Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I want to reinforce what reviewer Thomas Greiner wrote, because it appears that so many other reviewers may be unaware that there is an edition of Gray's Anatomy that is much more current, useful, and abundantly illustrated than this one. This reprint of the classic 1901 edition can be recommended for only limited reasons: It is relatively compact and easy to carry around; it is inexpensive; and it's a classic of historical interest. It's authoritative and well written, but it is poorly illustrated (a much more verbal than pictorial guide to anatomy), some of its terminology is long out of date, and it is lacking in scientific currency. For medical students, health-care professionals, personal injury attorneys, or others who want and can afford a more current and comprehensive reference, I strongly recommend the 1995, 38th British Edition of Gray's Anatomy (ISBN 0-443-04560-7). It's much more expensive (about $215), but well worth it. It is THE definitive reference work and belongs on the shelf of anyone who needs an up-to-date, comprehensive, impeccably authoritative, and well-illustrated treatment of human structure. For artists who need to know what's under the skin; for anyone who wants a more visual than verbal presentation of human anatomy; for nursing, physical therapy, or other allied health students who need less detail that Gray's; for others who can't afford a $215 anatomy book; and for anyone wanting a visual atlas to complement Gray's, the following are excellent atlases that would serve far better than the 1901 Gray's. For photographic treatments of cadaveric anatomy I recommend "Color Atlas of Anatomy" (Rohen & Yokochi); their smaller and less expensive, paperback version, "Photographic Anatomy of the Human Body" (Yokochi, Rohe, & Weinreb); or "McMinn's Color Atlas of Human Anatomy" (Abrahams, Marks, & Hutchings). For lineart atlases, which have some explanatory advantages over photography, I recomment "Atlas of Human Anatomy" (Netter), "Grant's Atlas of Anatomy" (Agur), or "Anatomy" (Clemente). All of these are visually fascinating atlases, although they offer very little of the verbal description needed for functional insight. For that, I recommend "Clinically Oriented Anatomy" (Moore and Dalley). Most students would probably be best served by Moore & Dalley and one of the aforementioned atlases. Other than the British Gray's, if I could have only two human anatomy books, they would be Moore & Dalley and Rohen & Yokochi.