Br. vet . J. (1984) . 140, 6 3 4
BOOK REVIEWS REVIEw EDITOR : J. M . RUTTER
BOOK
J. A . Henderson and O . M . Radostits . 6th edn . London : Bailliere Tindall .
Veterinary Medicine . By D . C . Blood,
This textbook, first published in 1960, has since that date had to deal with a torrent of new information and new approaches to disease in large animals . It has also continued the practice of justifying many statements in the text by a judicious selection of references which help the reader to extend his knowledge of a particular disease or treatment. This system places the contents comfortably between a series of academic reviews on the one hand, and a simplistic authoritarian textbook on the other . This approach makes it very suitable for both undergraduate students faced with acquiring the discipline of veterinary medicine, and the graduate who has to deal with a particular problem, and needs inspiration regarding possible diagnosis and potential treatment . With such a volume of information, ease of access is essential . The authors have helped by including a guide to the use of the book, based on starting with a clinical sign, and leading via organ systems to location and type of lesion, and concluding with the specific cause . At each point, the appropriate section of the book is consulted . This, while logical enough, highlights the inescapably scattered nature of the information when the book is divided between General Medicine (largely organ based) and Special Medicine (largely based on disease causes, although including mastitis, which might, incidentally, be more appropriate in the organ-based section) . There is considerable overlap between veterinary medicine and veterinary therapeutics and inevitably the book includes a strong element of the latter. This is particularly obvious in the chapter entitled Practical Antimicrobial Therapeutics, which is indeed generally well founded and useful . But the inclusion of this chapter while leaving drugs such as anthelmintics to be referred to briefly in relation to specific diseases is perhaps only partly justified by the importance of antimicrobial chemotherapy and emphasizes the arbitrary nature of such decisions .
This book has deservedly become the standard text on large animal medicine . The 6th edition represents good value, and will further consolidate its position . R . J. BYWATER
Colour Atlas of Veterinary Anatomy . Volume One. The Ruminants . By R . R. Ashdown and S .
Done . London : Bailliere, Tindall and Gower Medical Publishing . Price £35 . The aim of this book is to provide veterinary students and practising veterinary surgeons with a detailed photographic record of the range of dissection stages of the different regions of the ruminant (cow and goat) . Over three hundred coloured photographs are presented, each photograph being accompanied by an explanatory line drawing . At the beginning of each section there are photographs of the features of regional surfaces as well as complementary photographs of the bovine skeleton . The sequence of dissection is an expanded version of the demonstration classes run by the authors at the Royal Veterinary College . It should be established straight away that the standard of dissection displayed in this book is of the highest order . Whilst at one time this could possibly have been taken for granted the modern trends in anatomy have sadly been accompanied by a decline in the prosector's art . No matter how careful the dissections, however, their ultimate success hangs on the photographs. These, by Stephen Barnett, are quite excellent and one can well imagine the considerable care and time that went into taking them . Regrettably one aspect of the presentation is not a total success . This concerns the line drawings which have an irritatingly fussy appearance . The problem seems to lie with the labelling which is far too complete in relation to the size of the drawings . Moreover, much of it is quite difficult to read and would have been improved if set in slightly larger and bolder type. The same applies to the leader lines. Possibly the best approach would have
BOOK REVIEWS
been to have substituted the line drawings by a restricted form of labelling applied to the photographs themselves . Another regret concerns the content which is disappointingly nonselective. It is a pity that the opportunity was not taken to adopt a more strongly applied approach, a field in which the authors have much to offer. Despite these criticisms, this book is without doubt by far the best and most complete photographic atlas of ruminant anatomy available and it will certainly prove indispensable to teachers of veterinary anatomy and surgery and to experimentalists . I doubt, however, that it will be as attractive to veterinary students as the authors obviously anticipate, the completeness and format of the labelling proving too much of a deterrent . Furthermore, although excellent value at the price there will be other demands on the students' limited resources . It is intended that this first volume will be succeeded by a second volume covering the horse and a third volume on the dog and cat . A slide atlas based on the material in this book is available separately from Gower Medical Publishing . J . McLELLAND
Canine Medicine and Therapeutics. Ed . E . A .
Chandler, J . B . Sutton and D . J . Thompson . Oxford : Blackwells Scientific Publications for the BSAVA Pp . 566 . Price £37 .50 . In the late seventies the BSAVA Publications Committee noting the absence in the United Kingdom of a comprehensive text on Canine Internal Medicine set about to remedy
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the situation . This brave venture resulted in the publication in 1979 of Canine Medicine and Therapeutics edited by six well known and mainly practice-based veterinary surgeons. The first edition has been so well received that a second edition was thought timely. This second edition is edited by two of the original editors, E . A . Chandler and J . B. Sutton and they are joined by another well known practitioner in D . J . Thompson . Most of the authors have updated and rewritten their original contributions . Clearly even in a volume of over 500 pages it would not be possible to cover such a vast topic in detail . This constantly creates problems for the editors and authors . In both editions they have succeeded admirably in writing only of essentials with just enough detail to make the book the first port of call when faced with the puzzling medical case . The second edition is larger than the first, there are two extra chapters, both extremely useful, covering Nutrition and Joint Disease respectively . As well as a mainly rewritten and expanded text there are many more illustrations which makes this edition more pleasing to the eye . For small animal and mixed practices who do not have an up-to-date source of reference for Canine Medicine, I can enthusiastically recommend this book . For those who have the first edition I think that there is sufficient new and helpful material in this second edition for me to again recommend its purchase . The success of the first edition and its replacement by an even better second edition reflects well on the BSAVA, their excellent editors and authors and they are to be congratulated . I . HUGHES