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Gastrointestinal and oesophageal pathology
GASTROENTEROLOGY
1990;9&803-804
BOOK REVIEWS Helen M. Shields, M.D. Book Review Editor Beth Israel Hospital 330 Brookline Avenue
Boston. Massachusetts 02215
Gastrointestinal and Oesophageal Pathology. Edited by R. Whitehead. 850 pp., $189.00. Churchill Livingstone, Inc., New York, New York, 1989. ISBN: 443-03589-X. The editor states that he compiled this encyclopedia of gastrointestinal pathology in order to facilitate an approach which incorporates morphologic characteristics of gut diseases and their evolution and causes. To accomplish this, he enlisted the 62 chapter authors. For some diseases, such as acute appendicitis, there is no known natural history and only a suspected cause. Other diseases, such as ulcerative colitis, have a natural history, in fact a variety of natural histories, many of which are best defined by a combination of clinical events and biopsy changes, yet this book tends to ignore clinical biopsy correlations. This is the major deficiency. Modern gastrointestinal pathology is biopsy oriented. A text that does not cover biopsy diagnosis is inadequate; Professor Whitehead never tells us of this omission. Furthermore, as with all multiauthored textbooks, this one is not up to date in some areas of gastrointestinal pathology that are rapidly evolving. The literature through 1986 is well covered, but there are few references to publications from 1987 and very rarely ones from 1988. The explosion of information concerning Campylobacter pylori and its association with peptic ulcer disease is referenced only through
In spite of these defects, this book is marvelous compendium of virtually every aspect of gastrointestinal pathology. It is well written and conveniently organized and indexed. Some superb chapters are worth the price by themselves. These include, “Histochemistry of Intestinal Mucins and Changes in Disease” by Filipe, “Lymphomas” by Wright and Isaacson, “Chronic Gastritis” by Correa, “Neuromuscular Disorders” by Shuffler, and “Adenocarcinoma in Barrett’s Esophagus” by Hamilton. None of these chapters is up to date, but because all of the authors are prime investigators in each of the areas about which they wrote, they may not need to refer to the literature as much as someone less informed. Because the book is already old, it really adds nothing new; it just puts everything in gastrointestinal pathology, as of 3 years ago, in one place. It has far more information than one of the more recent atlases; it is much broader than the monograph on gastrointestinal pathology from the United States-Canadian Academy of Pathology, but it will be rendered obsolete by any newer text with more current information. Nevertheless, the sheer convenience of having so much information on gastrointestinal pathology inside one cover makes it a valuable resource. I recommend it enthusiastically to every department of pathology, medical library, gastroenterologist, and gastrointestinal surgeon who enjoys and is interested in gut pathology.
1986.
There are minor annoyances. Throughout the book, there are too many pictures of the bizarre and not enough of variations of the common lesions. The use of certain illustrations seems to have been determined by what some authors had on hand rather than what was appropriate. As an example, there are three pictures of gel-foam emboli with secondary small bowel infarct, but little illustration of progressively increasing ischemic damage. The chapter on disorders of the immune system discusses diseases that have spectacular microscopic changes, yet there are no photomicrographs. There are only two photomicrographs of ordinary colorectal carcinoma, but four of small-cell carcinoma and none of a typical hyperplastic polyp. Some of the pictures are at too low magnification to illustrate what their legends say. Others lack sufficient contrast. There is duplication. The nonspecific ulcer and graft-vs.-host disease of the small intestine appear in the “Celiac Disease Associated Disorders” section, although they are not so associated, and then the nonspecific ulcer is redescribed under small intestinal vascular disorders. The adenoid cystic carcinoma of the esophagus, probably a misnomer for a very aggressive malignancy, is described differently in two different chapters. There are separate chapters on small intestinal and colonic ischemic diseases, written by different authors, with no information as to whether ischemic disease in these two areas is similar or different in etiology, evolution and morphology. This is an area in which the editor might have added correlation.
HENRY D. APPELMAN, M.D.
Ann Arbor, Michigan Hepatobiliary Disease and Jaundice (Unit 4). By Caroline A. Riely, Morton I. Burrell, Raymond S. Koff, and Peter H. R. Green. 100 slides, $150.00. Milner-Fenwick, Inc., Timonium, Maryland, 1989. Jaundice is a protean manifestation of hepatobiliary disease that, because of its vast nature, presents a challenge to anyone presenting an overview, either text or slides. Yet, the authors of this clinical teaching project can be congratulated on an overall excellent slide review. The information is aimed principally towards the medical student and house officer and is organized into four sections. The first deals with the biochemical basis of jaundice, beginning with the normal pathway of bilirubin metabolism, followed by schematics showing the defective enzymatic steps in the various inherited hyperbilirubinemia disorders such as Gilbert’s, Dubin-Johnson, and Criger-Najjar (types I and II] syndromes as well as neonatal jaundice. The accompanying monograph provides a very useful supplement to the slides throughout this series, including pertinent references. The slides are well done and portray the data in a clear, concise manner as exemplified by the pie diagrams depicting the causes of jaundice by age in addition to the various trimesters of pregnancy.
1990;9&803-804
BOOK REVIEWS Helen M. Shields, M.D. Book Review Editor Beth Israel Hospital 330 Brookline Avenue
Boston. Massachusetts 02215
Gastrointestinal and Oesophageal Pathology. Edited by R. Whitehead. 850 pp., $189.00. Churchill Livingstone, Inc., New York, New York, 1989. ISBN: 443-03589-X. The editor states that he compiled this encyclopedia of gastrointestinal pathology in order to facilitate an approach which incorporates morphologic characteristics of gut diseases and their evolution and causes. To accomplish this, he enlisted the 62 chapter authors. For some diseases, such as acute appendicitis, there is no known natural history and only a suspected cause. Other diseases, such as ulcerative colitis, have a natural history, in fact a variety of natural histories, many of which are best defined by a combination of clinical events and biopsy changes, yet this book tends to ignore clinical biopsy correlations. This is the major deficiency. Modern gastrointestinal pathology is biopsy oriented. A text that does not cover biopsy diagnosis is inadequate; Professor Whitehead never tells us of this omission. Furthermore, as with all multiauthored textbooks, this one is not up to date in some areas of gastrointestinal pathology that are rapidly evolving. The literature through 1986 is well covered, but there are few references to publications from 1987 and very rarely ones from 1988. The explosion of information concerning Campylobacter pylori and its association with peptic ulcer disease is referenced only through
In spite of these defects, this book is marvelous compendium of virtually every aspect of gastrointestinal pathology. It is well written and conveniently organized and indexed. Some superb chapters are worth the price by themselves. These include, “Histochemistry of Intestinal Mucins and Changes in Disease” by Filipe, “Lymphomas” by Wright and Isaacson, “Chronic Gastritis” by Correa, “Neuromuscular Disorders” by Shuffler, and “Adenocarcinoma in Barrett’s Esophagus” by Hamilton. None of these chapters is up to date, but because all of the authors are prime investigators in each of the areas about which they wrote, they may not need to refer to the literature as much as someone less informed. Because the book is already old, it really adds nothing new; it just puts everything in gastrointestinal pathology, as of 3 years ago, in one place. It has far more information than one of the more recent atlases; it is much broader than the monograph on gastrointestinal pathology from the United States-Canadian Academy of Pathology, but it will be rendered obsolete by any newer text with more current information. Nevertheless, the sheer convenience of having so much information on gastrointestinal pathology inside one cover makes it a valuable resource. I recommend it enthusiastically to every department of pathology, medical library, gastroenterologist, and gastrointestinal surgeon who enjoys and is interested in gut pathology.
1986.
There are minor annoyances. Throughout the book, there are too many pictures of the bizarre and not enough of variations of the common lesions. The use of certain illustrations seems to have been determined by what some authors had on hand rather than what was appropriate. As an example, there are three pictures of gel-foam emboli with secondary small bowel infarct, but little illustration of progressively increasing ischemic damage. The chapter on disorders of the immune system discusses diseases that have spectacular microscopic changes, yet there are no photomicrographs. There are only two photomicrographs of ordinary colorectal carcinoma, but four of small-cell carcinoma and none of a typical hyperplastic polyp. Some of the pictures are at too low magnification to illustrate what their legends say. Others lack sufficient contrast. There is duplication. The nonspecific ulcer and graft-vs.-host disease of the small intestine appear in the “Celiac Disease Associated Disorders” section, although they are not so associated, and then the nonspecific ulcer is redescribed under small intestinal vascular disorders. The adenoid cystic carcinoma of the esophagus, probably a misnomer for a very aggressive malignancy, is described differently in two different chapters. There are separate chapters on small intestinal and colonic ischemic diseases, written by different authors, with no information as to whether ischemic disease in these two areas is similar or different in etiology, evolution and morphology. This is an area in which the editor might have added correlation.
HENRY D. APPELMAN, M.D.
Ann Arbor, Michigan Hepatobiliary Disease and Jaundice (Unit 4). By Caroline A. Riely, Morton I. Burrell, Raymond S. Koff, and Peter H. R. Green. 100 slides, $150.00. Milner-Fenwick, Inc., Timonium, Maryland, 1989. Jaundice is a protean manifestation of hepatobiliary disease that, because of its vast nature, presents a challenge to anyone presenting an overview, either text or slides. Yet, the authors of this clinical teaching project can be congratulated on an overall excellent slide review. The information is aimed principally towards the medical student and house officer and is organized into four sections. The first deals with the biochemical basis of jaundice, beginning with the normal pathway of bilirubin metabolism, followed by schematics showing the defective enzymatic steps in the various inherited hyperbilirubinemia disorders such as Gilbert’s, Dubin-Johnson, and Criger-Najjar (types I and II] syndromes as well as neonatal jaundice. The accompanying monograph provides a very useful supplement to the slides throughout this series, including pertinent references. The slides are well done and portray the data in a clear, concise manner as exemplified by the pie diagrams depicting the causes of jaundice by age in addition to the various trimesters of pregnancy.