Cracking the MRCS Viva: A revision guide

Cracking the MRCS Viva is an outstanding guide to the MRCS Viva examination. Its unique approach recreates the structure and content of each individual viva, allowing the reader to self-test, or two students to recreate mock viva sessions for themselves. Divided into six sections to mirror the exam - applied surgical anatomy, operative surgery, applied surgical pathology, principles of surgery, applied surgical physiology, and critical care - each section covers a range of topics, listed alphabetically, and contains all the information required to pass the exam using concise, bullet-point text, helpful tables and easy to reproduce diagrams. Written by registrars who have all recently passed the MRCS, plus an MRCS examiner, this comprehensive and user-friendly revision guide also contains considerable input from other senior specialists.

Table of Contents:
Acid Base Balance Action potential Actions of steroids Antiemetics ARDS Blood brain barrier Brainstem death Burns Control of respiration Calcium metabolism Cardiac action potential (and physiology of the transplanted heart) Cardiac arrest and resuscitation Cardiac cycle Cerebrospinal fluid – Functions and movements Compartment syndrome Control of blood pressure Control of micturition Criteria for admission to ITU CVP waveform and CVP lines Dead space Differences between ITU and HDU Drugs that affect potassium levels Drugs which affect the pupil Drugs which affect cardiac output Drugs affecting the colon Effects of adrenaline Effects of dopamine Effects of histamine Fat metabolism Fluid balance Functions of the kidney Functions of the liver Functions of the pancreas Functions of the small bowel Functions of the stomach GI physiology Glucose homeostasis Haemoglobin dissociation curve, molecular properties Harmful effects of acidosis Head Injury How is pain mediated? Hypoxia Inotropes Iron metabolism Jaundice Life of a red blood cell Loop of Henle Management of oliguria Mechanical Ventilation Metabolic response to surgery Morphine Neuromuscular junction Nutrition Oxygen delivery to the tissues Pathophysiology of pneumothorax Physiology of altitude and diving Physiology of muscle Portal hypertension Potassium Homeostasis Renal tubular physiology and renal failure. Diuretics (particularly osmotic) Reperfusion injury Respiratory failure Respiratory function tests Scoring in ITU Shock (including detailed discussion of hypovolaemia) Starling forces in the capillaries, Oedema Starling’s law of the heart and relationships between CO/SV/HR and TPR The Cell membrane Thermoregulation Upper GI bleeding