Respiratory Physiology: The Essentials

by John B. West

This compact, concise, easy-to-read monograph explains the key concepts and equations in respiratory physiology. The Seventh Edition updates and revises material to reflect current advances in respiratory science but does not stray from the proven formula students and faculty have enjoyed since 1974. New updates include physiology of pulmonary capillaries, hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction, pulmonary edema, surface tension, elastic properties of the lung and chest wall, metabolic functions of the lung, and perinatal respiration. Ample illustrations and pedagogical features help clarify important equations and concepts. USMLE-style review questions at the end of each chapter help students review for class or boards.

Genres: Medicine, Textbooks, Science, Medical, School, Education, Reference

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

John Burnard West

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I have to read medical books, I might as well add them to my goodreads. This is actually an extraordinarily helpful book on respiratory physiology--simple, lightweight, and a lifesaver when your physio prof is senile!

[Charlie Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. West does a phenomenal job explaining the physiological Principle of respiratory physiology. I was able to utilize the text to prepare for my presentation on pulmonary physiology at the 2023 Annual conference for the American College of Sports Medicine in Denver, CO. However, given the complexities of pulmonary physiology, I did feel that he could have provided more clarity within many explanations he provided.

[Jeshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am writing this review in my first year of medical student in London. The reason I say this is because I think this book would be far more useful if I was specialising in pulmonary medicine (and also maybe if I was in the U.S.A.).
There were lots of aspects of this book that I just wasn't able to wrap my head around the science that was being explained. It was extremely complex and I often spent ages on one particular concept, even consulting friends doing engineering, but I didn't make much progress. Many of these parts I just left and accepted that at the moment I won't be able to understand this.
However there were also many parts of this book that I really enjoyed. It was cool to see a lot of the real-world applications of pulmonary physiology and even non-applicable things it was cool to see how our lungs work, it's pretty awesome.
The chapters that I enjoyed (and actually understood) were chapters 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
That's not totally accurate though because there were some parts of those chapters that I found really complicated and tedious, and there were some parts of other chapters that I was fond of.

[Domika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Absolutně nechápu to vysoké hodnocení.
Přijde mi, že kniha vůbec nesplňuje základní požadavky.
Naprosto chybí seznam doporučené literatury na konci kapitoly, případně odkud se čerpají naměřená data. Zajímá mě, odkud se některá čísla vzala, jestli si je autoři nevycucali z prstu, ale zdroj prostě nikde.
Zbytečně se začíná odvozováním různých vzorečků a výpočty. Uvítala bych spíš lepší popis plic, dýchání, svalů a "vlastně jako to celé funguje", protože si myslím, že bez takového úvodního textu totiž člověk absolutně nemůže pochopit, kde se v těch vzorečcích některé věci objevily.
Otázky na konci kapitoly zbytečné.
Zbytečně obrázky z elektronového mikroskopu, které čtenáři podle mě nic nedají.
Nedoporučuji. Určitě jsou lepší učebnice.

[Allie Soltis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A easy to read, helpful textbook! This book was recommended reading for one of my graduate courses and it was definitely helpful. I was able to read it cover to cover and finish it in a week because the authors do a good job making this textbook helpful & interesting.

[stargazer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, West is excellent. The only reason I rate this 4/5 instead of 5/5 (which is the rating for his pulmonary pathophysiology book) is because some of the explanations fall short. Equal pressure points, for example. Those could be a bit more comprehensive, but otherwise, great.

[Thomas Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and engrossing - unlike a lot of medical textbooks

[Allie]

school reading may as well go towards my reading goal; failed my test tho lol

[David Rasmussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

THERE ARE FREE LECTURES ON YOUTUBE!!

Well written, but is best understood in combination with his lectures on youtube. Can be a bit confusing for the student short on time.

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel this book is a must read for anybody dealing with the lungs. It was recommended to me by one of my instructors when I was in school for Respiratory Therapy and it was the single most useful book -- even more than the actual text books to the course.

Since then, I have read the book every year for the last 9 years. Each time I read it, I find new things or a new way to look at something. I expect to continue reading this book each year that I'm a respiratory therapist.

[S.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is short and concise, which is good for last minute revisions or quick referencing around the wards. Of course, this isn't the book that elaborates on concepts lucidly. The graphs in this book are poorly explained, in my opinion, but this could be easily fixed by referencing to another source material.

[Crini · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of the most important books one can read about respiratory physiology. There are few equations and excellent explanations of pulmonary mechanics. Any medical student should read this before starting residency. If you want to go into anesthesia, ICU, or pulmonary medicine, you MUST read this early in your training. It is time well spent, with chapters that are short and concise.

[William Corder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considered the go to pocket manual for Respiratory Phys. This helped me immensely in a Pulmonary module at school. If the images had been updated at all since this book was first published, this would be a 5/5.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another lifesaver for med school year 1.

[Nair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very clear explanations