With this third edition of First Aid for the Basic Sciences: General Principles, we continue

our commitment to providing students with the most useful and up-to-date

preparation guides for the USMLE Step 1. For the past year, a team of authors and

editors have worked to update and further improve this third edition. This edition

represents a major revision in many ways.

■ Brand new Public Health and Patient Safety sections have been added.

■ Every page has been carefully reviewed and updated to reflect the most high-yield

material for the Step 1 exam.

■ New high-yield figures, tables, and mnemonics have been incorporated.

■ Margin elements, including flash cards, have been added to assist in optimizing the

studying process.

■ Hundreds of user comments and suggestions have been incorporated

■ Emphasis on integration and linkage of concepts was increased.

This book would not have been possible without the help of the hundreds of students

and faculty members who contributed their feedback and suggestions. We invite students

and faculty to please share their thoughts and ideas to help us improve First Aid

for the Basic Sciences: General Principles. (See How to Contribute, p. xiii.)