The age-old question... Rosai or Sternberg??

[RoseRed]

Hey upper-levels, which book do you recommend for new residents (and why)?

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[TigerPath05]

I am trying to make that decision right now, too! Any advice from upper levels would be great.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

I've browsed through pertinent chapters in both books. The opinions regarding both books as expressed on SDN is pretty much correct. I find Rosai to be a little more advanced than Sternberg. Personally, if I were to choose one over the other, I would pick Rosai as it is more complete. Sternberg is a good resource but I would be disinclined to buy the Sternberg volumes. Sternberg, you will likely have access to at work so that should suffice. Rosai would be a good reference to have at home, IMHO. Currently, I'm planning on focusing on being a researcher over being a clinician so I will likely buy neither Rosai or Sternberg...I will just find these books at work and read them there.

 

[drdvs]

I'm in the same indecisive position and have been investigating/interogating people about what to buy at this point.
I concur with Andy that Rosai is more advanced and a must for senior (and probably all) residents to have access to. For new residents however, it is a bit weak in describing some common, but basic lesions such as choleseatoma or cervical dysplasia, for example. Sternberg, OTOH, is excellent for this sort of thing and also discusses a bit of normal anatomy/histo with most systems. There is also a study guide for Sternberg which has been quite well-reviewed and is less than $50. You really can't go wrong with either one, and both are fairly recent new editions. I would consider buying whatever one you feel like you have less access to at work.

Other things to consider...
Weidner (Modern Surgical Path) has developed a strong following. It also reads pretty well and has differnt authors for most chapters. The CD that accompanies it has lots of great pix, but many are referenced in the text . . . this can be annoying if your reading it and not near a computer.

The new Silverberg is coming out in a few months and looks like it will be really good. It will be 2 volumes rather than the cumbersome 3 vol previous edition, also putting it in the same price range as the others. It promises to have better discussions of IHC than most of the above and still includes cytology diagnoses, as well as some normal anatomy at the start of chapters.

 

[yaah]

The way I look at it is Rosai is more of a teaching textbook, whereas Sternberg is more of a reference textbook. If you want more detail and "reading" then Rosai is generally the way to go. Straight reference and fact, Sternberg.

 

[Gut Shot]

I just turned in my order form yesterday for Rosai. There are copies of Sternberg all over the department, so when I need a concise reference one should easily be available. I'm guessing that Rosai will be the better home library book, and something to grow into over the next four years.

 

[cytoborg]

I will likely buy Rosai for the same reason - I have lots of access to Sternberg in the departmetn, and I think I will eventually want the level of detail of Rosai.

 

[deschutes]

I bought Rosai for the same reasons. Plus it was half the listed Amazon price