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The Development of the Infant and Young Child Normal and Abnormal
BOOK REVIEWS
99
developing countries. Increasingly it is being realized that national food and nutrition programmes require clear formulation at the start and thereafter effective coordination among the several agencies involved. At the international level W.H.O. collaborates with F.A.O., U.N.I.C.E.F. the World Food Programme, etc. The Protein Advisory Group of F.A.O./W.H.O. and U.N.I.C.E.F. is a good example of such collaboration. Its work is described and a list given of its statements and guidelines. W.H.O. has difficulties finding enough staff for field activities and the organization has been giving high priority to the training of personnel in the field of nutrition, particularly medical and public health nutritionists. After an interesting summary of research which W.H.O. has supported, the review concludes with a selected list of W.H.O. publications on nutrition and with some possible lines of future action. Most of the activities have been in the developing countries but the Organization now feels that "more attention should be paid to diabetes, o s t e o p o r o s i s . . , the ageing process, and the influence of dietary habits on atherosclerosis from early infancy onwards." THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE iNFANT AND YOUNG CHILD NORMAL AND ABNORMAL. By R. S. Illingworth. 5th Edition. Edinburgh, Churchill Livingstone. £3.00. SINCE it first appeared in 1960 this ha~ B'een regarded as the standard text book on developmental paediatrics. Owing~.to the increasing interest in the subject, and the research being undertaken, Professor Illingworth has had to revise the book yet again, to bring it up to date and present a fifth edition. In spite of some additions, particularly a chapter on Head Measurement, the size of the book has not been increased. It remains easy to handle, easy to read and at the same time an excellent book of reference. In his preface the author stresses the importance of a thorough knowledge of child development; it is only after considerable experience of the range of normality that the examiner can identify with any degree of accuracy the abnormal. In the text, development and the observations that can be made particularly in motor and neurological aspects, is described in considerable detail, but in summarizing each chapter the author gives the minimum essentials and lists those abilities and findings that are of most significance. The chapter on Prenatal and Perinatal Factors influencing Development has been rewritten and now contains an admirable table summarizing these factors, including recent work on smoking, drugs and maternal stress. It is of course a combination rather than a single factor which may cause or be associated with developmental defects. It is almost impossible to decide the extent to which genetic or environmental factors determine intelligence and ability. Professor Illingworth has inserted a new chapter on Head Measurement. With many clinicians doubting the value of measuring the head circumference, it is interesting to find that regular measurements are insisted upon, and particularly that they must be related to the weight of the baby. Some interesting illustrations are given of anomalies with centile charts. There is also a new chapter on physical defects associated with mental subnormality. The common congenital defects including endocrine and metabolic are described. The significance of convulsions in relation to intellectual development is discussed and it is concluded that fits are a symptom rather than a cause of underlying brain defect. As in previous editions a most valuable list of test items at all ages is included with illustrations of normal variations. The warning is repeated that too much reliance should not be placed on single examinations in the early months, that the range of normality is very wide. Perhaps the most fascinating part of the whole book is that describing cases presenting striking deviations from the normal which subsequently made satisfactory progress. There are numerous photographs, well chosen and well reproduced, and particularly useful in illustrating neurological examination. No doctor concerned with paediatrics should be without this book. It is essential. But the difference between the fourth and fifth editions is not so great that the new one need immediately be substituted. (1) VECTORCONTROLIN INTERNATIONALHEALTH. Pp. 144. Geneva, World Health Organization, 1972. £3.20. (2) 19th REPORT EXPERT COMMITTEEON INSECTICIDES. Tech. Rpt. Series No. 475. Pp. 20. Geneva, World Health Organization. 20p. (3) SPECIFICATIONS FOR PESTICIDES USED IN PUBLIC HEALTH. 4th ed. Pp. 333. Geneva, World Health Organization, 1973. RECENT decades have seen an increasing trend of increasing movement of people and goods between countries and continents. This involves growing risks of accidental transport of harmful insects and rodents, some of which are vectors of serious disease. A recent W.H.O. publication (1) gives an up-to-date account of the most important of these vectors, with aids to their identification and an outline of their biology and control. This should be welcomed by sea and airport health authorities and others concerned with the prevention of vector-borne disease. In Britain, it is true, there is little risk of sustained transmission of such diseases; but some of the blood-sucking insects and the rodents are troublesome pests here.
99
developing countries. Increasingly it is being realized that national food and nutrition programmes require clear formulation at the start and thereafter effective coordination among the several agencies involved. At the international level W.H.O. collaborates with F.A.O., U.N.I.C.E.F. the World Food Programme, etc. The Protein Advisory Group of F.A.O./W.H.O. and U.N.I.C.E.F. is a good example of such collaboration. Its work is described and a list given of its statements and guidelines. W.H.O. has difficulties finding enough staff for field activities and the organization has been giving high priority to the training of personnel in the field of nutrition, particularly medical and public health nutritionists. After an interesting summary of research which W.H.O. has supported, the review concludes with a selected list of W.H.O. publications on nutrition and with some possible lines of future action. Most of the activities have been in the developing countries but the Organization now feels that "more attention should be paid to diabetes, o s t e o p o r o s i s . . , the ageing process, and the influence of dietary habits on atherosclerosis from early infancy onwards." THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE iNFANT AND YOUNG CHILD NORMAL AND ABNORMAL. By R. S. Illingworth. 5th Edition. Edinburgh, Churchill Livingstone. £3.00. SINCE it first appeared in 1960 this ha~ B'een regarded as the standard text book on developmental paediatrics. Owing~.to the increasing interest in the subject, and the research being undertaken, Professor Illingworth has had to revise the book yet again, to bring it up to date and present a fifth edition. In spite of some additions, particularly a chapter on Head Measurement, the size of the book has not been increased. It remains easy to handle, easy to read and at the same time an excellent book of reference. In his preface the author stresses the importance of a thorough knowledge of child development; it is only after considerable experience of the range of normality that the examiner can identify with any degree of accuracy the abnormal. In the text, development and the observations that can be made particularly in motor and neurological aspects, is described in considerable detail, but in summarizing each chapter the author gives the minimum essentials and lists those abilities and findings that are of most significance. The chapter on Prenatal and Perinatal Factors influencing Development has been rewritten and now contains an admirable table summarizing these factors, including recent work on smoking, drugs and maternal stress. It is of course a combination rather than a single factor which may cause or be associated with developmental defects. It is almost impossible to decide the extent to which genetic or environmental factors determine intelligence and ability. Professor Illingworth has inserted a new chapter on Head Measurement. With many clinicians doubting the value of measuring the head circumference, it is interesting to find that regular measurements are insisted upon, and particularly that they must be related to the weight of the baby. Some interesting illustrations are given of anomalies with centile charts. There is also a new chapter on physical defects associated with mental subnormality. The common congenital defects including endocrine and metabolic are described. The significance of convulsions in relation to intellectual development is discussed and it is concluded that fits are a symptom rather than a cause of underlying brain defect. As in previous editions a most valuable list of test items at all ages is included with illustrations of normal variations. The warning is repeated that too much reliance should not be placed on single examinations in the early months, that the range of normality is very wide. Perhaps the most fascinating part of the whole book is that describing cases presenting striking deviations from the normal which subsequently made satisfactory progress. There are numerous photographs, well chosen and well reproduced, and particularly useful in illustrating neurological examination. No doctor concerned with paediatrics should be without this book. It is essential. But the difference between the fourth and fifth editions is not so great that the new one need immediately be substituted. (1) VECTORCONTROLIN INTERNATIONALHEALTH. Pp. 144. Geneva, World Health Organization, 1972. £3.20. (2) 19th REPORT EXPERT COMMITTEEON INSECTICIDES. Tech. Rpt. Series No. 475. Pp. 20. Geneva, World Health Organization. 20p. (3) SPECIFICATIONS FOR PESTICIDES USED IN PUBLIC HEALTH. 4th ed. Pp. 333. Geneva, World Health Organization, 1973. RECENT decades have seen an increasing trend of increasing movement of people and goods between countries and continents. This involves growing risks of accidental transport of harmful insects and rodents, some of which are vectors of serious disease. A recent W.H.O. publication (1) gives an up-to-date account of the most important of these vectors, with aids to their identification and an outline of their biology and control. This should be welcomed by sea and airport health authorities and others concerned with the prevention of vector-borne disease. In Britain, it is true, there is little risk of sustained transmission of such diseases; but some of the blood-sucking insects and the rodents are troublesome pests here.