Library
APS Bulletin • Volume 18, Number 3, 2008
Resource Reviews
John D. Loeser, MD, Department Editor
Pain
Reviewed by John D. Loeser, MD
Frederick Toates (Ed.). Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2007. Soft cover, plus DVD 112 pages. ISBN 978-0-19-923736-4. $37.50.
This superb book uses a multidisciplinary approach to the introduction of the phenomena of pain. It is part of the Open University series and is a basic, necessary text that can start high-school and college-level students on the path to understanding pain. The DVD that accompanies the text is beautifully constructed provides living examples of clinical phenomena and demonstrations of basic mechanisms underlying pain. Together the narrative text and DVD are an effective teaching tool. Neurophysiology and neuroanatomy are adequately covered and an excellent introduction to the placebo effect is provided. Crosscultural issues are not overlooked and a dollop of pharmacology is also included. This book and DVD are an excellent starting place for students in the biological or psychological sciences.
The quality of production is very high and, although it is not suitably advanced for trainees, this book could raise the interest level of undergraduates in the pursuit of pain and its many meanings.
Dr. Loeser is Professor Emeritus of Neurological Surgery and Anesthesiology at the University of Washington in Seattle.
