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Molecular Diagnostics for the Clinical Laboratorian
Am. J. Hum. Genet. 63:1566–1567, 1998
BOOK REVIEWS
Am. J. Hum. Genet. 63:1566, 1998
Molecular Diagnostics for the Clinical Laboratorian. Edited by W. B. Coleman and G. J. Tsongalis. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press, 1997. Pp 390. $79.50. The first half of this book provides a summary of the key techniques used in clinical molecular-diagnosis laboratories (such as nucleic-acid extraction, blotting, and amplification), and the second half focuses on selected applications to diagnosis of genetic, neoplastic, and infectious diseases. The emphasis throughout is on clinical laboratory applications; this focus is highly useful for specialists in this area, but a basic scientist or a clinician might find the book less useful, for that same reason. The book is generally well written, and the illustrations are useful and of acceptable quality. Because each chapter has different authors, there is some unevenness and repetition in the text. Molecular Diagnostics would be very useful for trainees in laboratory medicine, pathology, and the laboratory-based subspecialties of medical genetics. It provides a concise introduction to many technical and clinical issues important to
1566
diagnostic laboratories, and so it is appropriate for medicaltechnology students, residents, and clinical fellows. Experienced supervisors and directors of molecular-diagnosis laboratories might also benefit from this book, but it could not replace either the comprehensive references covering the laboratory techniques used in molecular biology or the comprehensive textbooks covering the clinical disciplines served by molecular-diagnosis laboratories (e.g., hematology, oncology, infectious diseases, medical genetics, and so on).
JONATHAN F. TAIT Departments of Laboratory Medicine, Pathology, and Medicine/Medical Genetics University of Washington Seattle 䉷 1998 by The American Society of Human Genetics. All rights reserved. 0002-9297/98/6305-0044$02.00
BOOK REVIEWS
Am. J. Hum. Genet. 63:1566, 1998
Molecular Diagnostics for the Clinical Laboratorian. Edited by W. B. Coleman and G. J. Tsongalis. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press, 1997. Pp 390. $79.50. The first half of this book provides a summary of the key techniques used in clinical molecular-diagnosis laboratories (such as nucleic-acid extraction, blotting, and amplification), and the second half focuses on selected applications to diagnosis of genetic, neoplastic, and infectious diseases. The emphasis throughout is on clinical laboratory applications; this focus is highly useful for specialists in this area, but a basic scientist or a clinician might find the book less useful, for that same reason. The book is generally well written, and the illustrations are useful and of acceptable quality. Because each chapter has different authors, there is some unevenness and repetition in the text. Molecular Diagnostics would be very useful for trainees in laboratory medicine, pathology, and the laboratory-based subspecialties of medical genetics. It provides a concise introduction to many technical and clinical issues important to
1566
diagnostic laboratories, and so it is appropriate for medicaltechnology students, residents, and clinical fellows. Experienced supervisors and directors of molecular-diagnosis laboratories might also benefit from this book, but it could not replace either the comprehensive references covering the laboratory techniques used in molecular biology or the comprehensive textbooks covering the clinical disciplines served by molecular-diagnosis laboratories (e.g., hematology, oncology, infectious diseases, medical genetics, and so on).
JONATHAN F. TAIT Departments of Laboratory Medicine, Pathology, and Medicine/Medical Genetics University of Washington Seattle 䉷 1998 by The American Society of Human Genetics. All rights reserved. 0002-9297/98/6305-0044$02.00