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The Aging Eye. A Guide for Nurses
VOL. 98, NO. 3
BOOK REVIEWS
use of the carbon dioxide laser and endolasers is discussed by various authors, including Wohlbarsht and Landers, Kilp, Walzer, Tacke and Horster, Yoshimoto, Kampik, Birngruber and Gabel, and Peyman and associates. The chapters by Weinberg, Lorenz, and Birngruber and Gabel on controlling retinal photocoagulation by light reflec tion, and that by Pomerantzeff and Timberlake on automation of photocoagulation are especially interesting and important. They concern an issue which has not been adequately addressed; the standardization of the dosage of laser en ergy. This is an important text and highly recommended.
Ophthalmology. By Andrew P. Schachat and Alan F. Cruess. Baltimore, Wil liams & Wilkins, 1984. Softcover, 124 pages, illustrated. S14.95
387
called "Diagnostic Diagrams." Each chapter has an accompanying flowchart, with arrows and boxes running across two pages. The glaucoma diagram is mud dled; the only way to arrive at a glaucoma diagnosis is to start with a patient whose intraocular pressures are neither in creased nor normal. In general, these diagrams do not work very well, but more careful execution and a more visually pleasing format might salvage the idea.
The Aging Eye. A Guide for Nurses. By Maria J. Kapperud. Edited by Jon Tierney, Charles F. Barer, George \V. Mill er, Jonathan E. Pederson, and Brian Salem. St. Paul, The Minnesota Society for the Prevention of Blindness and Preservation of Hearing, 1983. Softcover, 55 pages, index, illustrated. S8.95 (includes S2.00 postage) Reviewed by SARAH SMITH
Reviewed by TERRY A. Cox
Omaha,
Iowa City,
Iowa
Nebraska
This book is meant to be used by medi cal students as an introductory text. How ever, it assumes the reader knows the clinical anatomy of the eye as well as many of the common terms in the oph thalmic vocabulary. The first chapter dis cusses the eye examination superficially and uses no illustrations. The student would learn more about the examination from a physical diagnosis text. The au thors rely on verbal descriptions of pa thology instead of illustrations through out most of the book. The text contains numerous typographical and grammatical errors. Figures 5.1 and 5.2 are reversed. The description of the anatomy of the visual radiations is incorrect (p. 30). Wil lebrand is credited with Wilbrand's knee. The chapter on headache is too brief to be useful. ' This book apparently is part of a series
The patient with an eye problem may find it easy to reveal his doubts, his confusion, and his fears to a nurse. He often depends upon the nurse to repeat what the doctor said. The nurse must be well informed to answer questions about the patient's problem and about the doc tor's proposed treatment for it. There always seems to be a shortage of good material addressed to nurses; hence, this book fills a very definite need. It covers age-related ocular conditions clearly and in sufficient detail so that any nurse can use the book, and even the ophthalmic nurse will learn from it. For example, an Amsler grid is published with concise instructions for its use. There is a valuable glossary and an excel lent resource appendix giving addresses from which more information can be ob tained. Every nursing home should have this
388
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
guide to the eye problems of the elderly —it is just what the nurses need. Color Atlas of the Eye and Systemic Dis ease. By Erna E. Kritzinger and Barry E. Wright. Chicago, Year Book Medical Publishers, Inc. 72 pages, index, illus trated. $29.95
SEPTEMBER, 1984
thalmos; the corneal exposure in Graves' ophthalmopathy is probably better treat ed by recessing the retracted eyelid than by doing a lateral tarsotomy. The book does emphasize the importance of eye diseases to general medicine, and it will be a useful book to have at hand as a patient teaching aid if only to make the point that the patient's ocular condition is part of a generalized systemic disease.
Reviewed by F R E D MAUSOLF
Lincoln,
Nebraska
This hardbound atlas illustrates the oc ular findings in systemic disease and is intended primarily for residents in oph thalmology and internal medicine. It will also serve as a quick refresher for clini cians in ophthalmology, rheumatology, dermatology, endocrinology, and neurol ogy. The major sections cover metabolic, connective tissue, infectious, dermatol ogie, endocrine, cardiovascular, renal, hématologie, gastrointestinal, and neuro logic diseases. Photographs of excellent quality are accompanied by a brief de scription of each disease. Since the intent of the authors was to provide the reader with a well-organized set of photographs rather than a refer ence book, it is understandable that there is little depth in the accompanying text. I was, however, disappointed that there was no bibliography. The term "Stills Disease" should really be replaced by "juvenile rheumatoid arthritis"; Homer's syndrome does not involve real enoph-
Correction In the article, "Ocular cicatricial pemphigoid associated with hyperproliferation of the conjunctival epithelium" (Am. J. Ophthalmol. 98:37, July 1984), by R. A. Thoft, J. Friend, S. Kinoshita, L. Nikolic, and C. S. Foster, the first col umn on p. 40 should be replaced by the following: were found in the corresponding area of three patients with ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (Table 3; Fig. 2). DISCUSSION
These studies confirmed the regional variation in the goblet cell content of the normal human conjunctival epithelium originally described by Kessing. 13 The epithelium adjacent to the corneoscleral limbus has a low goblet cell content, while the lower nasal area has about 7% goblet cells. The decreased number of goblet cells we found in the lower nasal region of the conjunctival epithelium in
BOOK REVIEWS
use of the carbon dioxide laser and endolasers is discussed by various authors, including Wohlbarsht and Landers, Kilp, Walzer, Tacke and Horster, Yoshimoto, Kampik, Birngruber and Gabel, and Peyman and associates. The chapters by Weinberg, Lorenz, and Birngruber and Gabel on controlling retinal photocoagulation by light reflec tion, and that by Pomerantzeff and Timberlake on automation of photocoagulation are especially interesting and important. They concern an issue which has not been adequately addressed; the standardization of the dosage of laser en ergy. This is an important text and highly recommended.
Ophthalmology. By Andrew P. Schachat and Alan F. Cruess. Baltimore, Wil liams & Wilkins, 1984. Softcover, 124 pages, illustrated. S14.95
387
called "Diagnostic Diagrams." Each chapter has an accompanying flowchart, with arrows and boxes running across two pages. The glaucoma diagram is mud dled; the only way to arrive at a glaucoma diagnosis is to start with a patient whose intraocular pressures are neither in creased nor normal. In general, these diagrams do not work very well, but more careful execution and a more visually pleasing format might salvage the idea.
The Aging Eye. A Guide for Nurses. By Maria J. Kapperud. Edited by Jon Tierney, Charles F. Barer, George \V. Mill er, Jonathan E. Pederson, and Brian Salem. St. Paul, The Minnesota Society for the Prevention of Blindness and Preservation of Hearing, 1983. Softcover, 55 pages, index, illustrated. S8.95 (includes S2.00 postage) Reviewed by SARAH SMITH
Reviewed by TERRY A. Cox
Omaha,
Iowa City,
Iowa
Nebraska
This book is meant to be used by medi cal students as an introductory text. How ever, it assumes the reader knows the clinical anatomy of the eye as well as many of the common terms in the oph thalmic vocabulary. The first chapter dis cusses the eye examination superficially and uses no illustrations. The student would learn more about the examination from a physical diagnosis text. The au thors rely on verbal descriptions of pa thology instead of illustrations through out most of the book. The text contains numerous typographical and grammatical errors. Figures 5.1 and 5.2 are reversed. The description of the anatomy of the visual radiations is incorrect (p. 30). Wil lebrand is credited with Wilbrand's knee. The chapter on headache is too brief to be useful. ' This book apparently is part of a series
The patient with an eye problem may find it easy to reveal his doubts, his confusion, and his fears to a nurse. He often depends upon the nurse to repeat what the doctor said. The nurse must be well informed to answer questions about the patient's problem and about the doc tor's proposed treatment for it. There always seems to be a shortage of good material addressed to nurses; hence, this book fills a very definite need. It covers age-related ocular conditions clearly and in sufficient detail so that any nurse can use the book, and even the ophthalmic nurse will learn from it. For example, an Amsler grid is published with concise instructions for its use. There is a valuable glossary and an excel lent resource appendix giving addresses from which more information can be ob tained. Every nursing home should have this
388
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
guide to the eye problems of the elderly —it is just what the nurses need. Color Atlas of the Eye and Systemic Dis ease. By Erna E. Kritzinger and Barry E. Wright. Chicago, Year Book Medical Publishers, Inc. 72 pages, index, illus trated. $29.95
SEPTEMBER, 1984
thalmos; the corneal exposure in Graves' ophthalmopathy is probably better treat ed by recessing the retracted eyelid than by doing a lateral tarsotomy. The book does emphasize the importance of eye diseases to general medicine, and it will be a useful book to have at hand as a patient teaching aid if only to make the point that the patient's ocular condition is part of a generalized systemic disease.
Reviewed by F R E D MAUSOLF
Lincoln,
Nebraska
This hardbound atlas illustrates the oc ular findings in systemic disease and is intended primarily for residents in oph thalmology and internal medicine. It will also serve as a quick refresher for clini cians in ophthalmology, rheumatology, dermatology, endocrinology, and neurol ogy. The major sections cover metabolic, connective tissue, infectious, dermatol ogie, endocrine, cardiovascular, renal, hématologie, gastrointestinal, and neuro logic diseases. Photographs of excellent quality are accompanied by a brief de scription of each disease. Since the intent of the authors was to provide the reader with a well-organized set of photographs rather than a refer ence book, it is understandable that there is little depth in the accompanying text. I was, however, disappointed that there was no bibliography. The term "Stills Disease" should really be replaced by "juvenile rheumatoid arthritis"; Homer's syndrome does not involve real enoph-
Correction In the article, "Ocular cicatricial pemphigoid associated with hyperproliferation of the conjunctival epithelium" (Am. J. Ophthalmol. 98:37, July 1984), by R. A. Thoft, J. Friend, S. Kinoshita, L. Nikolic, and C. S. Foster, the first col umn on p. 40 should be replaced by the following: were found in the corresponding area of three patients with ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (Table 3; Fig. 2). DISCUSSION
These studies confirmed the regional variation in the goblet cell content of the normal human conjunctival epithelium originally described by Kessing. 13 The epithelium adjacent to the corneoscleral limbus has a low goblet cell content, while the lower nasal area has about 7% goblet cells. The decreased number of goblet cells we found in the lower nasal region of the conjunctival epithelium in