Book excerpt: Based on the 4th edition of the renowned textbook of the same name, this softcover manual focuses on the information necessary to make clinical decisions in the ICU. It begins with a crucial section on responding to emergency situations in the ICU. It proceeds to cover the most relevant clinical infomation in all areas of critical care including critical care monitoring, techniques and procedures, essential physiologic concers, shock states, pharmacology, surgical critical care, and infectious diseases. The manual also contains thorough reviews of diseaes by organ system: cardiovascular diseases, repiratory disorders, neurologic and gastrointestinal disorders, renal, endocrine, skin and muscle diseases, and hematologic/ oncologic diseases. This essential new resource is written in an easy-to-read style that makes heavy use of bulleted lists and tables and features an all-new full color format with a color art program. All critical care providers will find this a useful clinical resource.