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Textbook of gynecology
BOOK
REVIEWS
-&I-
igas-oxygen ether) as an anesthetic has left the author cold to the claims of other agents suggested as basic routines.” And his arguagent for general anesthesia in ment for ether “the anesthetic the armed forces and for civilian defense,” is most eloquent and convincing. Dr. Flagg’s decided and we11 founded preference for ether does not mean that the claims of other rival candidates are neglected. On the contrary, chloroform, ethylene, cyclopropane, vinethene, etc., and the growing famiIy of basal hypnotics and sedatives, no less than the methods of local, regional, spinal and caudal analgesia, are all passed in review and disposed of in brief, but lucid summaries and conclusions are given based on the mature experience and critical judgment of the author. The reader need not look here for long dissertations on controversial subjects or endless columns of bibliographic citations. This is a personal book-original in the best sense--the mirror of a man’s lifelong experience-in which the stream of progress is viewed critically, Iucidly and judicious11 with stress on the solid things that Iie in the depths without neglect of the things that float on the surface. And it is because of this fine sense of proportion and because of the high sense of responsibility and devotion to his art and to his fello&, revealed in ever\. page of this fine book, that it wiII always command a distinguished and honorable place in the literature of anesthesia. RUDOLPH
MATAS.
When Dr. Novak’s book] appeared two years ago, under the title of “Gynecology and Female Endocrinology,” it was conceded that the author had written an excellent book. It had wide distribution among the profession. The fact that a second edition appears so soon is a guarantee that the material is well balanced, up-to-date and reflects the work of an experienced teacher and research worker. We are sorry it was seen fit to drop “Female Endocrinology” from the title, because Dr. Novak has earned his right to the title of being one of the outstanding workers in this complicated and little known and appreciated field. We are sure that many readers took to the work because they believed Dr. Novak would set them 1Textbook of GynecoIogy. By Emil Novak. 2nd ed. Baltimore, ,944. Tile \Villinmx Sr \Vilkins Company. Price $8.oo.
418
BOOK
REVIEWS
straight on many matters of femaIe endocrinology. By and Iarge there is, and there has been, much biIge written on this subject, and between the cIaims of the pharmaceutica1 houses and many haIf baked pseudo-scientific authors, the average practitioner has been in a fog and often did not know which way to turn. If the practitioner wouId take the time to read this book by Dr. Novak, the fog wouId Iift and the reader wouId know the better how to diagnose and treat many of his patients. AIthough the book as a whoIe is of a high standard, we think it is the section that deals with femaIe endocrinoIogy that gives it particuIar vaIue. The book is beautifuIIy iIIustrated and some iIlustrations are in color. It has a BibIiography or “References” at the end of the chapters and an Index. Dr. Novak’s work is a we11 baIanced, soIid and readabIe book. The first edition of “CIinicaI UroIogy”2 appeared in 1940. It received favorabIe and enthusiastic reviews. This reviewer gave it high praise, and in the second edition he has no th,ought of doing otherwise than repeat this high praise and say that it is a work both the authors and pubhshers can Iook upon with satisfaction and pride. It deserves a wide saIe because the authors have written good EngIish and made the book practica1 and usefuI. In both editions the approach of genera1 practitioner and genera1 surgeon to genitourinary diseases is as fuIIy considered as the requirements of the speciaIist in this branch of medicine. The work is a combination of embryoIogy, anatomy and pathology with a manua1 of modern operative technic. The drawings were made at the operating tabIe by WiIliam P. Didusch. The architecture of the first edition and the above mentioned basic foundation have been preserved and revised, and new materia1, bringing the work up to date, has been added to this second edition. The work is in two volumes. A workabIe Bibliography is at the concIusion of each chapter and there is a detaiIed Index. surgeon or uroIogist this book is For student, practitioner, warmly recommended because it is practical, authoritative and cIear and there is so much condensed in its pages. In 1913, the Iate Dr. DeLee completed the first edition of what has become and has continued to.be for over thirty years one of the * ClinicaI Urology. By OswaId Swinney Low&y and Thomas Joseph K&in. : in two voIumes. BaItimore, 1944. The WiIIiams & WiIkins Company. Price $10.00
2nd ed., per set.
BOOK
REVIEWS
4’9
most popuIar textbooks3 of obstetrics for undergraduates and practitioners of medicine. With each succeeding edition the material was changed, brought up to date and new iIIustrations added. Two years before his death Dr. DeLee was asked to prepare the eighth edition. Because of his untimeIy death Dr. Greenhill was given the job. Dr. GreenhiII’s seIection for this Iabor was a fortunate and happy one. He has done a finished piece of work. In this edition rearrangement of materia1 was made in the first third of the book. Another outstanding change was the substitution of EngIish terms for the Latin ones in the designation of presentation and position. Many new chapters have been added, bringing the work abreast of the times. Much of the work has been rewritten, and oId iIIustrations have been taken out and new ones put in their pIace. AI1 in aI1, GreenhiII has fashioned a modern, up-to-the-minute work on obstetrics buiIt on a scientific foundation that has been standard for over three decades. Dr. GreenhiII and the pubIishers are to be congratuIated on the end resuIts of their efforts to keep aIive and to keep in the front rank a work that has been a medica househoId standby for so man!years. With the passing of time gynecoIogy aIso has undergone changes. To have this the more forcibIy brought to mind gIance through a textbook on gynecoIogy pubIished about rgoo, or one pubIished circa 19 IO or 1920. The evoIution has been gradua1 and sIow. Toda\ gynecology is not merely a surgica1 art; much of it is medica and preventive. One must know how to differentiate between functional disorders and organic; he must be familiar with the more common factors of endocrinoIogy and chemotherapy. The thing lacking in most books on this subject in the past and, for that part, over g$ per cent of present day works, is that of female uroIogy. At best the authors pass by this important fieId of medicine with scant mention. Yet every gynecoIogist knows that familiarity with uroIogical conditions in the femaIe makes him more competent to handle the more serious accidents and complications in obstetric and gynecologic practice as concerns the urinary organs. Therefore, if any one feature of Dr. Wharton’s work” is outstanding and causes :IThe PrincipIes and Practice of Obstetrics. By Joseph B. DeLee and J. P. Greenhill. 8th ed. PhiIadeIphia, 1943. W. B. Saunders. Price $10.00. 4 GynecoIogy. With a Section on FemaIe Urology. By Lawrence 13. Wharton. Philadelphia, ,943. W. B. Saunders. Price $10.00.
420
BOOK REVIEWS
the reviewer to recommend it, it is the part devoted to gynecoIogic uroIogy. At the beginning of each chapter is an outline so the reader may see at a gIance the whoIe subject “in its proper proportions.” The work comprises 1,006 pages, 444 iIIustrations, a BibIiography at the end of each chapter, and an ampIe Index. It is a good book from every angIe.
REVIEWS
-&I-
igas-oxygen ether) as an anesthetic has left the author cold to the claims of other agents suggested as basic routines.” And his arguagent for general anesthesia in ment for ether “the anesthetic the armed forces and for civilian defense,” is most eloquent and convincing. Dr. Flagg’s decided and we11 founded preference for ether does not mean that the claims of other rival candidates are neglected. On the contrary, chloroform, ethylene, cyclopropane, vinethene, etc., and the growing famiIy of basal hypnotics and sedatives, no less than the methods of local, regional, spinal and caudal analgesia, are all passed in review and disposed of in brief, but lucid summaries and conclusions are given based on the mature experience and critical judgment of the author. The reader need not look here for long dissertations on controversial subjects or endless columns of bibliographic citations. This is a personal book-original in the best sense--the mirror of a man’s lifelong experience-in which the stream of progress is viewed critically, Iucidly and judicious11 with stress on the solid things that Iie in the depths without neglect of the things that float on the surface. And it is because of this fine sense of proportion and because of the high sense of responsibility and devotion to his art and to his fello&, revealed in ever\. page of this fine book, that it wiII always command a distinguished and honorable place in the literature of anesthesia. RUDOLPH
MATAS.
When Dr. Novak’s book] appeared two years ago, under the title of “Gynecology and Female Endocrinology,” it was conceded that the author had written an excellent book. It had wide distribution among the profession. The fact that a second edition appears so soon is a guarantee that the material is well balanced, up-to-date and reflects the work of an experienced teacher and research worker. We are sorry it was seen fit to drop “Female Endocrinology” from the title, because Dr. Novak has earned his right to the title of being one of the outstanding workers in this complicated and little known and appreciated field. We are sure that many readers took to the work because they believed Dr. Novak would set them 1Textbook of GynecoIogy. By Emil Novak. 2nd ed. Baltimore, ,944. Tile \Villinmx Sr \Vilkins Company. Price $8.oo.
418
BOOK
REVIEWS
straight on many matters of femaIe endocrinology. By and Iarge there is, and there has been, much biIge written on this subject, and between the cIaims of the pharmaceutica1 houses and many haIf baked pseudo-scientific authors, the average practitioner has been in a fog and often did not know which way to turn. If the practitioner wouId take the time to read this book by Dr. Novak, the fog wouId Iift and the reader wouId know the better how to diagnose and treat many of his patients. AIthough the book as a whoIe is of a high standard, we think it is the section that deals with femaIe endocrinoIogy that gives it particuIar vaIue. The book is beautifuIIy iIIustrated and some iIlustrations are in color. It has a BibIiography or “References” at the end of the chapters and an Index. Dr. Novak’s work is a we11 baIanced, soIid and readabIe book. The first edition of “CIinicaI UroIogy”2 appeared in 1940. It received favorabIe and enthusiastic reviews. This reviewer gave it high praise, and in the second edition he has no th,ought of doing otherwise than repeat this high praise and say that it is a work both the authors and pubhshers can Iook upon with satisfaction and pride. It deserves a wide saIe because the authors have written good EngIish and made the book practica1 and usefuI. In both editions the approach of genera1 practitioner and genera1 surgeon to genitourinary diseases is as fuIIy considered as the requirements of the speciaIist in this branch of medicine. The work is a combination of embryoIogy, anatomy and pathology with a manua1 of modern operative technic. The drawings were made at the operating tabIe by WiIliam P. Didusch. The architecture of the first edition and the above mentioned basic foundation have been preserved and revised, and new materia1, bringing the work up to date, has been added to this second edition. The work is in two volumes. A workabIe Bibliography is at the concIusion of each chapter and there is a detaiIed Index. surgeon or uroIogist this book is For student, practitioner, warmly recommended because it is practical, authoritative and cIear and there is so much condensed in its pages. In 1913, the Iate Dr. DeLee completed the first edition of what has become and has continued to.be for over thirty years one of the * ClinicaI Urology. By OswaId Swinney Low&y and Thomas Joseph K&in. : in two voIumes. BaItimore, 1944. The WiIIiams & WiIkins Company. Price $10.00
2nd ed., per set.
BOOK
REVIEWS
4’9
most popuIar textbooks3 of obstetrics for undergraduates and practitioners of medicine. With each succeeding edition the material was changed, brought up to date and new iIIustrations added. Two years before his death Dr. DeLee was asked to prepare the eighth edition. Because of his untimeIy death Dr. Greenhill was given the job. Dr. GreenhiII’s seIection for this Iabor was a fortunate and happy one. He has done a finished piece of work. In this edition rearrangement of materia1 was made in the first third of the book. Another outstanding change was the substitution of EngIish terms for the Latin ones in the designation of presentation and position. Many new chapters have been added, bringing the work abreast of the times. Much of the work has been rewritten, and oId iIIustrations have been taken out and new ones put in their pIace. AI1 in aI1, GreenhiII has fashioned a modern, up-to-the-minute work on obstetrics buiIt on a scientific foundation that has been standard for over three decades. Dr. GreenhiII and the pubIishers are to be congratuIated on the end resuIts of their efforts to keep aIive and to keep in the front rank a work that has been a medica househoId standby for so man!years. With the passing of time gynecoIogy aIso has undergone changes. To have this the more forcibIy brought to mind gIance through a textbook on gynecoIogy pubIished about rgoo, or one pubIished circa 19 IO or 1920. The evoIution has been gradua1 and sIow. Toda\ gynecology is not merely a surgica1 art; much of it is medica and preventive. One must know how to differentiate between functional disorders and organic; he must be familiar with the more common factors of endocrinoIogy and chemotherapy. The thing lacking in most books on this subject in the past and, for that part, over g$ per cent of present day works, is that of female uroIogy. At best the authors pass by this important fieId of medicine with scant mention. Yet every gynecoIogist knows that familiarity with uroIogical conditions in the femaIe makes him more competent to handle the more serious accidents and complications in obstetric and gynecologic practice as concerns the urinary organs. Therefore, if any one feature of Dr. Wharton’s work” is outstanding and causes :IThe PrincipIes and Practice of Obstetrics. By Joseph B. DeLee and J. P. Greenhill. 8th ed. PhiIadeIphia, 1943. W. B. Saunders. Price $10.00. 4 GynecoIogy. With a Section on FemaIe Urology. By Lawrence 13. Wharton. Philadelphia, ,943. W. B. Saunders. Price $10.00.
420
BOOK REVIEWS
the reviewer to recommend it, it is the part devoted to gynecoIogic uroIogy. At the beginning of each chapter is an outline so the reader may see at a gIance the whoIe subject “in its proper proportions.” The work comprises 1,006 pages, 444 iIIustrations, a BibIiography at the end of each chapter, and an ampIe Index. It is a good book from every angIe.