Shakespeare, the Bible, and Gray's Anatomy are the only three written works needed on a doctor's shelf, according to Amercan novelist and Nobel Prize winner Sinclair Lewis.Gray's Anatomy, first published in 1858, has undergone major surgery in its recently launched 39th edition, and has been fully restructured by body region rather than by organ system. The number of illustrations has risen to nearly 2000. But thanks to the removal of unnecessary “Victorian purple prose,” the number of pages has shrunk from 2100 to 1600 (http://www.graysanatomyonline.com/).

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are often used to treat muscle injuries, but a study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine (2004;32: 1856-9) indicates that they have similar effects to simple analgesics that don't offer anti-inflammatory properties. Lower cost, lower risk analgesics such as acetaminophen may be just as effective.

A paper with a corny title, “Fifty ways to leave your rubber,” explores the many excuses men who have sex with sex workers in Kenya offer to rationalize unsafe sex. Observations made in bars, discos, and guesthouses in Mombasa fell into six categories: condoms are not pleasurable, they're …