Dukes’ Physiology of Domestic Animals 13th Edition

Book Preface

We are pleased to continue the legacy established in 1933 byDr H. Hugh Dukes when the lithoprinted first edition of The Physiology of Domestic Animals was published by Edwards Brothers, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan. The preface by H.H. Dukes included the following opening statement:

This book was written mainly at Iowa State College; it was completed at Cornell University. Based on nearly fifteen years of experience in the field of animal physiology, it represents an attempt to provide students of veterinary medicine with a suitable textbook for their course in physiology. I believe also, on the basis of experience, that much of the book will be useful to students of animal husbandry. Furthermore, I venture the opinion that practitioners of veterinary medicine who wish to keep up with the trend in physiology will find the book helpful.

The first two lithoprinted editions were followed by the third revised edition in 1935 with an improved format, printed from type, by Comstock Publishing Company, Inc., Ithaca and New York. The seventh edition, the last edition authored by Dr Dukes, was published in 1955. It was the first to be published by Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, who continued as publishers for the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th editions, which published in 2004.

The 8th edition was the first to be multiauthored and was begun by Dr Melvin J. Swenson as editor. Dr Swenson continued as editor for the 9th and 10th editions and coedited with DrWilliam O. Reece for the 11th edition. Dr Reece edited the 12th edition, the last one to be published by Cornell University Press. Publishing rights were licensed by Cornell University Press to John Wiley & Sons, Inc. for the 13th multiauthored book with William O. Reece, Editor, and Howard H. Erickson, Jesse P. Goff, and Etsuro E. Uemura, Associate Editors.

The vision of Dr Dukes for his textbook The Physiology of Domestic Animals, which was to provide students of veterinary medicine with a suitable textbook for their courses in physiology, and to be useful to students in animal husbandry and practitioners of veterinary medicine, has been a goal throughout all the years since the first edition and is being continued with the 13th edition.

Many features of the previous edition will be continued that include the following for each chapter.

1 The text content is preceded by an outline listing the first‐ and second‐order headings.
2 A brief introduction.
3 A list of questions that precede each first‐order heading that alert students to important information that follows. Answers to the questions will be found in the text that follows.
4 Key words are in bold color on first use.
5 Meaningful self‐evaluation exercises are provided at the end of each chapter that feature important facts or concepts.
6 Answers, explanations, or solutions are provided for each self‐evaluation exercise.

Conscientious use of the above features provide not only an organized study when first used, but also a quick review when needed for future use.

Our effort to identify the 13th edition as an all‐new work is apparent in many ways. The chapters within several sections have a single author and their number reduced in other sections. This permits greater consistency of presentation and content overlap is minimized.

An important change was made for the renal and respiratory chapters. Previously the entire topic of each was presented in a single chapter. Now, the one single chapter has been divided into several chapters where emphasis can be focused on a single concept. This will facilitate lecture organization and selective referral.

A notable addition to this edition is the provision of full color throughout. The use of color not only enhances the attractiveness but also provides a means for contrast within the text and figures.

Other features include a downloaded version of the 13th edition available online. All figures and tables will be on PowerPoint to facilitate lecture presentations. An effort has been made to reduce pagination of the volume while at the same time providing increasing font size and space for figures and tables. Overall, the 13th edition of Dukes’ Physiology of Domestic Animals will continue with its classic stature as a comprehensive resource, not only stressing basic physiology with application to animals, but also with updated features to assist teaching effectiveness.

William O. Reece