Current medical diagnosis & treatment 1979

the long version

Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment 1979 has been completely reset but the scope of the work is unchanged and the objectives of the editors and authors remain the same: to serve the practicing physician as a useful desk reference on widely accepted technics currently available for medical diagnosis and treatment. We are not purporting to provide a mini-textbook of medicine. Indeed, it is chiefly because we are aware of how much we have had to summarize and condense in order to stay on the desk, within the clinician's easy reach, rather than on the shelf, perhaps forgotten just when needed most, that we have undertaken to provide current references to the clinical literature as well as general bibliographies to most of the major fields. The evaluation of new medical concepts and advances in diagnosis and treatment has been a constant challenge. Particularly difficult are the editorial decisions to delete familiar or traditional methods in favor of the new. Medical progress and space limitations are the deciding factors. Enthusiasm for new methods has had to be weighed carefully against pragmatic considerations such as availability, feasibility, and safety. Priority of emphasis has been given to conservative diagnostic and treatment methods that have survived critical analysis. Although we have dealt primarily with internal medical disorders, discussions of other disorders commonly encountered in certain other specialties are also included. Special chapters on medical genetics, cancer chemotherapy, and immunologic disorders are intended to serve as medically oriented introductory discussions of these fields with important clinical implications for patient care. - Preface.