Understanding Kidney Diseases makes accessible a medical specialty that is commonly regarded by students as difficult. The target audience is undergraduate and non-specialist postgraduate students.

The book is unique in combining the reference material normally found in a nephrology textbook with the everyday clinical applicability of a medical handbook. The chapters are structured on the approach that a clinician should take when assessing someone with a possible kidney problem. The factual content is brought to life by over 60 case studies and is illustrated by a high density of figures, many displaying information in a graphical form that avoids off-putting data and text.

It is an authored book, written in a consistent style that is deliberately clear, concise and easy to follow. Nonetheless, it is referenced in as much detail as would be expected in a conventional textbook. It explains principles and concepts that help students understand and interpret clinical problems. No other textbook of nephrology combines these features.

The book emphasises a patient-centred approach to practice. Students’ knowledge can be put it into practice by answering a bank of questions that patients frequently ask, and tested against traditional multiple-choice questions.

In summary, Understanding Kidney Diseases gives students confidence in helping someone with a kidney problem. Praised by leading nephrologists, it is the book the authors wish they could have read when they were students.