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East African Journal of Ophthalmology
276
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
clearly. My cassettes were greatly flawed because side 2, which covered transpar encies 18-30, was recorded at a different tape speed than side 1 and sounded more like a conversation in a Middle East em porium. This is an obvious technical error but one that should not occur in such an expensive set of materials. This method of audio-visual presenta tion is becoming an important teaching mechanism. Its value points up both the positive and negative aspects of such ma terial. It would not have been possible to include so many color illustrations in a standard textbook. In contrast, the at tempt to incorporate large amounts of material in an easy fashion has led more to a show-and-tell experience than a meaningful teaching one. While this is by no means a definitive work and I have pointed out the many flaws of presenta tion, I believe residents and groups of practitioners who utilize the material with appropriate direction or supervision will find it useful. PAUL HENKIND
East African Journal of Ophthalmology, Vol. 1, No. 1. Editor-in-Chief, G. G. Bisley. Nairobi, Kenya, Ophthalmological Society of East Africa, 1976. Pub lished semiannually. Annual subscrip tion, $5.60 The East African Medical Journal is the official journal of the Ophthalmological Society of East Africa. The Society is composed of ophthalmologists working in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The first issue, "Dedicated to the Blind of Africa," contains the proceedings of the Sixth Annual Congress of the Ophthal mological Society of East Africa held in Nairobi, Kenya, on Aug. 13 and 14, 1976. The ophthalmologists of this Society have far different problems than those of us practicing in the United States. There is a fantastic shortage of ophthalmologists
AUGUST, 1977
in these countries. "For 60 million peo ple, there are 50 to 60 ophthalmologists —available in East Africa—, most of these are concentrated in a dozen centers or towns." The first few articles deal with problems unique to this inadequately served area. In "Blindness in Uganda," by J. M. L. Otiti, the author states there is no basis for reliable statistics on blindness because of the following: "no eye registration of the blind, inadequate ophthalmic services, inadequate communications, and an in adequate medical and ophthalmic record system at all medical and blind institu tions." He believes trauma, corneal dis eases, cataract, and trachoma are the lead ing causes of blindness in his country. In the article "Blindness in Tanzania," J. Taylor states reliable statistics on blind ness in Tanzania do not exist. From 20 years of practice, he concludes that tra choma, vitamin A deficiency, the iatrogenic results of "traditional practition ers," injury, lepromatous inflammation, cataracts, and glaucoma are the leading problems. For glaucoma, he concludes early surgery is the only approach. M. W. Choudhry in discussing "Vector-borne blindness in Africa," states that trachoma accounts for two million cases of blind ness and onchocerciasis for another IV2 million. Vitamin A deficiency and tracho ma are considered in separate articles. Other papers discuss the role of medi cal auxiliaries in the delivery of eye care, the contributions of the Kenya Society for Blindness and its mobile eye units, and the activities of the Sight by Wings group who hop by airplane from one bush hos pital to another. In writing about the difficulties of early detection of glaucoma and referral to sur gical centers, M. H. Bhimani states: There are many more soluable problems in blind ness prevention that deserve a higher priority, such as the prevention and treatment of eye infec tions and the surgical treatment of senile cataracts. These are likely to absorb all available ophthalmic personnel and available financial resources for many years to come.
VOL. 84, NO. 2
BOOK REVIEWS
These articles reveal the dismal oph thalmic milieu in which ophthalmolo gists of the East African Ophthalmological Society practice. I expect articles in this journal will concentrate on practical contributions and possible answers to im mediate problems. This journal should be interesting to those of us concerned with the delivery of basic ophthalmological care in develop ing countries, and those with a particular interest in tropical ophthalmology. The editor, G. G. Bisley, is to be con gratulated for making forward steps for the blind of Africa. JAMES E. MCDONALD
Anatomy of the Orbit. 2nd ed. By Crowell Beard and Marvin H. Quickert, Birmingham, Aesculapius Publishing Company, 1977. Clothbound, 76 pages, table of contents, index, 1 black and white figure, 94 color figures. $20 The second edition of "Anatomy of the Orbit," by Crowell Beard and the late Marvin Quickert, is designed as a dissec tion manual of the structures of the head related to ophthalmology, excluding the intraocular contents. The text is not sig nificantly different from the first edition, probably because there have been few advances in our knowledge concerning the gross anatomy of the eyelids and orbit in the last seven years. The book concen trates on eyelid and orbital anatomy, but includes the anatomy of paranasal sinus es, nasal cavity, and ophthalmologically related cranial nerves and arteries. What makes the new edition superior to the first is the revised format, whereby the dissection photographs are coordinated with the text. This allows a composite view of the photographs and the instruc tions for the dissection. Previously, the two were separate, necessitating a lot of page turning during the dissection, which added a distinct formaldehyde odor to the pages.
277
Additionally, despite an inconsistency in their brightness the quality of the color photographs seems improved as com pared to those of the first edition. The depiction of the cadaver dissection is extraordinary. Cadaver tissue is friable and it is difficult to demonstrate the vari ous orbital structures. In the photographs in this text, every nerve, artery, and mus cle are clearly depicted. This text should be used as a reference for all surgeons performing eyelid, orbit al, or lacrimal surgery; for the study of neuro-ophthalmology; and for the appre ciation of the pathogenesis of vascular and sinus pathology related to ophthal mology. I highly recommend this book to all ophthalmologists who do not already possess the first edition. ALLEN M. PUTTERMAN
Grundriss Der A Ugenheilkunde. By Wolfgang Leydhecker. Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 1976. Paperback, 289 pages, table of contents, index, 218 black and white figures, 73 color fig ures. This book, in its 19th edition, has been translated into four languages. It is a concise synopsis of ophthalmology for medical students and nonspecialists. The text is well organized and profusely illus trated. Its teaching value is enhanced by the liberal use of different colors and special printing to summarize and em phasize the most essential information. The end of the book contains a core curriculum agreed upon by the German equivalent of the American University Professors in Ophthalmology, as well as questions and answers, and page refer ences for each subject. This unique orga nization makes this book useful not only for German-speaking medical students, but also for first-year residents as an introduction to ophthalmology. A bibliography would have been help ful to those desiring more detailed infor-
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
clearly. My cassettes were greatly flawed because side 2, which covered transpar encies 18-30, was recorded at a different tape speed than side 1 and sounded more like a conversation in a Middle East em porium. This is an obvious technical error but one that should not occur in such an expensive set of materials. This method of audio-visual presenta tion is becoming an important teaching mechanism. Its value points up both the positive and negative aspects of such ma terial. It would not have been possible to include so many color illustrations in a standard textbook. In contrast, the at tempt to incorporate large amounts of material in an easy fashion has led more to a show-and-tell experience than a meaningful teaching one. While this is by no means a definitive work and I have pointed out the many flaws of presenta tion, I believe residents and groups of practitioners who utilize the material with appropriate direction or supervision will find it useful. PAUL HENKIND
East African Journal of Ophthalmology, Vol. 1, No. 1. Editor-in-Chief, G. G. Bisley. Nairobi, Kenya, Ophthalmological Society of East Africa, 1976. Pub lished semiannually. Annual subscrip tion, $5.60 The East African Medical Journal is the official journal of the Ophthalmological Society of East Africa. The Society is composed of ophthalmologists working in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The first issue, "Dedicated to the Blind of Africa," contains the proceedings of the Sixth Annual Congress of the Ophthal mological Society of East Africa held in Nairobi, Kenya, on Aug. 13 and 14, 1976. The ophthalmologists of this Society have far different problems than those of us practicing in the United States. There is a fantastic shortage of ophthalmologists
AUGUST, 1977
in these countries. "For 60 million peo ple, there are 50 to 60 ophthalmologists —available in East Africa—, most of these are concentrated in a dozen centers or towns." The first few articles deal with problems unique to this inadequately served area. In "Blindness in Uganda," by J. M. L. Otiti, the author states there is no basis for reliable statistics on blindness because of the following: "no eye registration of the blind, inadequate ophthalmic services, inadequate communications, and an in adequate medical and ophthalmic record system at all medical and blind institu tions." He believes trauma, corneal dis eases, cataract, and trachoma are the lead ing causes of blindness in his country. In the article "Blindness in Tanzania," J. Taylor states reliable statistics on blind ness in Tanzania do not exist. From 20 years of practice, he concludes that tra choma, vitamin A deficiency, the iatrogenic results of "traditional practition ers," injury, lepromatous inflammation, cataracts, and glaucoma are the leading problems. For glaucoma, he concludes early surgery is the only approach. M. W. Choudhry in discussing "Vector-borne blindness in Africa," states that trachoma accounts for two million cases of blind ness and onchocerciasis for another IV2 million. Vitamin A deficiency and tracho ma are considered in separate articles. Other papers discuss the role of medi cal auxiliaries in the delivery of eye care, the contributions of the Kenya Society for Blindness and its mobile eye units, and the activities of the Sight by Wings group who hop by airplane from one bush hos pital to another. In writing about the difficulties of early detection of glaucoma and referral to sur gical centers, M. H. Bhimani states: There are many more soluable problems in blind ness prevention that deserve a higher priority, such as the prevention and treatment of eye infec tions and the surgical treatment of senile cataracts. These are likely to absorb all available ophthalmic personnel and available financial resources for many years to come.
VOL. 84, NO. 2
BOOK REVIEWS
These articles reveal the dismal oph thalmic milieu in which ophthalmolo gists of the East African Ophthalmological Society practice. I expect articles in this journal will concentrate on practical contributions and possible answers to im mediate problems. This journal should be interesting to those of us concerned with the delivery of basic ophthalmological care in develop ing countries, and those with a particular interest in tropical ophthalmology. The editor, G. G. Bisley, is to be con gratulated for making forward steps for the blind of Africa. JAMES E. MCDONALD
Anatomy of the Orbit. 2nd ed. By Crowell Beard and Marvin H. Quickert, Birmingham, Aesculapius Publishing Company, 1977. Clothbound, 76 pages, table of contents, index, 1 black and white figure, 94 color figures. $20 The second edition of "Anatomy of the Orbit," by Crowell Beard and the late Marvin Quickert, is designed as a dissec tion manual of the structures of the head related to ophthalmology, excluding the intraocular contents. The text is not sig nificantly different from the first edition, probably because there have been few advances in our knowledge concerning the gross anatomy of the eyelids and orbit in the last seven years. The book concen trates on eyelid and orbital anatomy, but includes the anatomy of paranasal sinus es, nasal cavity, and ophthalmologically related cranial nerves and arteries. What makes the new edition superior to the first is the revised format, whereby the dissection photographs are coordinated with the text. This allows a composite view of the photographs and the instruc tions for the dissection. Previously, the two were separate, necessitating a lot of page turning during the dissection, which added a distinct formaldehyde odor to the pages.
277
Additionally, despite an inconsistency in their brightness the quality of the color photographs seems improved as com pared to those of the first edition. The depiction of the cadaver dissection is extraordinary. Cadaver tissue is friable and it is difficult to demonstrate the vari ous orbital structures. In the photographs in this text, every nerve, artery, and mus cle are clearly depicted. This text should be used as a reference for all surgeons performing eyelid, orbit al, or lacrimal surgery; for the study of neuro-ophthalmology; and for the appre ciation of the pathogenesis of vascular and sinus pathology related to ophthal mology. I highly recommend this book to all ophthalmologists who do not already possess the first edition. ALLEN M. PUTTERMAN
Grundriss Der A Ugenheilkunde. By Wolfgang Leydhecker. Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 1976. Paperback, 289 pages, table of contents, index, 218 black and white figures, 73 color fig ures. This book, in its 19th edition, has been translated into four languages. It is a concise synopsis of ophthalmology for medical students and nonspecialists. The text is well organized and profusely illus trated. Its teaching value is enhanced by the liberal use of different colors and special printing to summarize and em phasize the most essential information. The end of the book contains a core curriculum agreed upon by the German equivalent of the American University Professors in Ophthalmology, as well as questions and answers, and page refer ences for each subject. This unique orga nization makes this book useful not only for German-speaking medical students, but also for first-year residents as an introduction to ophthalmology. A bibliography would have been help ful to those desiring more detailed infor-