Preface to the Fourth Edition

Authors: Macfarlane, Michael T.

Title: Urology, 4th Edition

Copyright 2006 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

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Preface to the Fourth Edition

The goal of this fourth edition of Urology (for the House Officer) is unchanged from that of the first, i.e., to create a concise source of clinical information on urology for medical students and residents that they can easily carry in their pockets and refer to quickly. The previous editions of this book were well received by both students and reviewers and have been translated into many languages. Since this book contains primarily the fundamentals of urology, much of it remains unchanged from previous editions. However, I have attempted to keep this book up to date with changes as they become accepted and established. Like other areas of medicine today, urologic practices are sometimes prematurely driven by corporate interests before adequate data are available to warrant their acceptance. I have tried to avoid introducing such information into a core text too early.

As with the previous editions, this manual primarily presents the nonsurgical aspects of urology the information needed for making a diagnosis and deciding on the proper treatment course. This is a what-to-do book and not a how-to-do book. It does not include surgical technique or how to perform a particular procedure. Thus, it is also ideally suited to family practitioners and emergency room physicians who wish to quickly review a specific urologic presentation. It is not meant to be an all-encompassing treatise on urology. For more detailed reviews, refer to one of the standard urologic textbooks such Campbell's Urology. References have been omitted to keep the size and weight of the book small. A list of suggested readings is at the end of the text.

The format of the previous editions has been retained. The first part, Chief Presentations, covers the most common presenting complaints in the general urology clinic. It is intentionally handled in a cookbook-like fashion. Its goals are simple:

• Define the problem.

• State the differential diagnosis and outline the appropriate workup to make the correct diagnosis.

• Begin therapeutic planning when applicable.

The second part, Selected Topics, covers the major areas of urology in greater detail. Again, it is not meant to substitute for reading the traditional textbooks. This part presents a concise review of these topics for quick study. When writing a short manual such as this, one is conflicted over writing too much or too little. This can occasionally result in oversimplification of otherwise complicated topics; however, brevity is necessary to accomplish the goals of this handbook.

Michael T. Macfarlane M.D.

Clinical Associate Professor of Urology

University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky