A group of Indian doctors have come together to publish a textbook on medicine. It is only the third such textbook in the market yet. The need for such a textbook was felt as the books on the subject are mostly written by foreign authors.
Medical books are generally out of the reach for students but are must-haves to make the right diagnoses, said T.V. Devarajan, Editor-in-chief of Apollo’s Text Book of Medicine and Emeritus Professor at Arupadai Veedu Medical College, Puducherry.
“The chapters have been written by 40 doctors, mostly from across Apollo Hospitals in the country. A couple of them from outside the country have also contributed,” he said.
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The readers would be medical, physiotherapy and pharmacy students and practising doctors. Every year, the book will be revised and a new edition published.
The book provides comprehensive information about common water-borne diseases in India. It also has dedicated chapters for diseases of the Mediterranean region. Chapters on alternative systems of medicine are also included.
Dr. Devarajan, who graduated from Stanley Medical College in 1969, worked at Madras Medical College. He is a B.C. Roy awardee and has been conferred the civilian award of Padma Shri.
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“It is 11 years of work, spanning three hours a day. I am also planning an e-book. I wrote 14 chapters and 22 chapters were written by colleagues. All chapters were run through anti-plagiarism software. I have included sketches of the human anatomy and provided charts, x-ray and scan images from our own collection,” he said.
The book, to be launched on Friday in the presence of Apollo Hospitals’ Chairman Pratap C. Reddy, will be priced lower than those available in the market. “I hope to sell 80,000 copies in the country. We are also planning to price it lower for students,” he said.