The Oxford Textbook of Medicine is a comprehensive text which covers the practice of internal medicine and its subspecialties. It gives specialty physicians an authoritative source to consult in day-to-day practice and when their patients have disorders which relate to other specialties. This new edition has been extensively revised and large sections have been rewritten by new authors. In the introductory sections there are new chapters on ethics and the assessment of medical care. There are completely new sections on cancer, medicine and the law, and the eye in general medical diseases. The introductory section on the scientific basis of medicine has been rewritten and expanded to include an account of the role of cell biology in clinical practice. These changes reflect the increasing role of the basic sciences in medicine, current concerns about ethical and legal issues, and the recent advances in methods for the dissemination of medical knowledge and for the assessment of clinical trials. The outstanding section on medical disorders in pregnancy has been substantially revised and expanded. Because the Oxford Textbook of Medicine presents a global perspective on disease, there is particular emphasis on infectious diseases.