Clinical laboratory medicine: Clinical application of laboratory data

I have benefitied greatly from this well thought out and clearly presented guide to the use of laboratory studies in clinical practice. Unlike other guides which are mainly compendiums of various lab tests as they relate to given diseases, Dr. Ravel's work provides physiolgic/pathophysiologic explanations both as a background for understanding indications for laboratory studies as well as their limitations. As a practitioner of Family Medicine I have enjoyed this work since its 3rd edition; its main weakness is that the current 6th edition (1995) needs to be brought up to date.