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Anatomy as a basis for clinical medicine
Surg Neurol 1985;24:691
691
Book Review
A n a t o m y as a B a s i s f o r C l i n i c a l M e d i c i n e . By E.C.B. Hall-Craggs, illustrated by D i a n e Abeloff. $36.00. B a l t i m o r e - M u n i c h : U r b a n & Schwarzenberg, 1985. This rather short textbook of anatomy is published by the University of Maryland with considerable assistance from some of the author's previous colleagues in West Germany. He has had the able assistance of an excellent illustrator, Diane Abeloff. The book is written primarily for medical students, with the aim of presenting an appropriate amount of material in an interesting form without major omissions. In some instances, the author has tried to incorporate modern methods of imaging such as angiographic studies, opaque studies of the intestinal tract, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, and some illustrations of direct pathology such as a drawing of a herniated nucleus pulposus at the lumbar region in cross section. The book is a little over 600 pages long on 91/2 × 61/2 inch pages with excellent print and illustrations. The illustrations are the strongest point of the book and, particularly, those in anatomical demonstrations of the various muscle layers are excellent. However, the author states on page 21: "The brain lies in the cranial cavity where it is enclosed and protected by the bones of the skull. While a detailed study of the brain is outside the scope of this text some description of its various parts are given in Chapter 9 in relation to the cranial cavity, blood supply, and the origins of the cranial nerves." There are
good illustrations of the cranial cavity and the cranial nerves and some of the circulation over the surface of the brain, but except for the magnetic resonance imaging study of the brain there is scarcely any illustration of the central nervous system at all. One page is devoted to the sympathetic nervous system but the peripheral nervous system is somewhat better illustrated, very much in the manner of the usual anatomical drawings in Gray's Anatomy so frequently used in American medical schools. Since there is tremendous variability in the emphasis given to the study of gross anatomy in the 127 medical schools in the United States and 16 in Canada, this book is a laudable effort if the student approaches it with a somewhat inquisitive mind and is willing to pursue other matters in detail by referring to a more complete text. There are certainly some illustrations in this book from which slides could be made for illustrative lectures since the illustrations and particularly the drawings are clearly done and clearly labeled. There are fairly good brief descriptions of the sensory organs such as the eye and ear for those who do not require too much detail. EBEN ALEXANDER, JR., M.D. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
691
Book Review
A n a t o m y as a B a s i s f o r C l i n i c a l M e d i c i n e . By E.C.B. Hall-Craggs, illustrated by D i a n e Abeloff. $36.00. B a l t i m o r e - M u n i c h : U r b a n & Schwarzenberg, 1985. This rather short textbook of anatomy is published by the University of Maryland with considerable assistance from some of the author's previous colleagues in West Germany. He has had the able assistance of an excellent illustrator, Diane Abeloff. The book is written primarily for medical students, with the aim of presenting an appropriate amount of material in an interesting form without major omissions. In some instances, the author has tried to incorporate modern methods of imaging such as angiographic studies, opaque studies of the intestinal tract, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, and some illustrations of direct pathology such as a drawing of a herniated nucleus pulposus at the lumbar region in cross section. The book is a little over 600 pages long on 91/2 × 61/2 inch pages with excellent print and illustrations. The illustrations are the strongest point of the book and, particularly, those in anatomical demonstrations of the various muscle layers are excellent. However, the author states on page 21: "The brain lies in the cranial cavity where it is enclosed and protected by the bones of the skull. While a detailed study of the brain is outside the scope of this text some description of its various parts are given in Chapter 9 in relation to the cranial cavity, blood supply, and the origins of the cranial nerves." There are
good illustrations of the cranial cavity and the cranial nerves and some of the circulation over the surface of the brain, but except for the magnetic resonance imaging study of the brain there is scarcely any illustration of the central nervous system at all. One page is devoted to the sympathetic nervous system but the peripheral nervous system is somewhat better illustrated, very much in the manner of the usual anatomical drawings in Gray's Anatomy so frequently used in American medical schools. Since there is tremendous variability in the emphasis given to the study of gross anatomy in the 127 medical schools in the United States and 16 in Canada, this book is a laudable effort if the student approaches it with a somewhat inquisitive mind and is willing to pursue other matters in detail by referring to a more complete text. There are certainly some illustrations in this book from which slides could be made for illustrative lectures since the illustrations and particularly the drawings are clearly done and clearly labeled. There are fairly good brief descriptions of the sensory organs such as the eye and ear for those who do not require too much detail. EBEN ALEXANDER, JR., M.D. Winston-Salem, North Carolina