Harper's Biochemistry 25th Edition (Lange Series) / Edition 25

The overall objective of this silver edition of Harper's Biochemistry is to provide concise yet authoritative coverage of the principles of biochemistry and molecular biology. The text offers numerous examples of how knowledge of biochemistry is essential for understanding the maintenance of health and the causes and rational treatment of many diseases.

Features:

• Covers the fundamentals of biochemistry in a relevant interesting manner
• Contains information on prevalent medical conditions, including hypercholesterolemia, obesity, osteoporosis, and diabetes mellitus
• Covers new developments in metabolism and genetics, including the Human Genome Project and the genetic basis of hemochromatosis
• Presents hundreds of colorful images to help students visualize new information

The book is divided into three introductory chapters followed by six main sections. Section I deals with proteins and enzymes, the workhorses of the body. Because enzymes catalyze most reactions in the human body, it is vital to understand the properties of enzymes before moving on to other topics. Section II explains how various cellular reactions either utilize or produce energy and traces the pathways by which carbohydrates and lipids are synthesized and degraded. The many functions of these two classes of molecules are also described. Section III deals with the amino acids and shows how the metabolism of amino acids also uses and yields energy. Section IV describes the structures and functions of the nucleic acids, covering the representation DNAr RNAr proteins. This section also describes the principle of recombinant DNA technology, a topic with tremendous implications for biomedical science and all of biology. Section V discusses hormones and their key roles in intercellular communication and metabolic regulation. To affect cells, hormones must first interact with the plasma membranes of cells; thus membrane structure and function are addressed initially in this section. Section VI consists of fourteen special topics: water- and lipid-soluble vitamins, nutrition, digestion and absorption, glycoproteins, the extracellular matrix, muscle, plasma proteins (and immunoglobins and blood coagulation), red and white blood cells, metabolism of xenobiotics, cancer and growth factors, the biochemical and genetic bases of diseases, various neuropsychiatric disorders, and ten biochemical case studies. The Appendix contains a list of the major biochemical laboratory tests and their reference ranges used in clinical medicine.

This book provides the biochemistry background needed to succeed in medical school. It contains the latest case studies, discussions of biochemical diseases and clinical information. Concise but comprehensive, it is the perfect textbook or USMLE review.