The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy

Excellent book for medical reference and refresh of knowledge.

It's the Merck Manual! If you know medicine but are aware you don't know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING! (Few if any do!) This is a wonderful reference. If you have no medical knowledge and think this will make you know what doctors know. Don't waste your money. You have to have a basic understanding for this to be helpful. This is a wonderful update to an old favorite.

Here’s the review I wrote for the 19th edition on 2011: I've been getting and using the Merck Manual for over 30 years to answer questions about disease for family and friends (pediatrics through geriatrics) as well as preparing to ask germane questions of physicians responsible for care of family and friends. It is comprehensive in its coverage of the etiology, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of diseases of the human body and contains the latest research results on the treatment options. It's really not that difficult for the layman to understand the medical terminology and the result is factual understanding of the major aspects of disease which you will NOT get from the standard home health care books from Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Mayo Clinic, the AMA or even the Merck Home Health handbook. And, unlike the Merck Manual, these books directed to the laity do not contain the diagnostic information upon which physicians decide precisely what disease they are presented with. Yes, there will be much superfluous information which you may never use, but, when you want and need the information about a specific disease, here's where you should start your education. The same holds true for the updated 2018 20th edition. I neglected to mention that this manual also contains a plethora of ancillary information including thorough sections on pediatrics, geriatrics, injuries, bites and stings, patient care, alternative medicine, dietary supplements, rehabilitation, normal test values and even legal issues such as advance directives. Yup, it’s pricey, but it’s always proved to be valuable to me.

If you only have one medical resource book in your house, I recommend this one. Very thorough book.

This is a comprehensive manual. I bought it because of the difference of opinions of different doctors and vets that we received when our cat was sick. We spent over $6,000+ and found out he only had 1 of the 7 symptoms of his diagnosis and the hospital could not find the reason for his weight loss. Many years ago a human Merck Manual helped us discover that the specialist was using one. After coming out of the hospital and during a followup visit, I asked what is the next step to take. I advised him we bought a Merck Manual and can read it just as well as him and was not happy. He sent us to an Electrophysiologist, a speciality we never knew existed. Kitty gained weight again, just needed to peak his appetite with Instinct Rabbit and Duck dry cat food. Apparently, his smell was off and Instinct coats their kibble with the flavor you are buying. It wasn’t easy finding the right one because he is food specific and it must be kibble. We donated all the ones recommended and others we thought he would the rescues. When we first adopted him as a kitten, he was sneezing mucous tinted with blood and vet said he would grow out of it. He did but …. Highly recommend double checking and / or getting a 2nd opinion, human or otherwise.

This is the next in a series of, th most recent version. Contains a volume of medical information of many medical topics.a great reference product.

I am entering my second year of PA school and I use this book 2-3 times a week. Summary: This is clearly a book for practitioners ONLY (or soon to be). If you are a medical, PA, or NP student, consider delaying buying this book until your 2nd or 3rd year. This book can feel very overwhelming, especially since most of the time you have a quick question and it may take several minutes to find it. It is great to use if you are trying to understand the entire picture of a disease, especially in a clinical context. It starts by giving you 1-2 paragraphs of pathophysiology, then gives you the process of diagnosing, the clinical presentation, the ddx, labs, tx, prognosis, and "pearls" of the disease. I like using this when I am learning about a specific disease for the first time. Please understand, there is no one book that can answer every question of medicine. This however, is as close as you will get with the exception of a few things here and there. Overall, great book to supplement my classroom lectures.

It’s an updated version from my first one.1994. Was a great reference book than during my residence time and is a great reference now. Every dollar worth.

A book for the Family libraryto assist one in understanding family illness and the prescribed medication.

Great!

E' la terza o quarta volta che compro il Merck Manual (l'ho fatto nei decenni ogni volta che ne usciva una nuova edizione). Ora è anche disponibile online, ma per un medico quasi ottantenne come me la carta si legge meglio e il dato si ricorda meglio. Nel Merck Manual c'è assolutamente tutto quello che un medico dovrebbe sapere, e anche di più (tanti aspetti specialistici che non fanno parte del bagaglio standard). Non potrei farne a meno (ora soltanto per diagnosticare e curare me stesso!)

En tant que médecin hospitalier, le manuel Merck m'apparaît depuis longtemps comme l'une des toutes premières références. Plus concis que le Harrisson, il lui est cependant supérieur en termes de lisibilité, et lorsque l'on veut rapidement se mettre au point sur une question peu familière. Il apporte d'utiles orientations bibliographiques, comporte de nombreux tableaux d'orientation diagnostique, figures et diagrammes de compréhension immédiate. Les chapitres pédiatriques sont réussis. Et tout cela à un prix hors de concurrence.

I was surprised by the size of the book as I was already owner of previous editions of the Merck Manual. It wasnt a " pocket size " manual and now it definitely isnt. But the information inside is definitely up to date. A must have for every doctor (and not only) who would like to have a reliable textbook of medicine as a whole. Definitely recommended.