A Map of the Child A Pediatrician's Tour of the Body [Paperback]

A delightful, quirky, awe-inspiring journey . . . Sanghavi is a vivid and effortless teller of human tales and quite evidently a special doctor, too. Atul Gawande, author ofComplications

In this compelling book, Dr. Darshak Sanghavi takes the reader on a dramatic tour of a child's eight vital organs, beginning with the lungs and proceeding through the heart, blood, bones, brain, skin, gonads, and gut.

Along the way, we meet children and families in extraordinary circumstancesa premature baby named Adam Flax who was born with undeveloped lungs, a teenage boy with a positive pregnancy test, and a young girl who keeps losing weight despite her voracious appetite. In a deeply personal narrative, Sanghavi provides a richly detailedand humanizedportrait of how the pediatric body functions in both sickness and health.

A Map of the Childis a wonderful romp through the human body as seen through the eyes of a discerning and sensitive pediatrician. Sanghavi's organizes his material by organ systems, but this simply gives him a launching point to take the reader on spellbinding excursions. His writing delves deep into the heart of what medicine is and the miracles and hazards of the voyage of childhood. Abraham Verghese, author of The Tennis Partner and My Own Country

Dr. Sanghavi teaches by example and complements his stories with science, medicine, religion, philosophy and social commentary. Having watched Dr. Sanghavi's own development as a pediatrician, it is wonderful to observe the power that his personal learning experience can now have on others, be they medical colleagues, parents or general readers. Indeed, Dr. Sanghavi provides a roadmap and directory for understanding the impact of illness on children as well as those who care for them. Philip A. Pizzo, MD, Dean, Stanford University School of Medicine

Appealing and informative. . . An elucidation of the human child's organs, the how anlS(