I have used various editions of the Merck Manual throughout my career. It is a great resource for information that is difficult to find in other general medical text. A word of warning, this edition is written for the medical professional. If you are a layperson, the text is written using medical terminology and you will need a few resources, including a great medical dictionary to understand many of the sections, especially etiology, pathophysiology, etc. There is a layperson's version of this manual called "The Merck Manual of Medical Information."Physicians, nurses and pharmacist will appreciate the thoroughness of the subjects addressed. It is not a huge manual but the paper-thin pages allow for a lot of information to be condensed into a more compact tome. The manual is easy to use and divided basically by body systems and includes sections on medications and poisons.