Customer Reviews

Wheater's Functional Histology: A Text and Colour Atlas, 5e

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This text tries to be both a text and an atlas in one and is unfortunately good at neither one. The text is very very basic and lacking in detail. The sections are poorly stained, out of focus and do not clearly demonstrate the structures. The pictures are small and of poor quality. Considering the price, I would recommend spending the extra 30-40 bucks and buy Gartner and Hiatt for an atlas and Junquera for a text instead of paying for this text.

This book is good but not for beginers or medical students. it's complicated and packed with information, that might not be so important for students.
doesn't have any clinical correlations. i'd suggest the Basic histology book:text and atlas, rather than this one

I am a medical student and found this textbook very helpful because it was well-organized and full of important information. It's very thorough and complete with great pictures. Also, this book will always serve as a great reference in years to come. My study group and I also used the following which is also on amazon:
Histology Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers by Patrick Leonardi (isbn: 0971999686) The questions in the second book were of similar type to the tests in our medical histology class. In fact, we were recommended the second book from our friends at another med school and they found it quite helpful. It goes to show they were right, we all got A's and B's by using these two books.

I found this book very helpful for understanding the concepts of histology. It's well-written and quite thorough and gave me a good foundation in understanding histology. ...

Great reference for histology reviews. An invaluable tool for a pathologist.

I found this book very helpful for my veterinary histology course. It has wonderful illustrations and pictures; all of the references to the photographs are on the same page so there is no flipping between pages.

I've somewhat changed my view of this book over the last few months. Although what I said below is correct, my overall judgement was too harsh, so I've increased my rating from 3 to 4 stars. It's not that this is a great book, it's just that medical courses these days have slimmed down the Histology component so much that books like these are more than adequate. In fact, you can do extremely well in theory exams by just studying prac books like this.

Now of all *prac* books, this is certainly the best! And having completed my first year Histology course, I am certain Wheater's would have had more than enough detail - and would have saved me a lot of time. Get this book if you're a medical student, but if you're a histology major or need something more advanced, you will be disappointed by this book.

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Many of the reviews here are full of praise for Wheaters, and they aren't all wrong in my opinion. Wheaters is one of the best "prac"/lab books for histology. However, the people who give it 5 out-of 5 are either biased or filled with elation from passing their courses that they neglect the weaknesses of this book.

Like any book, this has weaknesses. Glaring ones at that: the diagrams are sometimes too dark (contrast too high) or too pale (contrast to low), most of the pictures are much too small to discern and analyse the detail, the text is certainly what you need to know for 1st year med ... lab, it is not going to get you through the theory exam with flying colours.

As I said, though, this book is one of the best "prac"/lab books, because it doubles as a decent text and a decent atlas. But, it is neither the best text or the best atlas. Di Fiore's long running atlas has excellent drawings with many photomicrographs and deserves a browse. I haven't seen Gartner and Hiatt's Atlas, but I hear it is competitive. Then there is Kerr's Atlas, which lacks quantity but has some good quality.

As for texts, Ross, Romrell and Kaye is a popular choice (it has a good, but not overwhelming level of detail for Medicine). Junquiera's Basic Histology is also popular. For a simpler book, or simpler course, Cormack's Essential Histology is an excellent choice.

So, if you're looking for a book to bring to practical classes/labs: you can't really go wrong with Wheater's. But, don't rely on this book to carry you through the theory exams. You'll often be frustrated that some of the things you need can't be found in this atlas, or that the pictures are too darn small. Overall, a fair buy ... but, the best advice is to, shop around a bit before deciding.

As a first year medical student, I was required to buy this Atlas. I thought it was a terrible atlas for someone who has never taken histology before. The identification of the structures is minimal and often confusing. I had to buy another atlas to make it through the course. (Difores Atlas of Histology).

This book has superb illusrations. It tells you exactly what you need to know. It will not go off on clinical tidbits etc. It will tell you exactly what you need to know about Pseudostratified Columnar Epithelium, and nothing else. The authors write a concise and informative book. I cannot any fault in this book.

I was pleased with this new edition. The text and images are superb, and the CD-ROM is a nice feature that allows me to tailor presentations to my needs. There are many new schematic diagrams, charts and tables wich in my opinion improve the utility of the book. One drawback is that the color tables and charts, which are extremely informative and visually pleasing, do not show up well when used in presentations. They are too light. Otherwise, I highly recommend this book for students who would like good images for reference, with enough text included to aid understanding, but not so much that the book becomes tedious.