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We guess that while gazing pensively out of the window of her third-floor, corner office overlooking Longwood Avenue, Dr Avery said to Dr First, "What this country needs is a good 5-lb pediatric text!" (Hoekelman's Primary Pediatric Care, 1987, 8 lb 6 oz; Rudolf's Pediatrics, 18th ed, 1986, 6 lb 7 oz; Nelson's Textbook of Pediatrics, 13th ed, 1987, 6 lb 14 oz.) The result of their labors is Pediatric Medicine (5 lb 7 oz), dedicated to the medical house staff of the Children's Hospital, Boston, Mass, whose observations and questions were the stimulus for this book.
The text is organized by organ system but also includes sections on well-child care, behavioral pediatrics, nutrition, oncology, genetics, rheumatology, childhood injuries, and toxicology. Each chapter is subdivided into "Definition," "Basic Science" (which includes material similar to that of the pathophysiology sections of other texts), "Epidemiology," "Natural History," "Diagnosis," "Treatment," "Prognosis," and "Prevention."