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Atlas of the Peripheral Retina
804
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
BOOK REVIEWS Edited by H. Stanley Thompson, M. D.
Atlas of the Peripheral Retina. By Frank C. Bell and William J. Stenstrom. Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Company, 1983. 244 pages, index, illustrated. $75 Reviewed by THOMAS M. AABERG Milwaukee, Wisconsin Dr. Bell is a retina specialist with many years' experience; his co-author, Mr. Stenstrom, is a well-known ophthalmic illustrator whose work is much admired. The product of their collaboration is a beautiful atlas with 101 full-page plates. Six of the nine chapters in the atlas deal with generalized retinal pathology, not just with the peripheral retina as the title suggests. From the standpoint of accuracy and clarity the best illustrations are the drawings of peripheral retinal abnormalities that Mr. Stenstrom has been making since the mid-1960s. The illustrations of lattice degeneration, retinal breaks, pars plana cysts, paving-stone degeneration, and associated abnormalities allow the reader to conceptualize the pathology in a manner that, in turn, enhances ophthalmoscopic understanding. Some entities are presented in a unique fashion which contributes to an understanding of the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved. For example, in the illustration of retinoschisis with retinal detachment a pieshaped section is illustrated. This section is taken through the retinal detachment and the associated retinoschisis cavity; it clearly demonstrates the outer layer and inner layer orifices that have led to the retinal detachment. Conversely, although artistically well
JUNE, 1984
done, some of the illustrations distort the actual disease that occurs. As an example, the illustrations of choroidal detachments would lead the reader to believe that choroidal edema can occur massively in some portions of the fundus and not at all in others. The illustration of intraretinal macrocysts in an eye with chronic retinal detachment shows the cyst projecting well beyond the retinal tear in a way that does not anatomically occur. Most of the drawings of retinal detachment are well done; the picture of traumatic avulsion of the vitreous base is a classic of ophthalmoscopic illustration, as was Mr. Stenstrom's original drawing of this entity in THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY in 1966. The least accurate of the illustrations are those dealing with diabetic retinopathy, in which preretinal hemorrhage is seen to extend beyond the vitreous base in one illustration, and in another cicatricial tissue is seen to extend as localizing bands along vascular arcades rather than as diffuse sheets attached to such bands. Nevertheless, despite these occasional inaccuracies, the atlas presents a beautiful series of illustrations and the text, with selected references for each illustration, will allow students and practitioners to gain an insight into the pathology and anatomy of the ocular fundus, which they might otherwise misinterpret or fail to recognize. Cataract Surgery. Current Options and Problems. Edited by Joel M. Engelstein. New York, Crune & Stratton, Inc., 1984. 567 pages, index, illustrated. $79.50 Reviewed by ROBERT C. DREWS Clayton, Missouri The 39 chapters in this book encompass
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
BOOK REVIEWS Edited by H. Stanley Thompson, M. D.
Atlas of the Peripheral Retina. By Frank C. Bell and William J. Stenstrom. Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Company, 1983. 244 pages, index, illustrated. $75 Reviewed by THOMAS M. AABERG Milwaukee, Wisconsin Dr. Bell is a retina specialist with many years' experience; his co-author, Mr. Stenstrom, is a well-known ophthalmic illustrator whose work is much admired. The product of their collaboration is a beautiful atlas with 101 full-page plates. Six of the nine chapters in the atlas deal with generalized retinal pathology, not just with the peripheral retina as the title suggests. From the standpoint of accuracy and clarity the best illustrations are the drawings of peripheral retinal abnormalities that Mr. Stenstrom has been making since the mid-1960s. The illustrations of lattice degeneration, retinal breaks, pars plana cysts, paving-stone degeneration, and associated abnormalities allow the reader to conceptualize the pathology in a manner that, in turn, enhances ophthalmoscopic understanding. Some entities are presented in a unique fashion which contributes to an understanding of the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved. For example, in the illustration of retinoschisis with retinal detachment a pieshaped section is illustrated. This section is taken through the retinal detachment and the associated retinoschisis cavity; it clearly demonstrates the outer layer and inner layer orifices that have led to the retinal detachment. Conversely, although artistically well
JUNE, 1984
done, some of the illustrations distort the actual disease that occurs. As an example, the illustrations of choroidal detachments would lead the reader to believe that choroidal edema can occur massively in some portions of the fundus and not at all in others. The illustration of intraretinal macrocysts in an eye with chronic retinal detachment shows the cyst projecting well beyond the retinal tear in a way that does not anatomically occur. Most of the drawings of retinal detachment are well done; the picture of traumatic avulsion of the vitreous base is a classic of ophthalmoscopic illustration, as was Mr. Stenstrom's original drawing of this entity in THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY in 1966. The least accurate of the illustrations are those dealing with diabetic retinopathy, in which preretinal hemorrhage is seen to extend beyond the vitreous base in one illustration, and in another cicatricial tissue is seen to extend as localizing bands along vascular arcades rather than as diffuse sheets attached to such bands. Nevertheless, despite these occasional inaccuracies, the atlas presents a beautiful series of illustrations and the text, with selected references for each illustration, will allow students and practitioners to gain an insight into the pathology and anatomy of the ocular fundus, which they might otherwise misinterpret or fail to recognize. Cataract Surgery. Current Options and Problems. Edited by Joel M. Engelstein. New York, Crune & Stratton, Inc., 1984. 567 pages, index, illustrated. $79.50 Reviewed by ROBERT C. DREWS Clayton, Missouri The 39 chapters in this book encompass