British Medical Association Complete Family Health Encyclopedia

I wasn't surprised that the BMA thinks its readers doesn't have much in the way of grey matter. After all, doctors are notorious for talking to you in words of one syllable as though you are a rather backward three year old. This book is a slight improvement on that - but not much. As a very, very basic introduction to the huge range of things that can go wrong with the human body, it's ok. But beyond that it is singularly unhelpful. One of my biggest criticisms is that it never admits, as doctors so often don't, when they just don't know the answer to something or where medical opinion is currently divided or being challenged on an issue, and no ...  Read the complete review

Everyone should own a copy of this book, especially those with families, as it is so very useful. It is expensive to buy at around £30 but it contains so much information on everything medical that it’s worth every penny. The book begins with several one or two page sections covering general topics such as immunization, diagnostic techniques and methods of treatment. There is a lot of advice and topic information here but for more specific information about a particular subject you must go to the next section – ‘The A to Z of Health and Medicine’. This is the main section of the book; it is a very comprehensive collection of ...  Read the complete review

If you ever wonder how our heart pumps and how the liver take care of our toxins, this book have the answer. The British Medical Association Complete Family Health Guide is as big and as heavy as the name. It comes in hard cover and there are 992 pages. This book is written by doctors and consultants, the language is simple and easy to understand. ( without the medical jargon) The A-Z guide covers a wide range of medical topics such as the understanding of our body organ, description of medical terms, first aid, medicine and the different types of medical condition. The pictures in the book can be quite vivid but the illustrations are ...  Read the complete review

I purchased the BMA Complete Family Health Encyclopedia a while ago now and to my mind it is an invaluable book to have around. Of course, the idea is not to look up every symptom you may have, or you will find that you have every disease under the sun, but for reference it is very good. At the beginning, it covers the human body and how it works etc., then it goes on to cover just about every illness there probably is. There are pages where you can look up a symptom and follow down the page to see what the problem could be, and whether you may need immediate attention or not. I find that illnesses are covered in a very concise way and to the point without being ...  Read the complete review