NEW BOOKS

Neuroanatomy. By F. A. Mettler. Pp. 476, with 337 illustrations. London : Henry Kimpton. 1942. Price 37s. 6d. net.

This book is a worthy addition to neurological literature. The text ls readable and the description clear. The diagrams, many of which are in several colours, are excellent and the anatomical illustrations are well reproduced. Many novel dissections have been made for the Purpose and they contribute much to the value of the work. Full

^vantage has been taken of the recent contributions made by neurology 111 all its branches to bring the descriptions in line with modern knowledge.

The book is in two sections, commencing with macroscopic anatomy, then proceeding to minute and microscopic anatomy ; there is a long bibliography. The index is full.

The author is to be congratulated on the attractive way he has set ?ut the information. While the book is intended primarily for the senior student, it would well repay study by the graduate intending to specialise in scientific and clinical work pertaining to the nervous system.

589

New Books

Anesthetics Afloat. By Surgeon Lieut.-Commander R. Woolmer,

r.n.v.r.j b.m., b.ch. (oxon), d.a. Pp. x+120, with 18 illustrations. London : H. K. Lewis & Co. Ltd. 1942. Price 6s. net.

This concise well-produced book is intended as a guide for non- specialist medical personnel who may have to give anaesthetics at sea. Wisely, the author has emphasised the simplest methods but at the same time has embraced in his survey the techniques of intravenous anaesthesia and spinal block analgesia, both of which can be, in quite a large propor- tion of cases, easier to carry out than the supposedly simple inhalational administration by the open mask, especially in dealing with highly resistant individuals like sailors. An excellent account of the new

Oxford vaporiser is included. This is timely, as a number of those machines are likely to be available for the Services any time now.

The illustrations, necessarily limited in number, are well chosen and form a useful supplement to a lucid text of considerable merit.

The Medical Annual, 1942. Sixtieth year. Edited by H. L. Tidy and A. Rendle Short. Pp. 396, with 25 plates and 54 illustrations. Bristol: John Wright & Son Ltd. Price 25s. net.

Another War-time Medical Annual has been produced under

difficulties. For many obvious reasons it is rather smaller than its

predecessors ; the quality of its articles, however, is well up to standard. As is natural, a good deal of attention has been devoted to problems of special war-time importance. There are also many references to the

employment of the sulphonamides and their evaluation in various conditions. The Medical Annual remains one of the most important British medical publications and is worthy of widespread support.

The Treatment of Shock. By R. W. Raven, f.r.c.s., major r.a.m.c. Pp. xii+96, with 15 illustrations. Oxford University Press and Humphrey Milford. 1942. Price 5s. net.

The appearance of such a handbook as this at the present time is

specially welcome, for while shock is important in practice it becomes

infinitely more important in war when any medical man may suddenly be called upon to undertake its treatment. The author points out

that finality has not yet been attained in our knowledge of the subject, but important principles have been established in its treatment. Some attention is necessarily devoted to the problems of definition and classification of shock and the recognised clinical pictures. Most of the

book, however, is given over to a detailed description of the various remedies and the methods of carrying them out. The merits of alternative

measures are fully discussed, and detailed instructions are given. This

member of the Oxford War Manuals will serve a very useful purpose and is certain of an excellent reception by the profession.

59?