter, while students and residents will discover the immediate clinical relevance of the underlying anatomy and pathophysiology of many common neurological disorders. Updated versions of classic medical illustrations by Frank Netter, as well as new ones by other artists, are liberally scattered throughout this thorough overview of neurological dysfunctions. Each chapter describes clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, diagnostic evaluation, treatment, and future directions.

Deborah Levine, Editor
Atlas of Fetal MRIs
Taylor & Francis Group
Using fetal magnetic resonance, doctors can get more precise images of fetuses than ever. The still-developing physical structure of a fetus is distinct from an adult’s, which can create confusion when evaluating fetal health. To help doctors diagnose abnormalities in a fetus, The Atlas of Fetal MRIs provides images of normal and abnormal fetal skulls, nervous systems, chests, abdomens, and musculoskeletal systems. With this compendium of images and descriptions, Deborah Levine, HMS associate professor of radiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, presents the first text with in-depth MR images of the normal and abnormal fetal anatomy.

The Archives Program of Children’s Hospital Boston
Images of America: Children’s Hospital Boston
Arcadia
Children’s Hospital Boston began in 1869 as a small brick building where volunteer doctors and nuns cared for poor children, when few effective treatments were available for their illnesses. Since then, pediatric medicine has flourished into a sophisticated discipline, and Children’s has grown into one of the nation’s largest academic pediatric hospitals and research centers. This book offers a unique view of the rise of pediatric medicine through the annotated images of an institution. With photographs, documents, and accompanying text, the compilation traces the development of the hospital while reflecting the dramatic changes in society and the state of medicine.

Julius B. Richmond and Rashi Fein
The Health Care Mess: How We Got Into It and What It Will Take to Get Out
Harvard University
The American health care industry is one of the richest in the world, bringing in more than $1.6 trillion annually. Yet more than 45 million citizens are uninsured every year. In this text, Julius Richmond, HMS professor emeritus of health policy, and Rashi Fein, HMS professor emeritus of economics of medicine, look at the history of U.S. health care and how it came to be a luxury many cannot afford. Richmond and Fein suggest the answer lies in a universal health care system, one that cannot be accomplished monetarily, but rather politically. They concede that many obstacles would be faced in an effort to establish such a system. The book is of value to anyone interested in health care and health policy—whether doctor, student, or lay person.

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