The authors do not hesitate to tell the reader that two of the four women that were photographed for the section on breast cancer (half) were in complete denial of their condition. They remark that both women presented to the clinic with horrific and obvious cancers that they supposedly only noticed the "day before." While denial is an important aspect of breast cancer (and many other conditions), the authors limit the discussion of denial to women only. When I read the male genatalia chapter and saw the horrific lessions pictured, there was no mention that any of the men had "just noticed" that angry chancre or those boiling warts. I would think there must be some psychological issue such as denial at work in the fellows that were photographed as well since thier conditions were also so advanced. However, the authors do not mention it. Funny, huh? It's a good book anyway, but the authors need to check themselves. (...)

Im disappointed that I did not have this book sooner in my student career. For the last 2 years we have been using Bates and quite frankly Bates is okay for the most part but it leaves out details as to why the test is done.

The pictures are better in Swartz. There are sections on differential diags and pathophysiology with each test. This is an amazing textbook.

I found out about this text from a visiting professor from the UK. For some reason all the visiting profs we have had from the UK have a certain skill which seems to be a lot better than what we are taught here in the US. They have an EXCELLENT grip on their H&P and treat medicine like an art. I asked which book they were using over there and they said Swartz and the other one by Epstein (also gold).

If you feel the Bates is insufficient check this book out.

Best book I've read about physical diagnosis. Even though the book is long, it is actually a quick read, including numerous useful tables and graphes. What sets this book apart from the rest lies in the explanation of underlying pathophysiology of various signs and findings thus making them easy to remember. The CD ROM is also useful and quick if one simply want to learn the basics of physical diagnosis. This book is a good reference because it's so comprehensive compared to others.

I am a first year med student who used the Swartz book for my physical diagnosis course (the class recommended Bates, but I found the material to be too basic; one would NOT be able to refer to that book once they passed introductory level). Swartz has great pictures of pathologic diseases, and also includes pictures to guide you through the actual physical (those pictures are taken from the CD that shows you step-by-step how to do a physical). One of the main things I found refreshing was that he tells you when some procedures are unnecessary because they just don't yield much information. Swartz tells you what to do, what to look for, how to accomplish both, and then he SHOWS you with the CD. I personally loved this book, and I will refer to it (and the CD) to freshen up on the techniques that I have learned. My teacher even said that she still refers to Swartz! Definitely a great buy.

I'm a second year med student who was completely clueless about physical diagnosis until I got this book/CD package. Our classes and preceptor sessions were just way too disorganized for me to really learn how to perform a physical exam. This package is a bit [costly], but trust me, it's worth every penny for the CD alone. The CD has video of a complete 2-hour physical examination, including male and female exams. The author walks you through each step in great detail as he examines the patient. The camera angles are up-close, so you actually get to see what's going on (in fact, you can see better than you would next to a live preceptor). 2 hours watching this CD taught me way more than hundreds of hours spent in class, reading textbooks, and with preceptors. Best of all, I can watch the video over and over again, until I really feel like I have a good grasp of it- without worrying about taking up too much of the patient's time or making a fool of myself in front of the preceptor. If you're still struggling with physical diagnosis- e.g., wondering exactly where your stethoscope goes or how to palpate an abdomen, etc.- get this book NOW!