Basic Immunology, Updated Edition 2006-2007: With STUDENT CONSULT Online Access (Basic Immunology: Functions and Disorders of the Immune System)

ABUL K. ABBAS & ANDREW H. LICHTMAN

Reviewed by Dr. Anita Chandra, SpR in Immunology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge on behalf of the Royal College of Pathology - www.rcpath.org

Having been a great fan of the other Abbas and Lichtman book, Cellular and Molecular Immunology (2005), I was extremely keen to see that the 'baby' version was like and it has not failed to impress me.

Each chapters is written in a concise and easy to read format and as the book is small and compact one can imagine that it is easy for a medical student to carry it around and read a chapter / case whilst waiting for a supervisor to appear.

The main strength of the book is that there are excellent tabulated diagrams and tables accompanying the text which compliment the prose and make it easier to visualise the various immunological processes. At the end of each chapter is a brief summary of the key points followed by a few suggested essay questions for students. If you are anything like me and leave revision very much until the last moment, you will find the summaries and questions a godsend.

The authors aim this squarely at undergraduates as an introductory text and to this end they have succeeded in writing what will undoubtedly become a student must-have text.