Journal of Anatomy
J. Anat. (2010) 217, pp632
BOOK REVIEW
Instant Anatomy
4th edn by R. H. Whitaker, N. R. Borley. (Pp. xi+242; fully
illustrated; ISBN: 978-1-4051-9961-2; Paperback; £19.99.)
Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. March 2010.
The Fourth Edition of Instant Anatomy is an excellent handy
pocket guide written for undergraduate medical and dental
students, allied health professionals, surgical and medical
trainees. The first seven chapters describe blood vessels,
lymphatics, nerves, and the autonomic nervous system. The
text for each chapter comprises a short, precise description
in a simplified didactic way, illustrated with beautiful
coloured diagrams. The authors have endeavored to keep
the diagrams understandable by placing a compass in the
corner.
The course of the arteries is described very well in the first
section; however, while reading the section describing the
course of the coronary arteries I felt that a labelled illustra-
tion of the heart would complement the text. Similarly, a
diagram could be added to illustrate the relations described
for the carotid arteries. Arterial anastomoses around the
scapula and hip joint are well illustrated with labelled
diagrams, but here a few lines of text would be helpful.
There is a typo on Page 45, where arterial anastomoses
around hip are described under the heading ‘Scapular anas-
tomoses’ – this should be corrected.
The autonomic nervous system is a topic that undergrad-
uate students quite often struggle to understand. I congrat-
ulate the authors on their presentation of this rather
complex aspect of anatomy, with all the relevant details in
a much-simplified form. There is a good description of
cranial nerves in chapter 5, covering the course of each
nerve from its nuclei in brain. However, having mentioned
various parts of the brainstem in the text, it would be useful
to add a labelled diagram of the brainstem showing the
rootlets of the cranial nerves.
Journal of Anatomy ª 2010 Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland
doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2010.01293.x
Chapter 8 gives a list of muscles complete with origin,
insertion, action and nerve supply in alphabetical order.
This summary would be an extremely beneficial aid for that
very important final revision on the night before exams, or
for postgraduates in the clinical setting when they can’t
afford to waste time futilely searching for answers in large,
cumbersome textbooks.
Chapters 9, 10 & 11 cover the osteology of joints, ossifica-
tion times and the foramina of the skull and spine. The
material in each chapter is comprehensive and logically
organized for quick reference. The last chapter, on ‘surface
anatomy’, is useful for undergraduate medical students as
well as for other health care professionals in the clinical
setting. The surface marking of veins is shown only with a
diagram: it would be useful to add few lines of description
about such important structures.
This is a ‘must have’ book, designed for quick reference
to basic anatomy for undergraduate medical students and
for those studying for higher degrees, as well as clinicians.
Although clinical relevance is omitted intentionally, a line
or two at the end of each page would make it more inter-
esting and applicable. For example, in the section on cranial
nerves, a table describing how to check the integrity of
each cranial nerve in a patient would be helpful. Overall, it
is a well-organised, comprehensive, user-friendly book with
simplified coloured diagrams, excellent for brushing up on
anatomical knowledge once the foundations are in place.
An undergraduate medical student would find it very help-
ful to use in conjunction with a standard clinical anatomy
textbook.
Sahar Mohsin
Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry,
Queen Mary University of London
s.mohsin@qmul.ac.uk
ª 2010 The Author