West's Respiratory Physiology: The Essentials Tenth Edition

This is an outstanding introductory overview to core concepts in respiratory physiology. The book is short and very easy to read, with simple explanations and clear diagrams. It should be more than sufficient for medical students, however, if you want a more in-depth understanding then you will need to build on this with other sources. West's lectures are freely available online and cover the same topics as this book but with a little more explanation and more examples. For critical care / anaesthesia trainees, I suggest supplementing with Nunn's Applied Respiratory Physiology, 8e for greater detail and more clinical concepts.

To anyone taking any level of pulmonary physiology (MD/PhD to undergrad) this book is an ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE. Dr. West is considered the gold standard of respiratory physio and its evident why. His explanations are so easy to understand that it makes the most difficult and poorly taught lectures a breeze.Warning! Make sure when reading though that you do not read too fast, as West condenses difficult topics and although it seems simple when reading, can be complex. Every sentence in this book is important, so make sure to take your time!

West hasn't significantly changed for many many editions, however this edition is much improved, likely due to the addition of a co-author. I have taught respiratory physiology for 20 years. The 10th edition is the first major improvement in many years. The features are added information that is more contemporary, some changes in writing style and an excellent set of study cases and new study questions for each chapter, with clear answers in the back. There is more pulmonary cell biology, though this remains relatively weak. I continue to strongly recommend this for all medical students as a must read.

I'm a respiratory doc with teaching responsibilities. I have had a copy of West since the second edition. Many, if not all of my pulmonary physiology lectures have been based on this text, and West was a key to my education as a medical student, resident, and fellow. The current edition, with some clinical correlation included, is a good improvement.Pulmonary physiology is hard and not entirely intuitive, especially ventilation perfusion matching. This book does a good job of introducing the naive reader to these concepts. Highly recommend.

This is the latest edition of West's famous (? infamous) book on respiratory physiology. I first was exposed to a much earlier edition of this book in medical school while studying pulmonary physiology and it provides an excellent foundation for some of the more difficult concepts in physiology that are pertinent to medical practice. I am now a practicing pulmonary physician and find its concept pertinent to daily medical practice.

If you are literate in anatomy and physiology or medical terminology, this is an incredible resource for people interested in respiration.

At present in am taking an advanced anatomy and physiology course for crna school. The book has been a total life saver. The material is easy to understand and has great illustrative examples of concepts. I love the questions at the end of each section. Dr West also has some great videos on YouTube that help cover specific concepts as well. Would recommend to anyone taking a pulmonary AP course.

I have gotten every editon of this book since I was an intern back in the stone age.........both the hard copy and e version have never dissapointed.