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A Colour Atlas of General Pathology
BOOK REVIEWS
261
A Colour Atlas of General Pathology, G. AUSTINGRESHAM.1971.
Wolfe Medical Books, London. A$10.00.
365 pp., 435 coloured plates.
The atlas is intended for students, and the author aims to ‘lay a foundation of knowledge about fundamental responses that are common in many disorders’. It is a small book (13.5 x 19.5 cm) and 4 colour pictures are set to a page. The book illustrates basic tissue responses, disease processes and tumour patterns, and it does not attempt to cover the whole spectrum of human histopathology. There is very little text; the atlas is divided into sections and subsections (e.g., ‘Patterns of Disease’, ‘Infection’, ‘Trauma’ etc.), each subsection having a very brief introductory comment. The legends are arranged on the pages facing the illustrations, so placed that there are large spaces for students to add their own notes. The quality of the illustrations varies; a few (especially those of special stains) are excellent. Many have poor definition. Far too many of the H & E sections have a yellow caste, with a ‘faded’ appearance due to poor rendition of nuclear blues. The atlas is not comprehensive or informative enough to be recommended for inclusion in student book lists, but at $10 it may be welcomed by some students in the early stages of their Pathology course. Jocelyn Farnsworth The Hemorrhagic Diseases and the Pathology of Hemostasis, A. J. QUICK. 1974
Charles C Thomas, Springfield, Illinois. 380 pp., illustrated. US$23.75. This is an ill-organized monograph largely devoted to justifying the author’s idiosyncratic practices and theories, and to polemic against anyone who will not accept these as ideal and facts respectively. Currently accepted schemata of haemostasis are rejected, but no coherent alternative is proposed. A haemostatic ‘Vitamin Q’ is postulated from flimsy evidence. The sections on management of bleeding are apocryphal and empirical. Recent developments in theory and practice are virtually ignored, especially when they challenge views which have been held firmly by Quick for some time. Merits of the book are its presentation of the author’s own methods for demonstrating and diagnosing defects of haemostasis ; and his especial emphasis on the aggravation by aspirin of bleeding in patients with any coagulation deficiency. Even haematologists who will not accept his theory about the action of aspirin should thank Quick for the attention he has drawn to this hazard. Such merits do not, however, compensate for the discursions, repetitions and irrelevancies which pervade the book or for the continual special pleading, e.g., for the prothrombin consumption test, which is certainly a good test of platelet function in clotting, but is not the only one of merit! The iterative emphasis on telangiectasis and aspirin intolerance as the determinants of bleeding in most, if not all, haemorrhagic states, is excessive whatever elements of truth these claims contain. The genetic aspects of these conditions are presented arbitrarily and unconvincingly. This book can be regarded most charitably as a testament of the personal beliefs of an author who has made some notable contributions to our knowledge of haemostasis, from
261
A Colour Atlas of General Pathology, G. AUSTINGRESHAM.1971.
Wolfe Medical Books, London. A$10.00.
365 pp., 435 coloured plates.
The atlas is intended for students, and the author aims to ‘lay a foundation of knowledge about fundamental responses that are common in many disorders’. It is a small book (13.5 x 19.5 cm) and 4 colour pictures are set to a page. The book illustrates basic tissue responses, disease processes and tumour patterns, and it does not attempt to cover the whole spectrum of human histopathology. There is very little text; the atlas is divided into sections and subsections (e.g., ‘Patterns of Disease’, ‘Infection’, ‘Trauma’ etc.), each subsection having a very brief introductory comment. The legends are arranged on the pages facing the illustrations, so placed that there are large spaces for students to add their own notes. The quality of the illustrations varies; a few (especially those of special stains) are excellent. Many have poor definition. Far too many of the H & E sections have a yellow caste, with a ‘faded’ appearance due to poor rendition of nuclear blues. The atlas is not comprehensive or informative enough to be recommended for inclusion in student book lists, but at $10 it may be welcomed by some students in the early stages of their Pathology course. Jocelyn Farnsworth The Hemorrhagic Diseases and the Pathology of Hemostasis, A. J. QUICK. 1974
Charles C Thomas, Springfield, Illinois. 380 pp., illustrated. US$23.75. This is an ill-organized monograph largely devoted to justifying the author’s idiosyncratic practices and theories, and to polemic against anyone who will not accept these as ideal and facts respectively. Currently accepted schemata of haemostasis are rejected, but no coherent alternative is proposed. A haemostatic ‘Vitamin Q’ is postulated from flimsy evidence. The sections on management of bleeding are apocryphal and empirical. Recent developments in theory and practice are virtually ignored, especially when they challenge views which have been held firmly by Quick for some time. Merits of the book are its presentation of the author’s own methods for demonstrating and diagnosing defects of haemostasis ; and his especial emphasis on the aggravation by aspirin of bleeding in patients with any coagulation deficiency. Even haematologists who will not accept his theory about the action of aspirin should thank Quick for the attention he has drawn to this hazard. Such merits do not, however, compensate for the discursions, repetitions and irrelevancies which pervade the book or for the continual special pleading, e.g., for the prothrombin consumption test, which is certainly a good test of platelet function in clotting, but is not the only one of merit! The iterative emphasis on telangiectasis and aspirin intolerance as the determinants of bleeding in most, if not all, haemorrhagic states, is excessive whatever elements of truth these claims contain. The genetic aspects of these conditions are presented arbitrarily and unconvincingly. This book can be regarded most charitably as a testament of the personal beliefs of an author who has made some notable contributions to our knowledge of haemostasis, from