Gould's Pathophysiology for the Health Professions, 6th Edition
By Robert J. Hubert, Karin C. VanMeter
About this ebook
Gould's Pathophysiology for the Health Professions, 6th Edition explains disease mechanisms and the signs and symptoms they produce. Hubert and VanMeter introduce cellular injury, inflammation, infection, and disorders by body system for nursing and allied health students, using case studies and questions to connect mechanisms with clinical observations.
Inside this title
Cellular injury, inflammation, infection, and neoplasia establish disease foundations
Current listed price $34.99Regular price $93.00Digital ebook
The book begins with processes shared by many diseases, including cellular injury, inflammatory responses, infection, and neoplasia. These ideas supply the background for examining disorders of the cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, renal, endocrine, and other systems. The emphasis on characteristic manifestations helps readers compare conditions with overlapping features.
Self-contained chapters support both course sequences and focused review of individual topics. Case studies and questions bring mechanisms into clinical scenarios, while discussion of diagnostic connections shows how physiological changes relate to investigations. The sixth edition is directed toward students in nursing and other health professions who need an introductory explanation of how disease alters normal function.
Study guide included
Inside Gould's Pathophysiology for the Health Professions, 6th Edition.
A pathophysiology text for health professions students that traces disease from cause through cellular change, compensation, and visible findings. Organ-system chapters begin with normal function, then follow disruption and its consequences. Case studies and review questions connect mechanisms to clinical observation, with additional coverage of fluids, immunity, cancer, life stage, and environmental exposure.
Opening chapters build a shared vocabulary for etiology, pathogenesis, signs, and symptoms, then cover fluid and electrolyte balance, acid-base regulation, pharmacology, and pain. Inflammation and immunity are presented as protective responses that also carry costs. Each organ-system chapter returns to normal structure and function before explaining what changes and why. Closing sections add neoplasia, inherited and congenital conditions, pregnancy, adolescence, aging, immobility, stress, substance use, and environmental hazards. The method is consistent: name the normal process, identify the disturbance, and connect it to the finding a clinician could observe.
Cause, mechanism, and observable sign
Etiology names the cause; pathogenesis describes how that cause changes structure or function. A sign is observed, while a symptom is reported. These distinctions keep a learner from mistaking a conspicuous finding for its origin. Measurements gain meaning when compared with earlier values, timing, and circumstances, since some changes reflect compensation and others signal that compensation is failing.
Define etiology, pathogenesis, sign, and symptom
Compare findings with prior values and timing
Separate compensation from decompensation
Section I, Chapters 1, 3, and 4
Fluid shifts and acid-base balance
Fluid may collect in tissue while effective circulating volume drops. Capillary exchange, hydrostatic pressure, plasma proteins, permeability, and lymphatic drainage each explain part of that picture. Electrolyte shifts alter membrane excitability, muscle behavior, and how water is distributed. Acid-base control rests on buffers, breathing, and renal handling, and compensation means no single value should be read alone.
Distinguish edema, depletion, and fluid shift
Use capillary forces to explain swelling
Link primary disturbance to compensation
Section I, Chapter 2
Inflammation, infection, and immune response
Acute inflammation shifts local perfusion and vessel leakiness and draws in immune cells, causing warmth, swelling, and discomfort while aiding cleanup and repair. Whether healing restores tissue or leaves a scar depends on damage extent and regenerative capacity. Infection outcome reflects transmission, microbial traits, barriers, and host immunity. The immunity chapter follows recognition, antibodies, cells, and complement, including hypersensitivity and rejection.
Trace the local vascular and cellular response
Relate repair to damage and cell renewal
Compare sterile injury with infection
Section II, Chapters 5–7
Circulation and oxygen delivery
Oxygen delivery requires air movement, alveolar exchange, adequate hemoglobin content, and perfusion. Cardiovascular chapters distinguish coronary supply, electrical conduction, and the mechanics of pumping, and a fault in one can disturb another. Respiratory chapters link airway narrowing to effort and alveolar change to diffusion or surface loss. Breathlessness may begin at any of these points, so tracing the route clarifies competing explanations.
Connect ventilation, exchange, transport, and perfusion
Separate pump, conduction, and coronary problems
Distinguish airway from alveolar disease
Section III, Chapters 10–13
Neural, hormonal, digestive, and renal control
Neural chapters link signal and reflex changes to the site of a sensory or motor deficit. Endocrine chapters examine hormone output, how targets respond, and feedback control, since a gland may secrete too much or too little and target tissues may also react differently. Digestive disorders can alter propulsion, secretion, uptake, or transit. Kidney and urinary disorders can alter filtration, water regulation, or urine flow, and blockage differs from tissue failure.
Locate where control changes in a feedback loop
Distinguish obstruction from functional failure
Follow material flow through gut and kidney
Section III, Chapters 14–19
Cancer, life stage, and environmental exposure
Neoplasia links changed growth with invasion, dissemination, and stage; a benign mass can still disturb function by occupying space. Inherited and congenital chapters separate genetic variation from developmental origins. Pregnancy, adolescence, and aging alter expected function and presentation. Reduced mobility can involve the skin, muscles, bones, circulation, and lungs at once, while stress, substances, and environmental hazards add routes to multi-organ injury.
Compare benign growth with invasive disease
Separate inherited from developmental conditions
Include life stage and exposure in the picture
Sections IV and V, Chapters 20–28
Chapter and section map
Pathophysiology: Background and OverviewPDF p. 21
Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base ImbalancesPDF p. 34
Defense/Protective MechanismsPDF p. 85
Pathophysiology of Body SystemsPDF p. 162
Cardiovascular System DisordersPDF p. 243
Endocrine System DisordersPDF p. 420
Factors Contributing to PathophysiologyPDF p. 565
Environmental Factors and PathophysiologyPDF p. 626
Key takeaways
Begin with normal function, then show how a proposed disturbance changes tissue and the finding it produces.
Read paired measurements to separate a primary imbalance from the body's compensating response.
Consider age, exposure, and cross-organ effects when one pattern spans more than a single tissue.
Nursing, allied health, and pre-professional students who need a clear, practical foundation in clinical disease mechanisms, plus instructors seeking a system-by-system text with cases and review questions.
Topics covered
disease pathophysiology
disease mechanisms
nursing textbook
allied health
fluid and electrolyte balance
inflammation and immunity
clinical signs and symptoms
body system disorders
Questions about this ebook.
Edition, audience, and study-guide details at a glance.
What is Gould's Pathophysiology for the Health Professions, 6th Edition about?
Gould's Pathophysiology for the Health Professions, 6th Edition explains disease mechanisms and the signs and symptoms they produce. Hubert and VanMeter introduce cellular injury, inflammation, infection, and disorders by body system for nursing and allied health students, using case studies and questions to connect mechanisms with clinical observations.
Which edition of Gould's Pathophysiology for the Health Professions, 6th Edition is this?
This listing is for the 6th edition. Check the title, ISBN, and book details above before ordering, especially if your course or reading list names a specific edition.
Who is Gould's Pathophysiology for the Health Professions, 6th Edition for?
Nursing, allied health, and pre-professional students who need a clear, practical foundation in clinical disease mechanisms, plus instructors seeking a system-by-system text with cases and review questions.
Does this page include a study guide?
Yes. This page includes an original study guide with six thematic sections, key takeaways, and a chapter and section map for structured reading.
