1st/2nd Year : Physiology and Biochemistry Study Guide

back with more tips :)..... but 1st a little history lesson for the new kemcolians.... biochemistry n physiology in my time were tyrannical regimes under 2 of the most 'legendary' professors ke has seen in recent memory..... luckily, times have changed n these professors wont b terrorizing u guys anymore (hopefully) :P...... so watevr tips iv given below r not 4m 1st hand experience, but are more or less general tips n ideas gathrd aftr consulting my juniors(thnx again 4 the help!!)

1ST YEAR n 2ND YEAR:

Physiology:

Guyton.... the most famous physiology text worldwide n for good reason. its simple 2 understand n suprisingly easy 2 retain even though it looks huge. whenevr we did a new topic in physio i wud try n read guyton 1st, evn b4 the topic was completd in class. 1nce uv read this, reading othr books becomes so much easier

Mushtaq..... also a good book, but can be tough for a 1st read. it deals with many important topics in depth which u may not find in guyton as such, so do give it a read

Ganong..... also a very good foreign text. it may seem like high level stuff, but many topics r given very clearly in it. if u find urself gettng a headache aftr reading a coupl lines, dont worry, its normal. this book is best 1nce uv made ur basics solid with guyton

Firdous..... its a kind of review book, n can b handy when ur short on time. though it has some mistakes

BRS Physiology..... my fave book!! its the thing that wud cheer me up when i wantd 2 cry during prof prep :P. its simple, to the point n easy 2 retain.... its mainly a review book, n lacks the detail needed for those essay qz, but its also the standard book for usmle prep so a good read for ny1 who plans on taking steps latr

Akrams physiology...... our old professrs book. a must hav in the old days no mattr how much we hated it!! the 1st yr version made me cry, literally at 1 point :P, 2nd year version isnt bad at all.... its confusing n has mistakes evrywher... but if u fancy urself a good book editor, by all means go ahead with this book!! but my advice, u guys hav the chance 2 read guyton in peace like we nevr had.... so plz make use of that oppurtunity instead of just rutofyng the headings of this book like we did

1ST YEAR N 2ND YEAR:

Biochemistry:

mushtaq..... a good text as long as u dont get put off by its boring pages :P. the main book in 1st yr n a good supplement in 2nd yr aswell. my advice, if u feel urself falling asleep, keep ur lippincott open alongside

Lippincott..... a good foreign text for those whose mind wanders during studyng cuz its multicolord diags help keep u focussed :P. a good read in 1st yr, n the main book for 2nd yr from wat i hear

NMS Biochem.... the book i studied.... its a very good book but may lack details. a review book that can help later on in steps too

Harper's biochem is a tough nut to crack .. The scope of the book is beyond undergraduate level.. If u have it, only use it as a reference unless you want a PhD in biochem

Stryer/ Devlin : Some fancy books that our good old Prof Kamran recommended but again these are only meant to be used as reference or better yet, not used at all ! These are not necessary at all !