Preface

This book is designed for senior undergraduates, graduate students, and, especially, medical students. It should also be
useful for teachers, researchers, and clinicians for designing lectures and as a desk reference. Although the book has
considerable depth, the instructor can make use of various illustrations in the book to present a course at the level he/
she wishes. The more extensive information can be gained by the interested student and the list of references following
each chapter will be useful for further individual research.
Many medical students question the reason that they have to study biochemistry when their focus is thought to be
exclusively on medicine. They often ask: “Why do I have to learn biochemistry?” In this volume, each chapter opens
with a disease or clinical condition that is presented in clinical terms and subsequently dissected to the molecular bio-
chemical level, demonstrating the principles of the chapter. This approach explains the basis of the disease and fre-
quently discusses diagnosis and treatment, cementing the relationship of biochemistry to medicine and disease. Thus
the question of relevance is answered.
Undergraduate and graduate students often have little exposure to medicine and disease. Human Biochemistry should
serve to introduce these students to clinical examples in molecular terms that will broaden their education.
A clinically related example at the beginning of each chapter was first employed in Human Biochemistry & Disease
by myself, published in 2008. Human Biochemistry presents many modifications. In particular, the only three-
dimensional X-ray structures of molecules used here are those conveying some property or activity that is obvious to
the reader. The figures used here all have been redrawn with a consistent font and white or very light backgrounds.
Most figures are in color. As further teaching aids, many figures are converted to slides and other teaching aids by
Academic Press/Elsevier, available to the instructor. Multiple-choice questions at the end of each chapter emphasize the
principles of the chapter and prepare the student for future examinations.
The first three chapters are introductory. The first review chapter deals with the gross anatomy of the major organs
in the human body, less important for the medical student if he/she is taking a class in gross anatomy concurrently with
a course in biochemistry. However, this review may well be useful for nonmedical students. The first two chapters end
with a summary, suggested reading list involving journal papers and books, and multiple-choice review questions. The
third chapter and all the subsequent chapters close with a summary, suggested reading list, multiple-choice review ques-
tions, and a case-based problem. The case-based problem is most effectively used in small group teaching where a clini-
cian and scientist lead the discussion. The objective of the case-based problem is to, step-by-step, reach a diagnosis and
treatment.
Early on, Janice Audet of Elsevier, now at Harvard University Press, aided my work. Subsequently, Fenton
Coulthurst of Elsevier, Oxford, United Kingdom, was instrumental in the progress and publication of the book.

Gerald Litwack, PhD

Los Angeles, CA, United States

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