REVIEWS OF BOOKS 203

matter and adjusts any minor shortcomings t ha t the first edition may have suffered.

It is a monumenta l task for a surgeon in active practice to undertake the compilation of a complete work on a growing and considerable subject. Mr. d 'Abreu uses a few collaborators for special sections such as angiocardio- graphy and cardiac catheterisation, but in general it is the clinical and personal approach to the subject which gives the book its main attraction.

The text is freely illustrated by an admixture of line, tone and photographic reproductions. Many of these, in particular those of radiographs, are excellent. Possibly some of the smaller heart diagrams could in some future edition be clarified or enlarged.

The general balance of the book is good, the high lights dominat ing the picture. Wounds of the chest, emphysematous cysts and bulhe, hydatids and cesophageal atresia are little masterpieces of description, while, on the contrary, diaphragmatic hiatus hernia, tracheostomy and hmmothorax receive less attention than they deserve.

The impression that the reader will gain from this work is that it is written by an active practising surgeon who knows his craft and is prepared to impart his knowledge as freely as he can. But since no critic can avoid casting a slight dash of vinegar at a full-bodied wine, could future references be checked as regards their spelling and "v i t a l statistics."

T. HOLMES SELLORS.

Manual of Chest Clinic Practice in Tropical and Sub-tropical Countries. By A. J. BENATT. Edinburgh: E. and S. Livingstone. Pp. Ioo. ios. 6d.

Obviously the chest clinic serves a very different purpose in tropical countries to what we know in England. Dr. Benatt has had considerable experience, and in this little book he has tried to " help others who may have to treat tuberculosis under difficulties." He has divided it into two sections: the first deals with general principles and organisation, the second with details of techniques used in the chest clinic.

The English reader will be interested but learn little that is new: the workers in tropical clinics will find useful and detailed information about clinic procedure and certain pathological tests.

The purpose of such clinics is fourfold--prevention, diagnosis, t reatment and rehabil i tat ion--but very little mention is in fact made of t reatment or follow- up based on the clinic. Yet in these areas hospital facilities are minimal. Much valuable space in this small book is wasted by repetition and by details of tests which are best sought in pathology manuals: three pages are devoted to treatment, but eighteen pages to diabetes (including diet charts) and pregnancy in the tuberculous.

Nevertheless, the wisdom and method of an experienced doctor is made available to those medical and lay workers who tackle this problem in tropical countries, especially in small rural clinics.

OWEN CLARKE.

Leprosy in Theory and Practice. Edited by R. G. COCHRANE. Foreword by Sir George McRobert . Bristol: J o h n Wright. Pp. 4o7. 84s.

Since the publication ofR. G. Cochrane ' s" Practical Textbook of Leprosy,"