The University of Sheffield
Department of Biomedical Science

Textbooks

Highly Recommended Textbooks:

We recognize the pressures on the finances of new students so we have tried to reduce the amount of textbooks suggested for purchase to a minimum (for the Harry Potter fans – none of us are like Gilderoy Lockhart). We consult closely with Blackwell’s University Bookshop in Sheffield and the prices given below are the most recent prices we have from them. They have in the past aimed to beat Amazon and other on-line retailers so the prices could vary.

  • Medical Physiology (2nd Edition) Boron, W and Boulpaep, E. Publ. Saunders. ISBN 9781416031154 (£59.25)
  •  Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain. (3rd Edition). Bear, M., Connors, B., Paradiso, M. Publ. Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins. ISBN 0781760038 (£29.99).
  •  Pharmacology (7th Edition) Rang H. et al Publ. Churchill Livingstone. ISBN 97807020347-8 (£35.25)
  •  Molecular Biology of the Cell (5th Edition). Alberts, B., Johnson, A., Lewis, J., Raff, M., Roberts, K. and Walters, P.  Publ. Garland. ISBN .  (£43.99).

These books are quite advanced and may look daunting to a first year student, however they are intended to be used for several modules in both Level 1 and Level 2, with lasting benefit into Level 3 where emphasis shifts to primary source material e.g. journal articles. We hope that these purchases will be the most cost-effective for you.

Recommended Textbooks:

We will also make use of a number of other books over the course of Level 1 and Level 2. The following is a non-exhaustive list of the “handy to have” books.

Or:  Essential Developmental Biology. Slack, J. Publ. Blackwell Science, 2005.  2nd ed ISBN 9781405122160. (£35-40) Not as widely used as Wolpert, but covers useful ground, and some lecturers may prefer it for some aspects of Level 1 and Level 2 modules.

Basic Pathology: An Introduction to the Mechanisms of Disease. (4th Edition). Lakhani, S., Dilly, S., Finlayson, C. and Dogan, A. Publ. Hodder Arnold, 2009. ISBN 9780340950036. Really well written book that will be the basis for pathobiology lectures in Level 1 but it isn’t used on other BMS modules. £25-30

Background Textbooks:

If you have not recently gone through A Level Biology (or even if you have) you might want to think about a basic biology book as well as the above.  Neither of these alternatives is at all essential (and other editions would be fine) but if you want to brush up basic principles….

  1. Biology (8th Edition).  Campbell N. and Reece J.  Publ. Benjamin Cummings.  ISBN 9780321544247 (£50)
  2. Biology (12th Edition). Starr C. and Taggart R. Publ. Thomson.  ISBN 9780495557968 (£48)

Non-technical reading:

On a lighter note, the following is a list of some reading that we think you might find interesting, but none are essential.

  • A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson – ISBN 0552997048 £9.99
  • Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss – ISBN – 184668035 £7.99
  • 1984 by George Orwell – ISBN 9781405862417 £5.99 (Pearson edition)
  • The Fatal Eggs by Michael Bulgakov – ISBN 1843914115 £7.99

And some poems. If you are not a poetry book buff you can find them on the internet:

  • The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost - applicable to developmental biology and real life.
  • The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson - applicable to the way nerve cells make connections, and your degree course.
  • Naming of Parts by Henry Reed - applicable to much of first year.

And some Sheffield – relevant music:

  • Arctic Monkeys – When the Sun Goes Down.
  • Kate Rusby (Barnsley – not Sheffield) – Walk the Road.
  • The Long Blondes – Someone to Drive You Home.
  • Richard Hawley – Truelove’s Gutter (whole album must be listened to as the sun comes up).
  • Joe Cocker – With a Little Help From My Friends. (What you will need).