MENDEL'S GARDEN: SELECTED MEDICAL TOPICS" contains a collection of short non-fiction texts covering a wide variety of medical issues. Dr. Holcombe intends each short text for the lay audience, and there are consequently no rigorous references as would be found in scientific publications. Instead, the topics are intended to introduce the average reader to a number of current issues that affect the public, from cancer to Cyclospora and from contingency fees to health care costs. While understanding that medical publication are out of date before they are published, there should still be something of interest for just about everyone. Feel free to hop from subject to subject and share them with friends and colleagues. Medicine should be accessible to everyone in all of its good, bad and ugly aspects. Cover design: "Cranial Inspiration: Portrait of Dr. David Holcombe, " by Terry Strickland.