Finally…our new coag study guide (Clot or Bleed: A Painless Guide for People Who Hate Coag) is available. Coag seems to be one of those areas in pathology (like the anemias, or the glomerulonephritides…wait, it’s worse than those) that elicit groans and sometimes even snarls from students and residents. I know from experience: I was frustrated and overwhelmed as a student, to the point of refusing to study it (and just taking the hit on the exam). Bad idea.

Since then, I’ve been piecing together the whole coag story, from the platelet plug, to that damned cascade, to how the lab tests work…there’s a lot to learn. Surprisingly, it’s a lot easier than it seemed at first. It’s interesting, too. Why do textbooks make things so hard?

Anyway. I like this guide a lot. It covers all the major topics you need to know about: the mechanisms of clotting and anti-clotting, the principles and practical use of laboratory tests, and all the major bleeding and clotting disorders.

It’s different because it’s short, complete, and simply written. You don’t have to waste time sorting through a lot of crap to get to the important things (which are explained clearly). There are really useful mnemonics (including one on the coagulation cascade that I dare you to forget), nice diagrams, pictures and tables, and a yummy ancient Chinese recipe for an anticoagulant stew that should only be used for good, not evil.

You can check it out here (it’s on the right sidebar too). Whether you get it or not, feel free to email with coag questions and frustrations. I’ve been there!