As with all Lange Medical Books, this book is intended to meet the
needs of students. The first through fourth editions were written as
companions to Lange's popular
Basic Histology, Junqueira,
Carneiro, and Mescher, now in its twelfth edition. In the fifth edition of
this review, the correspondence with the text's chapter layout has been
retained to continue that relationship. This edition contains substantial
revisions of many chapters to include advances in cell biology and
biological mechanisms that have become fundamental to medical education and
practice. The reader is again reminded that although this review can be used
as an adjunct to any standard textbook of histology, it is not intended as a
substitute.
All of the synopses have been edited
to make them more concise. This will be a constant goal in developing this
book through future editions. A further improvement is the inclusion of
additional questions with longer, case-related stems in the Diagnostic Final
Examination. The USMLE Part I examinations now consist almost entirely of
this question type. Questions in the individual chapters remain similar to
those you encounter in your course examinations because this format, in
addition to being beneficial in preparing for course and NBME subject
examinations, is more useful in quickly identifying specific knowledge
deficits. Readers are encouraged to read carefully the “How to Use
This Book” section
before beginning their study or review of
histology. This section will help you not only with histology but also with
all your basic science coursework.
My greatest
wish is for this book to help you to gain the knowledge required for
effective medical practice and to prepare for examinations designed to test
that knowledge. Readers' comments and suggestions are welcome and have
again been helpful in improving the book. Your contributions may assist many
other students in the coming years.
I would like
to acknowledge the contributions of several people who were instrumental in
the publication of this book. Drs. Brenda Klement, Gale Newman, Jacqueline
Powell, Mary Scanlon, Mary Saltarelli, Lawrence Wineski, and Nina Zanetti
provided helpful advice and information. The encouragement and insight of
Lange editors Michael Weitz and Christie Naglieri were invaluable in making
improvements in this edition and getting it into print. All readers owe a
debt of gratitude to Susan Worley for her efforts to clarify the meaning of
the text and make it more readable. Finally, the improvements in the
appearance and usefulness of the figures in this edition reflect the
artistic efforts and attention to detail of Becky Hainz-Baxter and Manoj
Srivastava. I would especially like to thank Satvinder Kaur for her diligent
effort and support in making the many changes to this edition and for
assembling all of its components for publication. Many thanks to everyone
for their hard work.
Douglas F. Paulsen, PhD
Atlanta, Georgia
dpaulsen@msm.edu