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Lung Structure, By Engel Stefan S. Published by Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois. Pp. x+300. Price $15.50.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF ANAESTHESIA spread example set us in new and reconstructed hospitals in Europe and the New World. The recovery room, the progressive care unit and the intensive care unit are developments which many have already instituted, often with difficulty, but usually with wide co-operation. On all hands the results are acclaimed—by surgeons, by nursing staff and by anaesthetists who are rightly called upon to play an important part in their management.
BOOK REVIEWS Lung Structure. By Stefan S. Engel. Published by Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois. Pp. x+300. Price $15.50. This is a delightfully presented book, easy to read and generously illustrated. The title is a little misleading, however, for the bulk of the book (Part 1) is devoted to the child's lung and more than a quarter of it to respiratory diseases. The adult lung is referred to for comparison in Part I and is then dismissed in a dozen pages in Part II. The third and fourth parts comprise a fascinating account of the comparative anatomy of the mammalian lung including creatures as diverse as the mouse and the elephant, the dog and the dugong. Lung Structure is essentially a monograph presenting in the most intimate detail the findings of a man whose personal experience of the general structure and development of the lung must surely be unique. It is doubtful whether in any other work there exists a richer store of statistics relating to the dimensions of the airways and lung at different ages or a more careful account of the distribution of the bronchial glands. The reader may feel some anxiety as to whether the views expressed take fully into account the findings of other workers using modern techniques of anatomical investigation. In the preface it is admitted that "it may seem old-fashioned to make use of the optical microscope to arrive at morphological descriptions" and again, at the opening of the first chapter (and elsewhere), findings based upon a method "now obsolete" are described. The reader's anxiety will not be allayed by the seventy-two references to other investigators, for nearly half of these refer to work done before 1930 and only four to work done during the last ten years (an additional difficulty for some readers will be that only half of these references are in the English language). It is particularly disappointing that in the stimulating and provocative discussion of the morphological basis of certain respiratory diseases (which occupies about one-quarter of the text) there should be no reference to recent work. For example, bronchitis figures largely in this discussion and great stress is laid upon the need for correlation between radiology and morbid anatomy,
yet there is no sign that the author is aware of Lynne Reid's considerable contribution in this field. The diseases which are discussed are mainly those of childhood and some of these—pneumonia and primary tuberculosis, for example—are of less importance today than in former years. It is hoped that the author will one day apply his original mind and meticulous method to the morphological basis of such contemporary adult problems as emphysema and carcinoma. Dr. Engel's book is obviously not intended for those who desire a comprehensive review of modern knowledge about lung structure. But all who enjoy reading the original work of a dedicated investigator, clearly expressed in words and pictures, and all who are concerned with the child's lung in health or disease, should possess this attractive volume. C. M. Ogilvie
Manual of Anesthesiology for Residents and Medical Students (2nd edition). By Herman Schwarz, M.D., S. H. Ngai, M.D., and E. M. Papper, M.D., The Anesthesiology Service, The Presbyterian Hospital, New York. Published by Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois. Pp. 189. Price $6.00. The first edition of this book, which was published in 1957, set a very high standard for an introduction to anaesthetic practice. In this edition the authors have made several alterations and additions, primarily designed to bring the subject matter up to date, but also to include several aspects of anaesthesia not previously discussed. Thus, amongst others, there are now new sections on vaporization and vaporizers, prolonged postoperative apnoea and induced hypotension and hypothermia. The authors possess the happy knack of combining scientific accuracy with brevity and lucidity. Their text is essentially a companion to practical instruction in the operating theatre, but it is of the stuff that will stimulate an enquiring mind to further, more detailed, reading in the literature of anaesthesia. This is a book that can be unhesitatingly recommended for the beginner in anaesthesia. W. D. Wylie
Downloaded from http://bja.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Iowa Libraries/Serials Acquisitions on June 25, 2015
Each must inevitably throw an additional burden on the nursing staff whose load it is increasingly important to reduce. The present long overdue increase in hospital building and the planning which is so widely preceding it offer a unique opportunity to include the recovery room in the operating room suite. It is long since this country faced the agreeable prospect of building new hospitals: let us not miss this chance to follow, more widely than is at present possible, the wide-
BOOK REVIEWS Lung Structure. By Stefan S. Engel. Published by Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois. Pp. x+300. Price $15.50. This is a delightfully presented book, easy to read and generously illustrated. The title is a little misleading, however, for the bulk of the book (Part 1) is devoted to the child's lung and more than a quarter of it to respiratory diseases. The adult lung is referred to for comparison in Part I and is then dismissed in a dozen pages in Part II. The third and fourth parts comprise a fascinating account of the comparative anatomy of the mammalian lung including creatures as diverse as the mouse and the elephant, the dog and the dugong. Lung Structure is essentially a monograph presenting in the most intimate detail the findings of a man whose personal experience of the general structure and development of the lung must surely be unique. It is doubtful whether in any other work there exists a richer store of statistics relating to the dimensions of the airways and lung at different ages or a more careful account of the distribution of the bronchial glands. The reader may feel some anxiety as to whether the views expressed take fully into account the findings of other workers using modern techniques of anatomical investigation. In the preface it is admitted that "it may seem old-fashioned to make use of the optical microscope to arrive at morphological descriptions" and again, at the opening of the first chapter (and elsewhere), findings based upon a method "now obsolete" are described. The reader's anxiety will not be allayed by the seventy-two references to other investigators, for nearly half of these refer to work done before 1930 and only four to work done during the last ten years (an additional difficulty for some readers will be that only half of these references are in the English language). It is particularly disappointing that in the stimulating and provocative discussion of the morphological basis of certain respiratory diseases (which occupies about one-quarter of the text) there should be no reference to recent work. For example, bronchitis figures largely in this discussion and great stress is laid upon the need for correlation between radiology and morbid anatomy,
yet there is no sign that the author is aware of Lynne Reid's considerable contribution in this field. The diseases which are discussed are mainly those of childhood and some of these—pneumonia and primary tuberculosis, for example—are of less importance today than in former years. It is hoped that the author will one day apply his original mind and meticulous method to the morphological basis of such contemporary adult problems as emphysema and carcinoma. Dr. Engel's book is obviously not intended for those who desire a comprehensive review of modern knowledge about lung structure. But all who enjoy reading the original work of a dedicated investigator, clearly expressed in words and pictures, and all who are concerned with the child's lung in health or disease, should possess this attractive volume. C. M. Ogilvie
Manual of Anesthesiology for Residents and Medical Students (2nd edition). By Herman Schwarz, M.D., S. H. Ngai, M.D., and E. M. Papper, M.D., The Anesthesiology Service, The Presbyterian Hospital, New York. Published by Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois. Pp. 189. Price $6.00. The first edition of this book, which was published in 1957, set a very high standard for an introduction to anaesthetic practice. In this edition the authors have made several alterations and additions, primarily designed to bring the subject matter up to date, but also to include several aspects of anaesthesia not previously discussed. Thus, amongst others, there are now new sections on vaporization and vaporizers, prolonged postoperative apnoea and induced hypotension and hypothermia. The authors possess the happy knack of combining scientific accuracy with brevity and lucidity. Their text is essentially a companion to practical instruction in the operating theatre, but it is of the stuff that will stimulate an enquiring mind to further, more detailed, reading in the literature of anaesthesia. This is a book that can be unhesitatingly recommended for the beginner in anaesthesia. W. D. Wylie
Downloaded from http://bja.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Iowa Libraries/Serials Acquisitions on June 25, 2015
Each must inevitably throw an additional burden on the nursing staff whose load it is increasingly important to reduce. The present long overdue increase in hospital building and the planning which is so widely preceding it offer a unique opportunity to include the recovery room in the operating room suite. It is long since this country faced the agreeable prospect of building new hospitals: let us not miss this chance to follow, more widely than is at present possible, the wide-