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The development of the infant and young child, normal and abnormal
Volume 57 Number 6
T h e journal o[ P E D I A T R I C S
949
Books
Diseases of the Newborn. A l e x a n d e r J. Schaffer, M . D . , P h i l a d e l p h i a , 1960, W. B. S a u n d e r s C o m p a n y , 878 pages. Price $20.00. Dr. Schaffer, a pediatrician with a wealth of experience in the care of newborn infants, has fulfilled the purpose of this text very well. It is written primarily from the clinical viewpoint and is directed to the practitioner of pediatrics who for a long time has needed a reference book devoted to the newborn infant. The author admits that detailed information about pediatric physiology, pathology, and embryology is lacking and refers the reader to appropriate sources for additional information. The subject matter is completely covered; the chapter on the examination of the newborn infant is excellent; in some instances pathology is treated superficially. The material is presented in a lucid manner with the author frequently quoting personal experiences and presenting case histories illustrating important clinical conditions with editorial comments. These features impart a lecture-type style to the text which is effective as a teaching exercise. The book contains numerous roentgenograms and those illustrating pathologic conditions of the pulmonary and gastrointestinal systems are excellent and are of value in the differential diagnosis of many of the clinical problems. The photomicrographs are good. Special chapters devoted to the differential diagnosis of neonatal dyspnea, anemia of the newborn, icterus, and enlarged kidney, conditions which frequently overtax the pediatrician, are excellent and are useful as a handy reference. The bibliographies following each chapter are good and of recent origin. The appendixes on the nm'sery management, the care of an erythroblastotic infant, resuscitation, and the pharmacopeia are useful. One may take issue with several statements in the text: "Prematurity is still the primary cause of death in more than half of the newborns who succumb for all reasons." Several pediatric pathologists have shown that when careful postmortem examinations are performed, bacteri0-
logic specimens obtained, and the clinical course reviewed, a cause of death other than prematurity can usually be assigned. In the appendix on resuscitation, the author recommends the rockette. To this reviewer, this apparatus has never proved to be of value. This text is recommended to the physician working with newborn infants and to medical students as a reference book. NORMAN KE:NDALL~ M.D.
The D e v e l o p m e n t of the I n f a n t a n d Y o u n g Child, N o r m a l a n d A b n o r m a l . R. S. Illingsworth, M . D . , E d i n b u r g h a n d L o n d o n , I960, E. & S. Livingstone, L t d . (in U. S., Williams & Wilkins C o m p a n y , B a l t i m o r e ) , 318 pages. Price $6.50. This well-prepared 300 page book is an excellent contribution to current pediatric literature. It provides a useful review of the former studies, both foreign and American, in the fields of mental retardation, pediatric neurology, and growth and development. Dr. Illingworth has formulated a good reference text for those who work with the mentally retarded and physically handicapped child. His approach is a clinical one stressing important factors in history, physical examination, and associated congenital defects that permit definitive diagnosis or aid in management. The book reflects the author's clinical experience. Many of the unusual reflexes of newborn infants are discussed. There are pictures and tables of growth and development which are of particular value in the differential diagnosis of the cerebral palsied or retarded child. There is also a good discussion of the "brain-injured" child. Many of the newly recognized inborn errors of metabolism, endocrine problems, and enzymatic defects are mentioned. Aberrations in the sequence of development, both normal and abnormal, are presented, including those associated with sensory defects or psychiatric discrepancies. The author freely quotes and admittedly borrows from Arnold Gesell and the wprker~ of th~
9 50
Books
December 1960
Yale Clinic of Child Development, but adds a clinical concept to their studies, giving them much needed practical application. His stressing the value of Gesell's observations is encouraging to those who feel that his work has contributed t o - a better understanding of the patterns of growth and development. This book is not meant to be an all-encompassing text of pediatric neurology. It's greatest use should be for pediatricians and allied workers in the fields of the handicapped, cerebral palsied, and neurologically involved infants and young children. MILTON SARSHIK~ M.D.
Medical Care of the Adolescent. J. Roswell Gallagher, M.D., New York, 1960, A p p l e t o n - C e n t u r y - C r o f t s , Inc., 369 pages. Price $10.00. This book is a landmark, as it fills a definite gap in the voluminous literature on adolescence and the adolescent. It is written for physicians rather than for workers concerned with the many other aspects of adolescence. While many have contributed to our knowledge of some one phase of the medical care of the adolescent, or one disease, the subject is so broad and the medical problems involve so many special fields, it would have been almost impossible for any one author to cover the subject as a whole had it not been for the unique pioneer, Adolescent Clinic of the Children's Medical Center in Boston. Here, under the leadership of Dr. Gallagher, a group of physicians representing nearly a score of special medical fields have been working together for several years and educating one another. It is this background that has made it possible for Dr. Gallagher to author a general text for physicians on the medical care of the adolescent.
The first four chapters alone would have made a valuable short monograph for the physician, as they cover the knowledege that a physician must have of the adolescent, the growth and development during the period, and the psychological reactions that color adolescence and make it unique. And they include an excellent practical discussion of the office visit, which is based on experience. This is necessary background material for the physician regardless of the particular medical condition. These are followed by chapters on the treatment of specific conditions and diseases which the admitting complaints at the clinic show occur with some degree of frequency. These cover a wide variety of nonrelated medical conditions such as epilepsy, acne, posrural and orthopedic conditions, obesity, amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea, athletic injuries, enuresis, dyslexia, and so on. WhiIe here and there some statements may be open to discussion, these are quite unimportant. Throughout the hook Dr. Gallagher stresses attitudes: the attitude of the adolescent to his disease or trouble, which differs from the attitude found in the age periods of childhood and maturity, and the attitude of the adolescent to the physician and vice versa. If therapy is to b e of help and successful in the adolescent, it is essential that the approach and attitude of the physician permit the establishment of a satisfactory interrelationship between patient and doctor. It is this viewpoint, based on experience, that the author gives to the discussions of specific conditions, which makes the text unique and of great value to the practicing physician. The book is clear and well written and should be of great help to the pediatrician who follows his patients into the adolescent period and to the internist who takes over fi'om the pediatrician. It is highly recommended. BORDEN VENDER, M.D.
T h e journal o[ P E D I A T R I C S
949
Books
Diseases of the Newborn. A l e x a n d e r J. Schaffer, M . D . , P h i l a d e l p h i a , 1960, W. B. S a u n d e r s C o m p a n y , 878 pages. Price $20.00. Dr. Schaffer, a pediatrician with a wealth of experience in the care of newborn infants, has fulfilled the purpose of this text very well. It is written primarily from the clinical viewpoint and is directed to the practitioner of pediatrics who for a long time has needed a reference book devoted to the newborn infant. The author admits that detailed information about pediatric physiology, pathology, and embryology is lacking and refers the reader to appropriate sources for additional information. The subject matter is completely covered; the chapter on the examination of the newborn infant is excellent; in some instances pathology is treated superficially. The material is presented in a lucid manner with the author frequently quoting personal experiences and presenting case histories illustrating important clinical conditions with editorial comments. These features impart a lecture-type style to the text which is effective as a teaching exercise. The book contains numerous roentgenograms and those illustrating pathologic conditions of the pulmonary and gastrointestinal systems are excellent and are of value in the differential diagnosis of many of the clinical problems. The photomicrographs are good. Special chapters devoted to the differential diagnosis of neonatal dyspnea, anemia of the newborn, icterus, and enlarged kidney, conditions which frequently overtax the pediatrician, are excellent and are useful as a handy reference. The bibliographies following each chapter are good and of recent origin. The appendixes on the nm'sery management, the care of an erythroblastotic infant, resuscitation, and the pharmacopeia are useful. One may take issue with several statements in the text: "Prematurity is still the primary cause of death in more than half of the newborns who succumb for all reasons." Several pediatric pathologists have shown that when careful postmortem examinations are performed, bacteri0-
logic specimens obtained, and the clinical course reviewed, a cause of death other than prematurity can usually be assigned. In the appendix on resuscitation, the author recommends the rockette. To this reviewer, this apparatus has never proved to be of value. This text is recommended to the physician working with newborn infants and to medical students as a reference book. NORMAN KE:NDALL~ M.D.
The D e v e l o p m e n t of the I n f a n t a n d Y o u n g Child, N o r m a l a n d A b n o r m a l . R. S. Illingsworth, M . D . , E d i n b u r g h a n d L o n d o n , I960, E. & S. Livingstone, L t d . (in U. S., Williams & Wilkins C o m p a n y , B a l t i m o r e ) , 318 pages. Price $6.50. This well-prepared 300 page book is an excellent contribution to current pediatric literature. It provides a useful review of the former studies, both foreign and American, in the fields of mental retardation, pediatric neurology, and growth and development. Dr. Illingworth has formulated a good reference text for those who work with the mentally retarded and physically handicapped child. His approach is a clinical one stressing important factors in history, physical examination, and associated congenital defects that permit definitive diagnosis or aid in management. The book reflects the author's clinical experience. Many of the unusual reflexes of newborn infants are discussed. There are pictures and tables of growth and development which are of particular value in the differential diagnosis of the cerebral palsied or retarded child. There is also a good discussion of the "brain-injured" child. Many of the newly recognized inborn errors of metabolism, endocrine problems, and enzymatic defects are mentioned. Aberrations in the sequence of development, both normal and abnormal, are presented, including those associated with sensory defects or psychiatric discrepancies. The author freely quotes and admittedly borrows from Arnold Gesell and the wprker~ of th~
9 50
Books
December 1960
Yale Clinic of Child Development, but adds a clinical concept to their studies, giving them much needed practical application. His stressing the value of Gesell's observations is encouraging to those who feel that his work has contributed t o - a better understanding of the patterns of growth and development. This book is not meant to be an all-encompassing text of pediatric neurology. It's greatest use should be for pediatricians and allied workers in the fields of the handicapped, cerebral palsied, and neurologically involved infants and young children. MILTON SARSHIK~ M.D.
Medical Care of the Adolescent. J. Roswell Gallagher, M.D., New York, 1960, A p p l e t o n - C e n t u r y - C r o f t s , Inc., 369 pages. Price $10.00. This book is a landmark, as it fills a definite gap in the voluminous literature on adolescence and the adolescent. It is written for physicians rather than for workers concerned with the many other aspects of adolescence. While many have contributed to our knowledge of some one phase of the medical care of the adolescent, or one disease, the subject is so broad and the medical problems involve so many special fields, it would have been almost impossible for any one author to cover the subject as a whole had it not been for the unique pioneer, Adolescent Clinic of the Children's Medical Center in Boston. Here, under the leadership of Dr. Gallagher, a group of physicians representing nearly a score of special medical fields have been working together for several years and educating one another. It is this background that has made it possible for Dr. Gallagher to author a general text for physicians on the medical care of the adolescent.
The first four chapters alone would have made a valuable short monograph for the physician, as they cover the knowledege that a physician must have of the adolescent, the growth and development during the period, and the psychological reactions that color adolescence and make it unique. And they include an excellent practical discussion of the office visit, which is based on experience. This is necessary background material for the physician regardless of the particular medical condition. These are followed by chapters on the treatment of specific conditions and diseases which the admitting complaints at the clinic show occur with some degree of frequency. These cover a wide variety of nonrelated medical conditions such as epilepsy, acne, posrural and orthopedic conditions, obesity, amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea, athletic injuries, enuresis, dyslexia, and so on. WhiIe here and there some statements may be open to discussion, these are quite unimportant. Throughout the hook Dr. Gallagher stresses attitudes: the attitude of the adolescent to his disease or trouble, which differs from the attitude found in the age periods of childhood and maturity, and the attitude of the adolescent to the physician and vice versa. If therapy is to b e of help and successful in the adolescent, it is essential that the approach and attitude of the physician permit the establishment of a satisfactory interrelationship between patient and doctor. It is this viewpoint, based on experience, that the author gives to the discussions of specific conditions, which makes the text unique and of great value to the practicing physician. The book is clear and well written and should be of great help to the pediatrician who follows his patients into the adolescent period and to the internist who takes over fi'om the pediatrician. It is highly recommended. BORDEN VENDER, M.D.