Fundamentals of Biochemistry Medical Course and Step 1 Review

by David DiTullio, Esteban Dell'Angelica

Overview

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The biochemistry/USMLE® review you’ve been waiting for . . . clear, concise,

high yield, and clinically relevant

INCLUDES AN ONLINE VIDEO LECTURE FOR EVERY CHAPTER!

The goal of Fundamentals of Biochemistry: Medical Course & Step 1 Review is to make biochemistry an approachable, clinically relevant subject for your first years of medical school, and, most importantly, when you prepare to take the USMLE® Step 1 examination. The authors believe that when biochemistry is put in a clinical context, learning and understanding it becomes much less complicated, as all the pieces of the “puzzle” fall into place.

A SELF-CONTAINED, HIGH-YIELD GUIDE UNLIKE ANY OTHER

You will find Fundamentals of Biochemistry: Medical Course & Step 1 Review to be a self-contained guide to high-yield biochemistry, with a strong focus on the topics you are most likely to see on the USMLE® Step 1 exam.

You can select any chapter and find a self-contained summary of the relevant topic. The authors begin with the basics of the cell and DNA, and protein synthesis, then cover the central aspects of metabolism, and finish with nutrition and genetics.

EASY-TO-ABSORB CHAPTERS ENHANCED BY COMPANION ONLINE VIDEOS

The information is delivered in a simple outline format that pinpoints the high-yield information you need to know. Each chapter is also presented as a lecture, in video format, so you can review the topic in real time and add additional notes as you learn each topic or review them later.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781259641909
Publisher:	McGraw Hill LLC
Publication date:	11/02/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Esteben C. Dell’Angelica PhD (Los Angeles, CA) is the Course Director for Biochemistry, and Professor of Human Genetics at UCLA. David DiTullio, author of Biochemistry Course and Step 1 Review is a recent medical graduate from UCLA, the David Geffen School of Medicine and also spearheaded UCLA’s Peer Tutoring Program, which offered students who need extra help, the chance to partner with a mentor. David also was responsible for providing weekly study sessions for the USMLE Step 1, to review material and listen to tips on how to stay organized. DiTullio’s goal was to offer different levels of tutoring for everyone, in every subject throughout medical school. David’s experience in medical school and tutoring students, contributed in his overall writing of this text.

Table of Contents

1 The Cell
2 DNA Structure & Synthesis
3 Transcription & Translation
4 Functions of Proteins
5 Glucose Metabolism
6 Carbohydrate Metabolism
7 Amino Acid Metabolism
8 Lipid Metabolism
9 Nutrition
10 Genetics & Disease
Answers
Index

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Peter J. Kennelly, PhD (Virginia Tech)
Description: This is a compact resource for reviewing and refreshing knowledge in biochemistry for students who have previously taken a comprehensive, focused course on the topic. The 10 chapters present information in an outline format that readers can easily skim to zero in on sections addressing topics of interest. The text is complemented by a generous library of full color illustrations, an average of nearly two per page, and an extensive set of practice questions, 100 total, with a detailed answer guide. The practice questions and content were explicitly selected to cover items likely to be encountered in the Step 1 United States Medical Licensing Examining (USMLE).
Purpose: Recent revisions in medical school curricula have led to the widespread elimination of specialized, focused medical school courses in biochemistry. As a consequence, medical schools expect contemporary medical students to acquire their foundation in this challenging subject area prior to enrollment, generally as part of their undergraduate education. The resulting gap between a medical student's predominant training experience in biochemistry and molecular biology and the USMLE exams has generated a demand for a new wave of review materials to assist medical students in their exam preparation that offer both content and a healthy dose of practice questions. This book is designed to fulfill the need for this combination of general refresher training and USMLE test practice.
Audience: Medical students preparing to take the USMLE Step 1 examination are the intended audience.
Features: The book is the product of a collaborative effort between a professor of medical genetics and medical student, both from UCLA. This novel partnership marries the content expertise of an experienced faculty member with the first-hand knowledge of effective and engaging content delivery of a representative from the target audience. Each chapter consists of a brief, 5- to 8- page review of a specific topic in biochemistry and physiology, such as "DNA Structure & Synthesis" or "Nutrition," followed by a set of 10 USMLE-inspired review questions. The review consists of simple declarative statements presented in outline format with color coding to highlight "biochemistry terms" and "clinical correlates." This latter feature should be particularly useful for memorizing key terms likely to be encountered on the USMLE. The layout is relaxed and well organized with an informal prose style and generous spacing that renders it easy and efficient to read. The visually attractive and informative illustrations have been seamlessly integrated into the outline structure. The result is an overview of the basics of biochemistry and molecular physiology that can be rapidly and efficiently devoured by readers. The USMLE-inspired practice questions are well chosen with a heavy emphasis on clinical context. The explanations provided at the end of the book - like the rest of the content - strike an effective balance between content and extent. The most notable shortcoming is the omission of a list of the references that generated the content. In addition, although the book prominently touts the contribution of supplementary online videos, accessing these materials apparently requires a site license or individual subscription to McGraw-Hill's AccessMedicine suite of web-based biomedical education resources — neither of which was available to me.
Assessment: The vast majority of the USMLE preparation books on the market are generally several hundred pages in length and focused exclusively on subject matter review or providing a catalogue of sample test questions. This book, on the other hand, combines subject matter review with sample questions in a single, integrated format, and does so in an admirably compact and readable package that should be highly attractive and engaging to students.

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