The examinations in anaesthesia are much feared and respected. Although fair, they do require a grasp of many subjects which the candidate may not have been familiar with for some time. This is particularly true with regards to the basic science components.

This book does not aim to be an all-inclusive text, rather a companion to other books you will already have in your collection. It aims to allow you to have an additional reference point when revising some of these difficult topics. It will enable you to quickly and easily bring to hand the key illustrations, definitions or derivations that are fundamental to the understanding of a particular subject. In addition to succinct and accurate definitions of key phrases, important equations are derived step by step to aid understanding and there are more than 180 diagrams with explanations throughout the book.

You should certainly find a well-trusted textbook of anaesthesia if you wish to delve deeper into the subject matter, but we hope to be able to give you the knowledge and reasoning to tackle basic science MCQs and, more crucially, to buy you those first few lines of confident response when faced with a tricky basic science viva.