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MedicalScienceBooks.com Medical Book Review: Parasitology textbooks suitable for use in graduate or medical microbiology courses usually can be classified into one of two categories, too brief or too inclusive. Protozoa and Human Disease offers an effective compromise between these extremes. Requisite information on the epidemiology, life cycle, diagnosis and infection control/ treatment of parasites causing significant human disease is included in comparable fashion to other leading textbooks in the field. However, this text has an advantage over the competition in regard to the supplementary coverage on the molecular basis of pathogenesis and expanded discussion of the clinical aspects of disease progression. As mentioned above, some textbooks become too exhaustive with detailed information to be of practical use to students in typical parasitology courses which are often taught as part of a larger course curriculum in medical microbiology. The author of this text, an experienced lecturer in parasitology for a professional school, maintains a straightforward and highly organized presentation while not hesitating to include relatively detailed information to support a key aspect of diagnosis or disease presentation. For example, knowledge of antigenic switching as a mechanism of escaping immune system detection is introduced as a basis for understanding the characteristic cycles of parasitemia in patients infected with the African trypanosomes. Molecular and serological diagnostic testing techniques which continue to advance represent another area included in this text which warrants slightly more in-depth consideration beyond what is typically found. Protozoa and Human Disease also insightfully examines patient presentation with diagnostic clues that can be gleaned from observation. This is quite important due to the lack of technology in most geographical regions in which parasitic diseases are endemic. It also places due emphasis on the patient suffering from infection with the parasite rather than heavy focus on the biology of the organism which can lead some students to lose focus of the underlying relevance of studying this material. For readers in need of a more advanced understanding of parasites and the diseases they cause, including graduate and medical students, this text includes all the necessary information. Undergraduates and other beginning students will likely benefit from a more basic text with less discussion about molecular biology and immunology concepts which they haven’t been exposed to yet. Ratings (1-4 , 4 being the highest): Organization of information: 4 Usefulness of book: 4 Suitable for intended audience: 4 Author’s objectives met: 4 Significant number of illustrations: 3 Quality of illustrations: 3
Description:
Protozoa
and
Human
Disease
is a
textbook
for
advanced
undergraduate
and
graduate
students
studying
parasitology
and
microbiology.
It
will
also
be a
useful
reference
for
public
health
and
medical
students.
Dr. Mark Wiser reviews medically important protozoa and treatment strategies. He describes pathogens according to a taxonomic scheme and in reference to the organ systems they affect. The book covers the morphological features and life cycles of the various protozoa and the pathogeneses of the diseases they cause. Life cycles are discussed in detail as they also influence host-parasite interactions, pathology, disease transmission, and epidemiology.
Students
will
benefit
from
the
author’s
fresh
approach,
which
blends
classical
and
medical
parasitology
with
more
modern
disciplines.
These
include
the
molecular
and
immunological
basis
of
pathogenesis;
metabolic
pathways;
specialized
subcellular
structures;
ecology
of
disease
transmission;
antigenic
variation;
and
molecular
epidemiology.
An
extensive
glossary
of
molecular
biology,
immunology,
and
medical
terms
helps
students
navigate
across
disciplines. Table of Contents
1. Introduction to Medical Protozoology
2. Overview of Intestinal Protozoa 3. Entamoeba and Amebiasis 4. Giardiasis 5. Trichomonas vaginalis and Other Trichomonads 6. Balantidium coli and Blastocystis hominis 7. Kinetoplastids 8. African Trypanosomiasis 9. Trypanosoma cruzi and Chagas’ Disease 10. Leishmaniasis 11. General Apicomplexan Biology 12. Cryptosporidium 13. Monoxenous Intestinal Coccidia 14. Toxoplasma gondii and Cyst-forming Coccidia 15. Malaria 16. Babesiosis 17. Free-Living Protozoa Affecting Human Health
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