Heart Sounds: A Cardiac Auscultation Primer

Are you mystified by murmurs? Puzzled by pitch? Stymied by splitting? If so, this is the book for you. Cardiac auscultation can be a frustrating skill to learn, and many physical examination texts address cardiac auscultation in a cursory fashion. The wide variety of heart sounds available on CD and the internet may serve more to confuse than to clarify. The philosophy of this book is that understanding is a much more powerful tool than memorization in arriving at a differential diagnosis. This book takes the form of a programmed text. Each page presents a simple concept or two related to anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology or even physics. Applying this knowledge - knowledge you already possess - provides a solid foundation for arriving at a diagnosis in many cases.