BRS Physiology vs Costanzo Physiology

[chocorocko]

Ok so I've read previous posts on here about these same text books. Both seem great at what they do. I'm doing the USMLE Step 1 in about 2 years (2014), and in school we did some physiology last year (first year out of a 5 year program) however I only used the lecture notes provided. I did great on my school exams except now I am beginning to think more about Step 1 in the upcoming years and because of that I want to begin reviewing for it.

I've read that BRS is more a quick review if you believe your strong in physiology, however with only one year of physiology (gastrointestinal, some cardiology, some haemotology) I'm not sure if Big Costanzo is better for me perhaps? I still have other physiology left to cover I'm sure in the upcoming years so I'm leaning toward Big Costanzo even though it is 500 pages.

With that in mind, maybe pick up BRS a few months before Step 1 after using Big Costanzo? Or stick with my lecture notes and then use BRS later without any reference to Big Costanzo? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance

ps. this is my first time posting here so my apologies for any "dont's" I may have done.

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[achamess]

BRS is a bullet-point outline version of Big Costanzo. The information is effectively the same, many times verbatim. I've used both side by side. I think for learning first pass, reading Big Costanzo is preferable since it's more of a narrative, and there indeed some fine points that are important and aid in comprehension. For example, it goes much more in depth about the origin and maintenance of the corticopapillary gradient; BRS barely mentions it.

Big Costanzo is really a joy to read, and compared to behemoths like Guyton or Boron and Boulpaep, is still quite abridged.

Also, if you're interested, I made flashcards largely from BRS Phsy and first aid. You can download them if you want something to help you keep the info in your head.

 

[MedicalStudent5]

BRS is a bullet-point outline version of Big Costanzo. The information is effectively the same, many times verbatim. I've used both side by side. I think for learning first pass, reading Big Costanzo is preferable since it's more of a narrative, and there indeed some fine points that are important and aid in comprehension. For example, it goes much more in depth about the origin and maintenance of the corticopapillary gradient; BRS barely mentions it.

Big Costanzo is really a joy to read, and compared to behemoths like Guyton or Boron and Boulpaep, is still quite abridged.

Also, if you're interested, I made flashcards largely from BRS Phsy and first aid. You can download them if you want something to help you keep the info in your head.

agreed here.

 

[D elegans]

Read big Costanzo first. Little Linda is great for review before exams as well as a quick reference for the rest of med school

 

[chocorocko]

Thank you all for the reply and the help. It seems that Big Costanzo is the winner so I'll get on to ordering it! As a side question, when would I typically begin to read the smaller book? Perhaps a few weeks before I take the test or months before?

 

[chocorocko]

Would you recommend reading Big C. from cover to cover? Perhaps a sections a week until I'm done?

 

[TallScrubs]

Would you recommend reading Big C. from cover to cover? Perhaps a sections a week until I'm done?

It depends really. What kind of curriculum does your school use? If you have systems, just read it with each system. If you're traditional, read the whole thing during physio.

 

[wanderer]

I used big costanzo's later on in the year and it was a great source for renal, cardio, GI, endocrine/repro, and respiratory somewhat. The general physiology and neuro are not as good IMO, so you might wanna use other sources for those. BRS should be more of a review if you got a good grasp of the material the first time around.

 

[D elegans]

I used big costanzo's later on in the year and it was a great source for renal, cardio, GI, endocrine/repro, and respiratory somewhat. The general physiology and neuro are not as good IMO, so you might wanna use other sources for those. BRS should be more of a review if you got a good grasp of the material the first time around.

I agree on neuro, which is its own beast. I used High Yield for that, though I didn't like it as much as everyone else seems to.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

Another option if you have decent physio professors is just to wait until you're done with the class (which should go over most of the BRS stuff) and then use BRS to review. This only really works if you're on a block system though but I felt like my class covered most of the physio pretty well. Like everyone else said if you want to learn it while youre going along probably dont want to use BRS.

 

[DarkmanX]

I wish Costanzo would join this site so we could shower her with praises.

 

[Alby]

I wish Costanzo would join this site so we could shower her with praises.

Love!

 

[chocorocko]

My school has done all the physio we have already. Only thing we have left is neurophysiology (which will be done in about 3 months). I have never done the step 1 so I don't know if my school has really covered the entire material in as much depth as needed (I'm assuming it has...I've skimmed through FA and I recognize almost everything?). Puts me in bit of a tough spot I guess as to if I just begin reviewing with BRS or B.C.? I'm thinking BRS simply because of I've already done physiology once. Thoughts?

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

My school has done all the physio we have already. Only thing we have left is neurophysiology (which will be done in about 3 months). I have never done the step 1 so I don't know if my school has really covered the entire material in as much depth as needed (I'm assuming it has...I've skimmed through FA and I recognize almost everything?). Puts me in bit of a tough spot I guess as to if I just begin reviewing with BRS or B.C.? I'm thinking BRS simply because of I've already done physiology once. Thoughts?

If you've already gone through physiology once I'd go with BRS because it should mostly be a review for you. If there's some stuff here or there that you need to go over you can always go back to costanzo or just wikipedia it or something but reading costanzo cover to cover when you've already had physio is a waste of time in my opinion.

 

[Rumalum]

as someone who will have costanzo as a teacher later in the year, i am going to go ahead and say use her book

 

[cgk]

as someone who will have costanzo as a teacher later in the year, i am going to go ahead and say use her book

I thought she retired?

 

[Lanolin]

Would you recommend reading Big C. from cover to cover? Perhaps a sections a week until I'm done?

250+/270+ here. You don't need to read any text book cover to cover, much less one on physiology to do well on step 1/2. I used BRS as my ONLY physiology book and never opened it after I started second year.

I can't believe people are telling you to read a 500+ page text book on physiology to get "ready" for step exams.

 

[NickNaylor]

If you've already gone through physiology once I'd go with BRS because it should mostly be a review for you. If there's some stuff here or there that you need to go over you can always go back to costanzo or just wikipedia it or something but reading costanzo cover to cover when you've already had physio is a waste of time in my opinion.

Agreed, my physio background prior to med school consisted of a semester of physio and BRS was just fine. If you need things nicely written, get the Costanzo book. If you're ok with concise facts, BRS is great.

(sent from my phone)

 

[chocorocko]

Thanks to everyone for the help. I think I'm going to go with BRS and if I need some sort of stuff cleared up I'll use internet/another physiology text book I can find to answer it.