The Royal College of Anaesthetists has revised its schedule for the FRCA examination from three parts to two, which, from 1996, will be called the Primary and the Final FRCA. The “new” primary examination syllabus includes basic anaesthesia and resuscitation, an 0SCE, and has ten pages devoted to Anatomy, Physiology, Physics, Clinical Measurement and Basic Statistics. This formidable syllabus and the list of basic science subjects is in itself a daunting proposition for many prospective trainee anaesthetists. This book of Questions and Answers for the new primary FRCA examination provides an impressive catalogue of well-illustrated material for candidates contemplating the physiology and pharmacology parts of the examination. The book is equally relevant in the oral as well as the written part of this examination and is, based on an extensive experience of the authors in teaching candidates for the basic science parts of previous FRCA examinations. The authors have the advantage that they are clinicians teaching basic sciences and they have chosen topics from their experience of questions asked in the examination as well as topics that have particular clinician relevance. Many candidates for this part of the examination as well as their consultant teachers may see little clinical relevance of many parts of the basic science section of the syllabus for the new primary.

The present book provides in excellent preview of the range of knowledge presently expected by candidates for the new primary.