This was the required text for my second subject in Medical Transcription. It was very good and detailed enough for the beginning transcriptionist to understand where everything is, and to familiarize yourself with more medical terminology. This one seems to assume you already have a beginning foundation in basic medical terminology and how to form medical words using word parts, combining forms, suffixes, and prefixes. I say this because the first chapter immediately launches into a LOT of these word parts with very little discussion on what they are, how to do them, etc. The book has a detailed glossary of medical words, though, and it has these little cardboard cutouts that look like miniature index cards (flash cards) that will aid you in memorizing basic word parts. The book has very long and detailed exercises at the end of each chapter that builds on what you have already learned and strengthens your medical terminology foundation. It also comes with a CD-ROM that has exercises relevant to each chapter. WHen you complete a chapter exercise, the software evaluates your performance and tells you where your mistakes are, then prints out a study plan for you where you can bone up and read about your mistakes. An over-all good book!