Preface
This is the sixth edition of Essential Obstetrics and Gynaecology, marking more than 30 years since the first edition was published.
The last 20 years have seen significant changes in both the scientific understanding of human reproduction and clinical practice. Although some aspects have remained constant, the sheer pace of development has made it necessary for us to invite experts within the different fields of the disciplines of obstetrics and gynaecology to contribute to the work. In addition to a complete update of the content, in this edition we have included OSCE stations in the self-assessment section because this is a common modality for undergraduate assessment. We have retained the popular overall structure of division into basic reproductive sciences of obstetrics and gynaecology and continued with the format that was introduced with the fifth edition of defining learning outcomes in alignment with the RCOG national undergraduate curriculum. Our section on further reading provides information on key articles and guidelines for the reader to obtain greater understanding of the subject.
We would like to acknowledge the contributions of all of our authors and particularly to welcome Dr Jo Black who contributed the chapter on psychiatric disorders of childbirth, updating this chapter from our longstanding contributor Dr Margaret Oates.
We would also like to acknowledge Dr Neville Fields for his comments on the gynaecological chapters from the perspective of a trainee medical officer and Associate Professor Paul Duggan who also reviewed this content. In constructing the revision, we sought the views of both students and junior medical officers, and we would like to thank all of our student contributors to this peer review process. We would like the readers to write to us about omissions and controversies so that we can update the book as we go along.
Ian Symonds
Sabaratnam Arulkumaran