Biomedical Sciences: Essential Laboratory Medicine

Biomedical Sciences is an indispensable, all encompassing core textbook for first/ second year biomedical science students that will support them throughout their undergraduate career. The book includes the key components of the IBMS accredited degree programmes, plus sections on actual practice in UK hospital laboratories (including the compilation of a reflective portfolio). The book is visually exciting, and written in an interesting and accessible manner while maintaining scientific rigour. Highlighted boxes within the text link the theory to actual clinical laboratory practice for example, the histopathology chapter includes a photographically illustrated flow chart of the progress of a specimen through the histopathology lab, so that students can actually see how the specimen reception/inking/cut-up/cassette/block/section/stain system works, with an emphasis on the safety procedures that ensure specimens are not confused).

Table of Contents:
List of Contributors xi Preface xiii Chapter 1 Anatomy and physiology of major organ systems 1 Ray K. Iles, Iona Collins and Suzanne M. Docherty 1.1 The skeletal system 1 1.2 The digestive system 6 1.3 The cardiovascular system 11 1.4 The urinary system 17 1.5 Respiratory system 21 1.6 The nervous system 23 1.7 The endocrine system 31 Bibliography 33 Chapter 2 Pathophysiology 35 Suzanne M. Docherty 2.1 Pathophysiology: a definition 35 2.2 Introduction to epidemiology 35 2.3 Introduction to pharmacology 38 2.4 Gastroenterology 44 2.5 Liver, biliary tract and pancreatic disease 50 2.6 Rheumatology 56 2.7 Urinary tract disease 59 2.8 Cardiovascular disease 65 2.9 Respiratory disease 76 2.10 Endocrine disease 80 Bibliography 88 Chapter 3 Clinical cell biology and genetics 89 Ray K. Iles and Stephen A. Butler 3.1 The cell 89 3.2 Genetics 103 3.3 Human genetic disorders 116 3.4 Important techniques in molecular cell biology 136 Bibliography 138 Chapter 4 Cellular pathology 139 Christopher M. Stonard and Jennifer H. Stonard Part I: Principles of cellular pathology 139 4.1 Structure and function of normal cells, tissues and organs 139 4.2 Tissues and organs 140 4.3 Cellular responses to injury 141 4.4 Tissue responses to injury: acute inflammation 143 4.5 Tissue responses to injury: chronic inflammation 149 4.6 Healing and repair 151 4.7 Hyperplasia and hypertrophy 154 4.8 Atherosclerosis 155 4.9 Thrombosis and embolism 157 4.10 Ischaemia and infarction 159 4.11 Amyloid and amyloidosis 160 4.12 Infections of histological importance 162 4.13 Metaplasia, dysplasia and carcinoma in situ 165 4.14 Neoplasia 168 Part II: Clinical application and laboratory techniques 175 4.15 Sampling modalities 175 4.16 Fixation 178 4.17 Specimen dissection 180 4.18 Processing and embedding 182 4.19 Microtomy 184 4.20 Standard staining methods and procedures 186 4.21 Frozen section 190 4.22 Immunohistochemistry 191 4.23 Cytopathology 196 4.24 Electron microscopy 197 4.25 In situ hybridization 201 Bibliography 203 Chapter 5 Clinical chemistry 205 Ray K. Iles and Stephen A. Butler Introduction 205 Part I: Analytical methods 205 5.1 Sample collection 205 5.2 Analytical methods in clinical chemistry laboratories 210 5.3 Summary: common clinical tests for sample analytes 231 Part II: Clinical assessments 232 5.4 Urea and electrolytes (U and Es) 232 5.5 Metabolism and gastrointestinal markers 234 5.6 Renal function tests 236 5.7 Liver function tests 237 5.8 Heart disease and lipid disorder tests 238 5.9 Pancreatic function tests 240 5.10 Bone disease assessment 241 5.11 Endocrinological assessments 241 5.12 Pregnancy tests and pregnancy clinical chemistry 249 5.13 Therapeutic drug monitoring and toxicology 251 5.14 Clinical chemistry at the extremes of age 253 5.15 Cancer biomarkers 254 Bibliography 259 Chapter 6 Medical microbiology 261 Sarah J. Furrows and Catherine S. Fontinelle Introduction 261 6.1 Overview of microorganisms 261 6.2 Laboratory investigation of infection 265 6.3 Bacteria 277 6.4 Fungi 284 6.5 Parasitology --- protozoa and helminths 288 6.6 Viruses 290 6.7 Prions 297 6.8 Infections in the immunocompromised patient 298 6.9 Healthcare associated infections 299 6.10 Antimicrobial agents 302 6.11 Vaccines 307 6.12 Conclusion 309 Bibliography 309 Chapter 7 Clinical immunology 311 Ray K. Iles and Ivan M. Roitt Part I: The fundamentals of immunology 311 7.1 Overview of the immune system 311 7.2 Overview of the immune response 316 7.3 MHC genotyping, autoimmunity and susceptibility to disease 321 7.4 Physical age and immunocompetency 322 Part II: Laboratory investigations and immune assessments 323 7.5 Inflammation and chronic infection 323 7.6 Autoimmune diseases 324 7.7 Transplant rejection 325 7.8 Hypersensitivities 326 7.9 Immune deficiency 326 Bibliography 328 Chapter 8 Haematology and transfusion science 329 Suzanne M. Docherty 8.1 Introduction and components of blood 329 8.2 Routine laboratory blood tests 332 8.3 Haemopoiesis 336 8.4 Red blood cell structure, disorders and metabolism 337 8.5 Haemoglobin 342 8.6 Anaemia 353 8.7 Benign white blood cell disorders 359 8.8 Haemostasis 361 8.9 Coagulation disorders 366 8.10 Myeloproliferative disorders 371 8.11 Haematological malignancies 373 8.12 Complement 378 8.13 Blood transfusion 380 8.14 Blood products 390 8.15 Haemopoetic stem cell transplantation 393 Bibliography 395 Chapter 9 Professional practice and biomedical science 397 David Ricketts 9.1 What is a biomedical scientist? 397 9.2 The IBMS 397 9.3 Professional practice and the role of the HPC 398 9.4 Standards of proficiency --- biomedical scientists 399 9.5 Expectations of a health professional 400 9.6 Professional relationships 401 9.7 The skills required for the application of practice 401 9.8 Knowledge, understanding and skills 402 9.9 Standards of conduct, performance and ethics 403 9.10 CPD 403 9.11 Critical reflection 404 9.12 IBMS CPD scheme 404 9.13 The professional biomedical scientist as an agent for change in the wider healthcare setting 405 Appendix 407 Index 413

About the Author :
Professor Ray Iles and Dr Suzanne Docherty, School of Health & Social Sciences, Middlesex University, Hendon Campus, London, UK. Ray Iles has experience of writing a chapter of Kumar & Clark's Clinical Medicine (one of the market leading textbooks for medical students) and would like to provide the same kind of core textbook for biomedical science students.

Review :
“As an accompaniment to an undergraduate programme, this is an excellent text that manages to introduce all aspects of biomedical science to the reader.”  (British Journal of Biomedical Science, 1 January 2013) “Overall, Biomedical Sciences: Essential Laboratory Medicine would make a fantastic starting textbook for biomedical students.  It is accessible, clinically-focused and covers all major relevant topics.  (Phenotype, 28 May 2012)