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The national reference reading list, reproduced here in full, plus the editions residents actually read in 2026 — with recommended journals, a year-wise reading plan, and the references you'll need for your thesis and practical.
These 18 titles come from the National Board of Examinations curriculum document for Biochemistry, reproduced spelling and abbreviations included — MD and DNB candidates sit the same clinical work and read the same texts, so use it as your scope anchor and check your own university’s syllabus alongside it.
Reference list source: the National Board MD Biochemistry curriculum
The books most residents actually buy. These are the editions in circulation now, with a note on whether each is something you read cover to cover, keep as a reference, or open only for the viva.
Journal club and the “recent advances” parts of the theory paper come from here. You do not need to read all of them — pick the two Indian journals and one international one and follow them properly.
Three years is less time than it sounds. The order below is what works for most MD Biochemistry residents — broad and readable first, reference-level later, revision and drilling last.
Rebuild the basic science base with Harper's and Lehninger while starting bench work; learn the routine analyser workflow, sample handling and internal QC from Bishop. Read Tietz Fundamentals once and finalise the thesis protocol.
Work systematically through Tietz Textbook organ-system by organ-system alongside the corresponding lab sections; add Wilson & Walker for techniques and Alberts/Lodish for molecular biology. Take responsibility for QC/EQAS and NABL documentation. Run thesis assays.
Revise with Tietz plus previous MD/MS theory papers, writing timed answers. Concentrate on interpretation practice - case scenarios, electrophoresis and chromatography patterns, QC chart problems, method validation calculations - and on instrument spotters.
Protocol, methodology and reporting standards examiners expect you to have followed.
Books and material specifically useful for the clinical, spotter and viva stations.
Sitting the DNB instead? The same reading list, written for the NBE exam, is on the DNB Biochemistry books page.
The national curriculum document for Biochemistry lists 18 titles, beginning with Biochemistry Ed. Lubert Stryer. W.H. Freeman and Company, New York. The full list is reproduced on this page exactly as it is published.
Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics by Rifai N, Chiu RWK, Young I et al (eds) is the usual anchor. The single most important text for MD Biochemistry - clinical chemistry methodology, QC and reference intervals come almost entirely from here.
Yes — we list the edition in circulation now for each title. Editions move quickly, so confirm the current one before you buy or print.
No. Most residents own three or four and use the department or library copy for the rest. That is exactly why printing selected chapters from a PDF works out cheaper than buying volumes you will open twice.
We print from the PDF you send us. Send the file on WhatsApp with your page count and whether you want colour, black and white or mixed, and we print, bind and deliver anywhere in India. We do not supply copyrighted book files.
Black and white is 50 paise per page, colour is Rs 1 per page, and binding is Rs 40 per copy. A 400-page mixed set with binding usually works out around Rs 300 plus delivery.
Send the PDF on WhatsApp — colour Rs 1/page, B&W 50p/page, binding Rs 40. Printed, bound and delivered anywhere in India.
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