78 BOOK REVIEWS

This atlas is an invaluable vade-mecum for all who wish to have a pictorial reference work on oral mucosal diseases, and the new edit ion extends and amplifies the usefulness of the original . The author has a very wide experience of his field of study and an un- rivalled collection of mater ial with which to il lustrate it. This has allowed him to range over an extensive area, from infective and parasi t ic diseases to iatrogenic conditions by way of neoplasms, endocrine, nutrit ional and metabol ic diseases, diseases of the ner- vous, c irculatory, respiratory, hemopoietic, digestive and musculo-skeletal systems, com- plicat ions of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerper ium, congenital anomalies, poisoning and radia t ion effects and a number of other conditions. Indeed, it is difficult to think of any pathologic condit ion that might ma- nifest itself in the oral mucosa that has not received consideration, although the author informs us that some diseases are still miss- ing despite the fact that 49 entities have been added to this edition. However, the coverage is rea l ly so adequate that the vast maior i ty of readers will feel satisfied.

The lay-out is the same as in the first edition. Two color photographs occupy each r ight-hand page and an explanatory para- graph is given on the left. The photographs are of very high quality with an obvious faithfulness to the original in the reproduc- tion of color tone and the sharpness of de- tail; they present very well indeed the details they are in tended to illustrate. Thus an ob- server who lacks first hand experience of a given clinical condit ion will be able in most cases to get a very good idea of its appear- ance by referr ing to the relevant picture. The legend corresponding to each illustra- tion gives a br ief account of the condition and some clinical details about the patient i l lustrated. Two or three references are Mso cited for each condit ion and this is a valu- able fea ture since they are up-to-date and well-chosen. Another convenient feature is

a list of the conditions dealt with in the book, coded according to the Wor ld Health 0rganisat ion 's International Classification of Diseases (application to Dentistry and Sto- matology). Finally, there is an interesting exercise in geographic pathology, in that a listing is given of the 48 countries mentioned in the text, which provides an insight into the geographic distribution of the various conditions. This is a beautifully compiled work that is highly recommended.

R. B. Lucas, London

ATLAS O F ORAL S U R G E R Y

Gans, B. J.: Atlas of oral surgery. 239 pages and 671 illustrations. C. V. Mosby Com- pany, St. Louis 1972. Price: US $ 28.50.

To produce a good atlas of oral surgery, an author must meet several fundamenta l re- quirements: To find a levei no t frightening to the dental student ye t still appealing to more experienced practi t ioners, to decide which are the more significant aspects of the surgical procedures, to choose an "artistic" style for the drawings, and to balance the accompanying text to minimize any over- lapping of the illustrations.

This new "Atlas of oral surgery" by Gans comes very close to this ideal, and we here f ind a thorough and sober presentation of oral surgery procedures which covers sub- jects ranging f rom surgical scrubbing to the correction of developmental deformities and arthroplasty. In Mrs. P. Muscarello, the author has found a brilliant i l lustrator with a black-grey-white technique which is far more "three-dimensional" than photographs and even clearer than one-line drawings.

The accompanying text dealing with "clinical comments and highlights" forms an entirety with the drawings and covers all technical procedures relevant to the treat- ments. The reader might wish that the text in

BOOK REVIEWS 79

a few of the sections had been expanded with a brief outline of basic theoretical prin- ciples, but this as well as a few other "wants" of the reviewer (aspiration to pre- vent the formation of hematoma, the use of chisel technique in bone removing and split-

ting of impacted teeth, the technique of taking a rib - or i~iac crest graft) are details which do not alter the fact that this atlas is a very good one.

Per Storgaard Jensen, Copenhagen