The Diagnosis and Treatment of Diarrheal Diseases

to their fatherlands. This authorship by committee is appropriate since no single mind can present with authority the numerous techniques of the laboratory as applied to clinical medicine. Authoritative editorship of the various sections is available: Cruickshank for bacteriology, Allott for biochemistry, Della Vida of Rome for hematology and cytology, and Robb-Smith for histology. The book represents a panorama of the advances of the past 10-15 years. They have been notable: Methods concerned with Rh typing of the blood; those concerned with the assay of antibiotics in tissue fluids; the use of penicillin in special media for the isolation of such resistant organisms as H. pertussis; the cytological diagnosis of cancer by the identification of desquamated cells in exudates and secretions; the differential Paul-Bunnell test-to mention but a few. The latest references are dated 1945. But even where a sufficiency of time has elapsed for intelligence to span the Atlantic, there are certain surprising omissions. Thus, the Takata-Ara reaction is discussed, but Hanger's cephalin flocculation method is merely named. There is no mention of the spectrophotometer. So useful a technique as the antifibrinolysin test is likewise omitted. On the other hand, one may complain that in a book entitled "Advances," it is superfluous to present without emendation such methods as those of ZiehlNeelsen, Dorsett, or Petroff. Many parts of the book are notable for skilful presentation and for the good judgment and fairness with which controversial issues are discussed. Particularly clear and well balanced are Della Vida's and F. Pick's presentation of certain aspects of hematology, Wiesner's of testicular biopsies, Dorothy Russell's of the wet-film technique in neurosurgery, and Holmes' of the peripheral nerve biopsies. The illustrations in the section on "Histology" are a delight to behold, although some have perhaps come too much under the influence of the publisher's reducing glass. Alan Lendrum's appraisal of histological methods has the value of a report of what has been tried and found true, and contains many new suggestions. This volume is more than a competent summary of the newer techniques; it breathes the spirit of investigation and anticipation of even greater things to come. AVERILL A. LIEBOW