Book excerpt: Eureka: General Surgery and Urology is an innovative book for medical students that fully integrates core science, clinical medicine and surgery. The book benefits from an engaging and authoritative text, written by specialists in the field, and has several key features to help you really understand the subject: Chapter starter questions - to get you thinking about the topic before you start reading Break out boxes which contain essential key knowledge Clinical cases to help you understand the material in a clinical context Unique graphic narratives which are especially useful for visual learners End of chapter answers to the starter questions A final self-assessment chapter of Single Best Answers to really help test and reinforce your knowledge The book starts with the First Principles chapter which clearly explains key concepts such as assessment of the patient fitness for surgery, patient consent and pain management. The Clinical Essentials chapter provides an overview of the symptoms and signs of surgical disease, investigations and management options. A series of disease-based chapters briefly describe, by system, relevant structure and function, history and examination and main surgical presentations, each chapter introduced by engaging clinical cases that feature unique graphic narratives. The Emergencies chapter covers the principles of immediate care in situations such as acute appendicitis. Finally, the Self-Assessment chapter comprises 80 multiple choice questions in clinical Single Best Answer format, to thoroughly test your understanding of the subject. The Eureka series of books are designed to be a 'one stop shop': they contain all the key information you need to know to succeed in your studies and pass your exams.