Guyton-followers

-Bukhtawar Azhar

For all those guyton followers who have been told by many that this book will help you understand but not pass your final exam, let me tell you by my personal experience and by that of many others around me IT ISN'T TRUE!

If you are a guyton follower, a student of BDS 1st year, bad with rote learning and eager to find a solution let me give you a few tips as to how to study from this book. What to do and what not to. What to learn and what just to read.

First thing. You dont need to know it all by heart. Guyton is a very extensive book and explains a certain topic in every possible way and aspect so that all kinds of readers can comprehend the meaning out of it. So read it all. While giving it the very  first reading do not intend to learn it. Intend to understand and enjoy it. Read it and understand whats being told. It is a very student friendly book and hardly ever anything in it needs a second reading to be understood. However sometimes you need to do so. So read it all and focus on quality understanding.This first reading is basically going to prepare you very well for the MCQ type questions. Obviously this requires that you start a little before the exam and not a month before it.

Once done with the main reading and concept making go for the second go. This time you need to start learning. Or atleast try. But the question is what to learn?
For that, first you need to look out for the sentences/words/phrases written in itallics. These are mainly important names, definitions, facts, etc. Along with these keep an eye out for the yellow boxes. These usually discuss diseases, clinicals related to the topic you are reading about. Next, read the summary paragraphs at the end of detailed topics. They give you the jist of what has been told and that helps you write down the concept in a concise manner. With guyton you need to practice to write down all the mass information you have gained in a very concise and compact manner. Making small notes and chits alongside, on your book helps.

Now if you have time, probably the summer break or before the send ups, give the more important topics a third vigorous-learning session. You need to know these units really well and have the 'things to learn' on your finger tips.

For BDS 1st Year following are the Units, their respective Chapters and their subsequent topics that ought to be done from Guyton.

Unit I : Cell
Ch.2 complete
Ch.3 Cell differenciation and apoptosis

Unit II : Nerve and Muscle
Ch.4 Complete with special emphasis on co-transport and counter transport with examples.
Ch.5 Complete with special understanding of plateu formation
Ch.6 Complete specially learning the mechanism of musle contraction
Ch.7 Complete.
Ch.8 Complete (however only comparison between smooth and skeletal muscles should also help)

Unit III : CardioVascular System
Ch 9, 10, 11 Complete
Ch 12 Current of Injury
Ch 13 Complete

(Unit IV : Circulation Ch 20, 23, 24 selective things according to those taught during the lectures)

Unit V : Renal
Ch 25 Reading Mainly
Ch 26, 27 Complete
Ch 28, 29 Reading
Ch 30 Complete (important)

Unit VI : Blood (v.important)
Ch 32, 33 complete
Ch 34 Immunity
Ch 35, 36 complete

Unit VII : Respiration
Ch 37 complete with special attention to pulmonary volumes and capacities (uq)
Ch 38 Complete
Ch 39 Complete focusing mainly on learning the ultrastructure of alveolar repiratory membrane ventilation perfusion ratio, physiological shunt and physiological dead space.
Ch 40 complete carefully learning the graphs (particularly Oxy-hemoglobin dissociation curve ; uq)
Ch 41 respiratory centre and chemical control of respiration
Ch 42 Complete specially learning in detail about each disease and its pathophysiology.

(Unit VIII reading. Selective according to what has been taught in class)

These are the major topics Guyton-Followers need to study from this book. Do not forget to use the index at the end of the book, it includes all the terms you are looking for in the subject of physiology. Carefully study the diagrams that make the understanding of the respective topic more easy. Be loyal to this book and it'll prove to be loyal to you. Keep reading it, keep making quality concepts, keep revising it and there is nothing that could stop you from ace-ing your physiology exam.

Best of Luck.