There is one book almost guaranteed to make any person that has ever been to medical school pale. It is West's Respiratory Physiology. And yes, it is as boring as it sounds. It is also incredibly complicated and way over the head of almost any medical student that doesn't have a Physics degree. I recall too vividly the hours I spent trying to understand that book. I even had two versions, the "real" book and the essentials (basically the Cliff notes version). I couldn't make heads nor tails of either.
As we all know, respiratory physiology is somewhat important in my line of work. I have thought about rereading West's over the years, but the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach wouldn't allow me to pick it up. However, I have a lecture tomorrow on Pulmonary Physiology. Therefore, I decided to conquer my fears and make peace with West's. Ten years have passed, and I like to think that I have matured and learned a lot in those years, but I still don't get this book. I mean really, wouldn't English have been a better language in which to write it? Okay, I will not let this book win - back to the beginning.
No comments:
Post a Comment