Basic Orthopaedic Sciences: The Stanmore Guide

Abstract

In the foreword, the author explains that this book has been written to help in examination situations and day-to-day clinical practice. Although this was originally conceived for postgraduate orthopaedic examinations, he feels that it would be useful for a wider audience. I agree that it reaches these aspirations with ease. Basic Orthopaedic Sciences has been based on the Stanmore basic science course. Candidates on the course have given feedback and I am sure that this has improved the contents of the textbook. The intention was not to aim too high or too low and I agree that the editor has found a happy medium. The book does cover most basic sciences and certainly most of the topics that would be asked in the basic sciences section of the FRCS trauma and orthopaedics examination. The editor has paired both a junior and senior author in each of the chapters and I think this is a good way of using experience and enthusiasm to keep the content current. The subjects covered are comprehensive. The statistics section is particularly well described, explaining the basic principles of the important methods. Statistics is often a stumbling block in the examination situation and this chapter should prove useful to the examinee. The illustrations are excellent and the writing style is easy to read. There are also viva questions at the end of the chapters, which mimic questions asked under examination situations and should also check the reader's understanding of the appropriate chapter. In addition, there are up-to-date references at the end of each chapter. I feel that this book should be useful for all SpR trainees both to read and digest as they progress through the registrar training programme, not just for the exit examination. It is also a useful textbook for SpR trainers as it is concise and wide-ranging with chapters that are based on the current literature. This is an excellent addition to the literature and has been based on a successful basic sciences course. The authors, the editor and the associate editors have done a fine job in producing this exceptional textbook.