Biochemistry for Clinical Medicine

Provides a concise distillation of the core of knowledge of how the various cellular and extra cellular chemical components interact in the normal functioning of the body and what metabolic alterations occur in disease conditions, as well as the principles of the laboratory methods. Developments in biochemistry have contributed immensely to the rate at which medical knowledge has expended in recent years. Following the GMC recommendations regarding undergraduate medical education, Biochemistry for Clinical Medicine integrates, in a single volume, all aspects of biochemistry required by a medical student, with a special focus on information specific to medicine as opposed to laboratory-based biochemistry. The first section of the book provides an understanding of basic cell biology and the critical concepts of membrane transport, cellular energetics, information storage, transmission and expression, as well as describing the essential chemistry and metabolism of cellular biomolecules and the clinical conditions that arise from disturbances in their metabolism. The second section adopts a systems-based approach to present clinical biochemistry in an easily readable and concise manner, using tables and clear diagrams to summarise important facts, as well as providing information on the biochemical basis of good nutrition.