This book focuses on clinically relevant biochemistry, for medical students and other health professionals. There is a great difference between the research oriented needs of the biochemistry graduate student and the clinical needs of the medical student. A book for graduate students needs to emphasize research methods and functionally important points . A book for medical students needs to provide the basic conceptual background that will allow the student to understand disease mechanisms, clinical laboratory tests , and drug effects. The first step in preparing this book was the selection of that biochemical information with the greatest clinical relevance. The second step was an attempt to present that information in a way that optimally facilitates learning and retention.
I have tried to present an overall conceptual picture rather than focusing on fine detail . Courses frequently deliver an overwhelming amount of esoteria with the expectation that the student will eventually integrate this
into an overall view. Commonly, the overall view never gels and the student is left with isolated points that have little apparent linkage and are quickly forgotten after the exam. This book attempts at the outset to present the major chemical reactions in one central map of Biochemistry land that may be conceptualized quickly and is the central focus of the book. After providing the overall view, the text centers on more detailed cl inical material . I have tried to use visual imagery, humor. and other memory techniques, not in disrespect for the field, but as educational methods that should be used more often in medical education .
The boundaries between biochemistry, cell biology, physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, and immunology are fuzzy, but it is necessary to draw the line somewhere. A number of topics, therefore, such as electrolyte and acid base balance have not been included as they overlap with physiology courses and don't quite fit into the Biochemistry land map. Certain points in pharmacology and microbiology are presented where they pertain directly to the chemical reactions at hand, but these are presented briefly.
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