Leslie Klenerman – författare

A vast subject that includes a strange vocabulary and an apparent mass of facts, human anatomy can at first appear confusing and off-putting. But the basic construction of the human body - the skeleton, the organs of the chest and abdomen, the nervous system, the head and neck with its sensory systems and anatomy for breathing and swallowing - is vital for anyone studying medicine, biology, and health studies. In this Very Short Introduction Leslie Klenerman provides a clear, concise, and accessible introduction to the structure, function, and main systems of the human body, including a number of clear and simple illustrations to explain the key areas. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Why write a book on the tourniquet? The tourniquet is used routinely in op- ating theatres throughout the world, but as far as I know there is no single book that surveys the considerable literature that has accumulated.

The appendages at the end of our forelimbs tend to attract the evolutionary and clinical limelight, but our feet are as important as our hands for our survival and success as a species. We tend to take them for granted, yet the many millions of modern humans who run either competitively or for recreation, or who play sports such as soccer, tennis, and badminton, or who ride, or dance, or swim, or climb, or who stand and walk as part of their work, all depend on their feet. We submit them to unreasonable loads, and expect them to survive our pounding them on hard pavements. We also add insult to injury by squeezing them into fashionable but uncomfortable footwear which does not conform to the shape of the foot. All this means that many professionals make their living caring for our feet. Worldwide many hundreds of thousands of professional people spend most of their working life looking after the foot. They include orthopaedic surgeons, rheumatologists, diabetologists, orthotists and prosthetists, physical therapists, and podiatrists of whom there are at least 15,000 in the United States of America alone. In the English language there are two classic books about the foot, both by anatomists. In 1935 the American anatomist Dudley Morton wrote the first e- tion of The Human Foot, and in Great Britain Frederick Wood Jones’ seminal book, Structure and Function as Seen in the Foot, was published in 1944.

The Tourniquet Manual - principles and practice provides a comprehensive and detailed account of the safe use of the tourniquet by using a physiological approach which ensures good practice. Starting from a historical background the reader learns the detailed effects of ischaemia on the vulnerable tissues, especially muscle and nerve. The effects of releasing the tourniquet on the systemic circulation and the complicated biochemistry of the ischaemia-reperfusion response are explained. Complications and good practice are discussed. There is a chapter on the latest technological advances in tourniquets. This book provides a coherent account of the subject and is an invaluable source of references. It will help avoid medicolegal problems and promote good practice by surgeons, anaesthetists and operation theatre technicians alike and should be in every theatre office.