Basic Anatomy

A SURGEON (Zimmerman) and an anatomist have joined forces to produce a book which will be of help to surgeons and of interest to anatomists. The historical aspect is described in some detail, and it is of interest to note that the method of Marcy of Boston (high ligature of the inguinal hernial sac and suture of the transverselis fascia to the inguinal ligament) was first described by him in 1869, twenty years before Bassini published his series of cases and put the surgery of inguinal hernia on a rational footing. The operation described by Marcy is now performed very frequently. Good clinical judgment is displayed in the short section on inguinal hernia in childhood and real practical help is given in the section on congenital diaphragmatic and hiatus hernia. Throughout the book the theme is "the treatment of hernia is early surgical repair," and both authors have applied an enthusiasm wvhich is infective and which should lead to better results from those who read and think about it. S. A. V.