Encyclopedia of Family Health

Full Text Review(s)
"This comprehensive set includes clearly written, concise articles on hundreds of diseases, treatments, theories, behaviors, anatomical systems, and various other concepts and topics related to medicine and health. The alphabetically arranged entries include a "Questions and Answers" sidebar, color-coded by themes, that adds human interest to the more straightforward main text. Topics of interest include "AIDS," "Body Piercing," "Anthrax," "SARS," "Tattooing," "West Nile Virus," and "LASIK." Large color photographs and diagrams with informative captions vividly illustrate the concepts presented. Charts and other sidebars are included as well. The information is easily accessible through tables of contents, a topical outline, cross-references, and thematic and general indexes. The final volume includes an illustrated first-aid handbook and an extensive medical glossary. The articles are generally helpful, although depth of coverage is somewhat inconsistent. Topics range from the broadness of "Wellness" and "Zest" to the specificity of "Von Willenbrand’s Disease" and "Monosodium Glutamate" with no clear rationale for inclusion. "Stress" and "Tension" both receive individual articles, but the coverage fails to clearly differentiate between the two. While volume 18 includes a list of further reading and research, no documentation is provided. Concepts are usually covered with adequate background information for beginners, and common sense is emphasized regarding personal health-care choices."

"The demand for current health information and the recent emphasis on health literacy have created a need for resources that are easy to read. The 3rd edition of Marshall Cavendish’s Encyclopedia of Family Health is welcome because it provides simple explanations of human anatomy and physiology, diseases, and treatments. Edited by British and an American physician, this new edition contains 911 alphabetic entries and over 4,000 color illustrations in 18 consecutively paged volumes. Among these are 106 new articles and 1,150 new illustrations.

Although the basic organization is alphabetical, the entries are grouped into five color-coded categories: human body, diseases and disorders, treatments and cures, prevention and diagnosis of disease, and human behavior. Since the encyclopedia has a detailed table of contents as well as thematic and comprehensive indexes, the color-coding is only marginally useful. The entries themselves are from one to five pages long. All have sidebars with questions and answers that address common concerns, illustrations or charts, and see also references. They cover the usual anatomy (e.g., abdomen), diseases and conditions (e.g., pneumonia), treatments (e.g., acupuncture, Gestalt therapy), and behavior (e.g., abstinence) as well as current topics such as acid rain, cloning, and stem cells. The reading level is approximately middle school to high school. Volume 18 contains a first aid guide, a glossary, a list of health organizations and hotlines, and sources for further reading and research as well as thematic and comprehensive indexes. Although it lacks the depth of the Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine (2d ed; see ARBA 2003, entry 1437), it is a good basic introductory source for school, public, and consumer health libraries."