In their preface, the authors of this book correctly note the availability of large, comprehensive, and expensive renal textbooks. In A Short Textbook of Kidney Disease, they have attempted to produce a readable text, with emphasis on practical aspects of management and correlation of renal disorders with other illnesses but without sacrifice of comprehensiveness.
Signs and symptoms of renal disease and its investigation are reviewed in the first two chapters. Acute and chronic renal failure, nephrotic syndrome, and infection of the kidney are covered in the next four chapters. Allergy, hypertension, hereditary disorders, surgical aspects, and systemic diseases which affect the kidney are presented in the last chapters. Two low-protein diets are outlined in a brief appendix. References are limited to easily available reviews written in English.
The authors have paid a price for brevity. Granted, important physiological principles and most diseases of the kidney are presented, but the