Oxford Textbook of Medicine. Second Edition

Atlas of Macular Diseases. Diagnosis and Treatment by Dr. Donald Gass presents a detailed and thorough review of diseases affecting the macula. The author begins by presenting the normal macula, its anatomy, histology, physiology, and angiographic findings. A new chapter discussing "the principles'of interpretation of fluorescein angiograms as they relate to the basic pathophysiologic and histopathologic changes occurring in the retina and choroid" has been added in this edition. The chapters that follow include diseases causing choroidal exudative and hemorrhagic detachment of the retina, folds of the choroid and retina, heredodystrophic disorders, macular dysfunction caused by retinal vascular disorders, inflammatory disease, traumatic retinopathy, toxic diseases, hemartomas, neoplastic diseases, macular dysfunction caused by vitreous, optic nerve diseases that may masquerade as macular diseases, and, finally, photocoagulation treatment of macular diseases. Each chapter ends with extensive references organized into categories corresponding to the disease presented in the chapter. Since the book is an atlas, it is composed of black-and-white fundus photographs, stero color fundus photographs, fluorescein angiographs, and photomicrographs. Each illustration is accompanied by explanatory text on the facing page. The author also includes hand-drawn schematic diagrams depicting various histopathologies, making understanding simpler. A total of 2,410 illustrations is contained in the two volumes of this book, encompassing not only diseases solely affecting the eyes, but also ocular manifestation of systemic illnesses-for example, retinopathy in lupus erythematosus. The reader becomes quickly impressed by the vast amount of information and the beautiful collection of illustrations contained in these volumes. Some of the macular diseases that were untreatable now are with the recent introduction of photocoagulation techniques. The last chapter, on photocoagulation, discusses the general principles of photocoagulation and the types of coagulation suitable for different macular lesions. The author cautions, however, that this treatment is not without complication and the ophthalmologist must evaluate each patient carefully before instituting such treatment. To the ophthalmologist, this book is a must because it is a complete and up-to-date survey of macular diseases. For the non-ophthalmologist, it serves as a useful reference to specifics of macular diseases and some of the principles and methods of interpreting fundus photographs and fundus fluorescein angiographs.