E BOOK REVIEW
Physics for Anesthesiologists: From headline of the fourth part, with another 2 chapters explain-
Daily Life to the Operating Room
Pisano A. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2017,
171 pages, Hardcover $109.99 (USD), eBook $84.99
(USD), ISBN: 978-3-319-57329-8 (Hardcover),
Downloaded from http://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia by BhDMf5ePHKav1zEoum1tQfN4a+kJLhEZgbsI
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978-3-319-57330-4 (eBook)
T he term physics is translated from ancient Greek as the
“knowledge of nature.” In fact, physics is defined as the
natural science that studies matter and its motion and
behavior through space and time. Obviously, physics is
everywhere in our daily lives as well as in our clinical rou-
tine, and that is why the book Physics for Anesthesiologists:
From Daily Life to the Operating Room written by Antoni
Pisano provides a lot of useful information about physics in
general and applied physics in anesthesia and critical care
in specific.
The author translates classical physical phenomenon
from the theoretical basis toward the application in anesthe-
sia and critical care. As for many medical specialties, but for
anesthesiology in particular, physics is the foundation for
many of our measurements, interventions, and treatments
aiming to make anesthesia safer and improve patient care.
Even complex physics laws are explained by funny and rel-
evant examples from everyday life as well as from our daily
practice in the operating room or intensive care unit. The
reader can find both funny and easy-to-understand expla-
nations as well as precise graphs and formulas. The figures
and illustrations are well selected to underline the most rel-
evant principles.
The book has been recently published in both hardcover
and eBook formats and is divided into 7 parts and 16 chap-
ters. The format of the book is very handy, and with 171
pages, it is easily portable. In the first part, 5 chapters are
dedicated to physics of gases; in the second part, 2 chap-
ters are focused on fluids and the basis of hemodynamics.
The third part contains 2 chapters describing the phys-
ics of hemodynamic monitoring. “Forces in Action” is the
DOI: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000003498
August 2018 • Volume 127 • Number 2
Copyright © 2018 International Anesthesia Research Society. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
ing remarkable examples such as the physics of laryngos-
copy or the impact of gravity versus friction on the safety of
the Trendelenburg position. The fifth part consists of a chap-
ter on inhalational anesthesia, providing deep insights into
the functioning principles of vaporizers and the physics of
volatile anesthetics. The sixth part with another 3 chapters is
dedicated to the physics of light and electromagnetic waves
explaining the basics of pulse oximetry, capnography, spec-
troscopy, and ultrasound and Doppler effects. Last but not
least, a brief excursion into the principles of the relativity
theory is provided in the seventh part.
The book has a funny style, and you can learn a lot about
physics because it is explained using very illustrative exam-
ples. Basic gas laws are, for example, explained by the func-
tioning principle of the author’s traditional Italian coffee
maker. Even very complex topics, such as relativity theory,
are explained in a very straightforward and illustrative way.
After reading the book, you know how to respond to the
cardiac surgeon asking you to speed up the activated clot-
ting time measurement simply by using Einstein’s relativity
theory.
In my opinion, this book is a perfect match for both
junior residents and experienced staff members. One may
read it for pleasure and enjoy the funny examples or use
it to quickly review some formulas. It may be a good com-
panion for both the couch at home and the operating room.
For colleagues who are interested in more details, standard
textbooks of physics or carefully selected references may
help further.
The author should be congratulated for this very nice
book that helps us to understand and enjoy the sometimes
complicated physics that are integral part of our profession.
Peter Markus Spieth, MD, MSc
Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine
University Hospital Dresden
Dresden, Germany
peter.spieth@ukdd.de
www.anesthesia-analgesia.org e19