Illustrated synopsis of dermatology & sexually transmitted diseases

Author: Neena Khanna

Edition and year: 7^th edition, 2024 (462 pages and 19 chapters)

Publisher: Elsevier, India

The seventh edition of the Illustrated Synopsis of Dermatology and Sexually Transmitted Diseases edited by Dr. Neena Khanna has been released in 2024. Over the past two decades, the book has achieved a ubiquitous presence in the bookshelves of undergraduates across India. Its popularity is attributable to the simple presentation of the vast field of dermatological diseases in a succinct fashion, well-illustrated by high-quality images. When you think how could perfection reinvent itself, Dr. Neena Khanna has outdone herself by coming out with the seventh edition in a new ‘Avatar’. The master teacher and author has rewritten the book with a focus on the revised undergraduate competency-based curriculum by the National Medical Commission of India. The book presentation systematically covers each of the dermatological competency, with a focus on practicality, carefully highlighting the history to be elicited, the examination points, the differential diagnoses, and management. As learning dermatology requires visual cues, the book is illustrated with 830 high-quality images and 140 detailed line diagrams. The disease description with 150 tables and management flow charts, along with the labelled diagrams demonstrating examination findings, simulates a live interaction with a teacher. Further, the book includes sections on sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus, dermatology diagnostics, and topical and systemic therapy, therefore providing a complete and handy, quick reference textbook. This would enable the undergraduate to significantly improve their management of dermatological patients and the structured presentation aligned with the undergraduate competencies would be a big help for them to appear for the formative and summative dermatology assessment during their training. It also comes with a complimentary e-book with digital resources, facilitating access anywhere and at any time; this would be a panacea for the postgraduates who are posted for the National Medical Commission of India-recommended District Residency Program, as also the busy practitioners. The book addresses the current trend of objective evaluation, providing a set of image-based case studies to orient the students on taking an objective structured case examination as well as provides hundreds of online multiple-choice questions that would help the students crack the postgraduate entrance examination. However, as Dr. Neena Khanna says in the preface, the main aim of the book is to make the reader ‘skin literate’ and the book certainly will achieve that target for any reader who systematically peruses the Illustrated Synopsis of Dermatology and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

The ability to pack key learning points across the field of dermatology is a testament to the skills of an author and teacher par excellence, who sets a new benchmark for an ideal undergraduate textbook, and with its illustrative images provides a reference atlas for the dermatology postgraduates and practitioners. A must-have book for undergraduates, private practitioners, and every dermatologist. Go get your copy now!