For anyone who struggled to understand why the nephron concentrates, then dilutes, then concentrates again the urine, this book will do much to ease your pain. Since medical school I've purchased Editions 1, 3, & 5, just so that I could keep up with my interns & residents. Here's how he does it:
#1: short book, (you know how intimidating those tomes can be)
#2: lots of diagrams
#3: end-of-chapter questions (with answers & explanations)

If you want to understand the Kidney, no matter where you are in your studies or practice, I wholeheartedly recommend this text.

Renal physiology can be very difficult to truly understand, and yet an understanding of it is essential to understanding so many aspects of physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. Studying diuretics for cardio pharm is nightmarish unless you understand the physiology of the loop of Henle. Vander takes this difficult yet important subject and makes it easy to understand. The book reads extremely quickly, and the flow-charts and diagrams are amazing. I never even opened Berne & Levy for renal phys--I read Vander's book (which is no longer than B&L's renal chapters) and cruised through renal phys. I am writing this review now, a year after I took physiology, because I am now studying for the USMLE Step 1. I have not looked at Vander's book in a year, but I still remember renal phys, and reviewing it now is the easiest part of my studying (the only easy part, in fact). That is because, thanks to Vander, I actually understand renal physiology. A great book!!

For any medical student that needs a comprehensive, but easily understood explanation of the structure and function of kidneys, I highly recommend Renal Physiology by Vander. It is very well written, and covers all the basic principles that you will need to know to understand pathologies associated with the kidneys.

Of interest; the book's authors are throat and mouth specialists. Also, they are not aware that their institution ( Johns Hopkins) is making great strides in SCI research. that's a invaluable contact they neglected to study. Bold predictions are made claiming that SCI will not be cured within several decades, 100 years etc. Yet they tell the reader to move on with your life and still have hope for SCI therapies. Here's the problem- they do the worst thing imaginable, they condescend to the patient, providing false hope, if they clain SCI treatments (valid ones) are hundreds years away, then why should patients stay hopeful if it will not help them or anybody with a SCI in our lifetimes? These are serious claims from authors whose credentials do not include spinal cord injury.

Since my SCI in May of 1999 we have accumulated a pile of books dealing with various aspects of SCI. At 1/10th the price, this book is many times better than any of the others. Their down to earth approach leads you from the point of injury until the day you make the transition from patient to the new you. Outstanding!