Tietz Fundamentals of Clinical Chemistry, Fifth Edition. Carl A. Burtis and Edward R. Ashwood, eds. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 2001, 1091 pp., $75.00. ISBN 0-7216-8634-6.

Abstract

The editors of the Tietz Fundamentals present the fifth edition with cooperation from 63 contributors. In their foreword, the editors state that this book, although useful for pathologists, is primarily written for students and instructors of laboratory science programs.The book is organized into five parts: “Laboratory Principles”, “Analytical Techniques and Instrumentation”, “Laboratory Operation”, “Analytes”, and “Pathophysiology”. The first three parts provide the general foundation for clinical chemistry as a field, covering details of specimen collection and preanalytical variation; the basics of instrumentation; automation, including integrated specimen processing systems; laboratory statistics; selection of tests and methods; informatics; and quality control. The chapter on clinical laboratory informatics briefly describes the Internet and includes the World Wide Web addresses of important organizations. This first group of chapters provides adequate definitions of technical terms and concepts and provides sufficient references to begin searching the subject matter in depth. The chapters on analytes form the main part of this text by providing a thorough, carefully presented, biochemical background for each analyte. Well-drawn chemical structures and informative tables appropriately accent the text. Figures emphasize and clarify important issues in each chapter.