Cope's Early Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen, 21st edition, is a well-written and focused review of general surgery's often difficult topic of the acute abdomen. Each section and topic of this book has concise information about the differential diagnosis and workup that is easy to understand and follow. The accompanying illustrations and pictures, although in black and white, are clean and simple and clearly convey information to the reader. Furthermore, the range of topics from basic appendicitis to more difficult cases, such as the acute abdomen in the immunocompromised patient, highlights scenarios that every general surgeon will encounter in their training and practice.
The most appropriate audience for this book would be medical students and general surgery residents in training. Medical students will find the book helpful while learning the details of physical exams, and later while on their surgery clerkships. Interns should start reading this book early in their training to prepare themselves for the second year when they become the consult resident. The PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents will benefit the most from this book since they usually perform the general surgery consultations on the wards and the emergency room. Senior residents from PGY-4 to PGY-5 may want to use it as a reference and have this classic as part of their book collection.
The book has a sturdy hard cover and is compact in size that fits easily in a surgeon's white coat, something that any resident will appreciate. Although the book is bound in a sturdy hard cover, the price of $59.95 may be too expensive, especially for residents. A lower and more appealing price of $39.95 or $45.00 could possibly draw in a larger group of potential readers.