Teaching from Intemediate Physics for Medicine and Biology

How can you structure a class using the 4th edition of Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology? At Oakland University, we offer two classes—Biological Physics and Medical Physics—as part of our undergraduate medical physics major. Biological Physics covers the first ten chapters of the book, and Medical Physics covers the last eight chapters. Below is the information about these classes in our undergraduate catalog (Note: PHY 102 and 152 are the second semesters of the non-calculus and calculus based introductory physics classes, and MTH 155 is the second semester of introductory calculus).

PHY 325 Biological Physics (4 credits)
Applications of physics to biology, including biomechanics, fluid dynamics, statistical mechanics, diffusion, bioelectricity, biomagnetism, feedback and control.
Prerequisite: PHY 102 or 152, and MTH 155

PHY 326 Medical Physics (4 credits)
Applications of physics to medicine, including signal analysis, imaging, x-rays, nuclear medicine and magnetic resonance imaging.
Prerequisite: PHY 102 or 152, and MTH 155

"The Making of the Book" Story

Nowadays, when a movie comes out on DVD it often includes extras such as “the making of the movie” story. If you want to see “the making of the book” story, go to the American Physical Society, Division of Biological Physics newsletter website and download the December 2006 newsletter. It contains an extended interview with Russ Hobbie, in which he describes how he came to write Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology.

The Errata

We found an error in the 4th edition of Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology this week. Actually, it was Hugo Vrenken of the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam who found a typo on Page 539 in Problem 19 of Chapter 18: an equation has an extra factor of 4 in the denominator. Russ and I tried to ferret out all the mistakes in the book before publication, but inevitably we missed a few. If you are reading the book, you can find the not-yet-too-long list of known errors (the errata) at the book’s website: https://sites.google.com/view/hobbieroth. Although we really hate to find mistakes in our book, Russ and I are committed to letting our readers know about any that do exist. Please help us by contacting me if you find any mistakes. Thanks!

If you think about it, there are few books that cover this subject

Peter Kahn reviewed the third edition of Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology in the American Journal of Physics (Volume 67, Pages 457–458, 1999). Kahn wrote “If you think about it, there are few books that cover this subject. This reflects on the one hand the rigidity of the Physics curriculum, and on the other hand the fact [that] biologists are inadequately prepared to apply physics to the problems they encounter.”

Preface

From the Preface to the 3rd edition of Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology, Russell Hobbie wrote

Between 1971 and 1973 I audited all the courses medical students take in their first two years at the University of Minnesota. I was amazed at the amount of physics I found in these courses and how little of it is discussed in the general physics course. I found a great discrepancy between the physics in some of the papers in the biological research literature and what I knew to be the level of understanding of most biology majors or premed students who have taken a year of physics. It was clear that an intermediate-level physics course would help these students. It would provide the physics they need and would relate it directly to the biological problems where it is useful. This book is the result...

A Good Way to Become a Medical Physicist

John Wikswo wrote a review in Physics Today of the 2nd edition of Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology (Physics Today, Volume 42, Pages 75–76, 1989). He concluded with

A good way to become a medical physicist or biophysicist is to master everything in Hobbie’s Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology.

Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology

In 1978, Russell Hobbie wrote the first edition of Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology. It became a classic in the field, and I used it as a textbook when I was a graduate student. A few years ago, Russ was getting ready to prepare the 4th edition of his book, and he asked me to be a co-author. What an honor. We had a great time working on the book, and I think you will like the results. We added a new chapter on ultrasound, and increased the number of homework problems significantly.

You can find the website for the book at https://sites.google.com/view/hobbieroth.

In the preface of our book, we write “We would appreciate receiving any corrections or suggestions for improving the book.” Let me reiterate this. If you find any mistakes, please let us know.

Thanks for your interest in our book. Contact Russ or me if you have any questions.

Brad