Preface

This High-Yield Q&A review text has been designed with the intention of preparing individuals, including current medical students as well as medical graduates, for the Biochemistry and Medical Genetics questions in the USMLE Step 1 exam. To accomplish this goal, there are 35 chapters that briefly review the high-yield concepts of Metabolic Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, and Medical Genetics. Each chapter emphasizes the integration of these concepts to physiology, pharmacology, and pathology and to important diseases associated with defects in these processes. To aid in the preparation for the USMLE Step 1 exam, the text includes 890 multiple choice questions, throughout each of the chapters. These questions are formatted in the current NBME Item format or the USMLE Step 1 format. Nearly all 890 questions are written as clinical or laboratory vignettes.

Many questions in this text utilize the double- and triple-jump format of NBME questions. This refers to a style of question where the student is required to recognize one or two related concepts (eg, pathophysiology and pharmacology) and then use that knowledge to conclude the most correct option to the question that may be biochemistry (or some other subject) related. As such, these questions require a knowledge base that exceeds the primary topics of Biochemistry and Genetics that are reviewed in this text, similar to what is required to successfully answer USMLE Step 1 questions.

In keeping with the focus of the Step 1 exam being about process, there are numerous questions with similar question stems but that ask distinctly different questions. In addition, many questions have more than one correct answer but only one of which is the most correct. The purpose of including similar, yet distinct questions, as well as questions with more than one possible correct answer, is to ensure that students obtain a clear idea of the different ways the NBME prepares questions for its assessments that cover the same concept yet asks the student to utilize their knowledge base and their problem-solving skills to determine the single best answer.

This review book is divided into five broad sections. The first section, Foundational Biochemistry, covers the basics of the major building blocks of all cells and tissues, protein structure-function relationships, and the role of vitamins and minerals in metabolic processes including enzymes. The second section, Metabolic Biochemistry, and by far the major bulk of any Medical Biochemistry text, covers metabolic biochemistry with a strong emphasis on clinical correlations and clinical disorders related to these all-important pathways. The third section, Cellular and Molecular Biology, reviews the concepts of DNA, RNA, and protein metabolism, cellular structures and the components of these structures, signal transduction processes, and the molecular tools utilized in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. The fourth section, Integrative Biochemistry, reviews the concepts of digestive processes, insulin and diabetes, hormones, blood coagulation, and cancer. The fifth section, Medical Genetics, reviews the high-yield concepts of medical genetics including single-gene inheritance, population genetics, cytogenetics, and linkage.

Every chapter begins with a list of high-yield terms related to the included content. Each chapter includes numerous explanatory figures and tables aimed at allowing increased understanding and focus on the critical high-yield content. Most chapters include detailed Clinical Boxes that describe and discuss the high-yield information concerning diseases and disorders related to defects in the processes being reviewed. Although every chapter does not warrant one or more Clinical Boxes, there are over 95 such high-yield topics throughout the book. Each chapter content section is followed by a series of multiple-choice questions. Following the questions, there are detailed explanations as to why the correct choice is the most correct, as well as explanations as to why the other options do not represent the most correct choice. Finally, at the end of each section or chapter is a Checklist designed to refocus the reader to the most important and high-yield concepts covered by each chapter. If a student finds concepts and/or content confusing or unclear when completing any chapter, it is highly recommended that for further detailed information they go to http://themedicalbiochemistrypage.org. This is the most complete resource for a more comprehensive study of the material reviewed in this book, excluding the Medical Genetics content.