A Compendium of Histology: A Book Review Sue Sritharan Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery, Monash University Year 4 of 4 years Student Sue is a fourth-year medical student with a keen interest in medical management and training of doctors. Delving into the intricate world of histology can be a daunting endeavour. Histology (or microanatomy) is a component of medical school training that is frequently assessed. Medical students can undeniably appreciate its usefulness in determining a pathological diagnosis of disease; however, its realm of work may be perceived as esoteric. However, as pathology is the basis of disease, an elementary understanding of histology is broadly applicable to all medical specialties. With the exception of pre-clinical laboratory hours, the average medical student has remarkably limited exposure to histology. This compendium provides an excellent overview and summary of the essence of histological study. It details the normal histological structures of the major organ systems and a practical means to study slides. The trio of textbook [1] authors are Danish trained medical doctors with experience in histological teaching and an interest in engaging the medical student cohort. Dr Anders Rehfeld, Dr Malin Nylander Figure 1: A Compendium of Histology. and Dr Kirstine Karnov are all medical graduates of the University of Reproduced with permission. Copenhagen and commenced teaching histology to students early during their university years. Following on, the authors have pursued higher research in varying specialties of male reproductive biology, gynaecological endocrinology and oral cancer. The trio have combined their passion for cell biology with teaching to produce a histology reference book purpose built for medical students. While some students may utilise a rote-learning based approach, the compendium renders histology as a largely manageable study using a straightforward category system. Major organ systems are further subdivided into classes based on their constituent tissues. As such, each category hosts further partitioned high-yield information. The compendium is divided into four main parts: Introduction (Part I), Cytology (Part II), Histology of Tissues (Part III) and Histology of Organs (Part IV). Part I describes the properties and the basic organisational structure of cells and tissues. It also includes a practical guide to analysing fresh or frozen specimens and common staining principles. Part II discusses the framework of organelles and their elemental compositions. Part III comprises of the main types of tissue types such as epithelial, connective, muscular and nervous tissues with illustrations and photomicrographs of typical sliced sections. Part IV studies the major organ systems and components including the musculoskeletal system, nervous system, cardiovascular, respiratory, immune and lymphatic system, integumentary system, digestive system, urinary system, endocrine system, male and female reproductive systems, the eye and the ear.
56 Australian Medical Student Journal
