Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease. Edited by William bility to the cancer patient.
Particular emphasis is given to
D. Stroud, M.D., F.A.C.P., Professor of Cardiology, University of Penn-
sylvania Graduate School of Medicine, Philadelphia. In Two Volumes.
Fourth edition. Cloth. $25, per set. Pp. 949; 1003-2020, with 808 illus-
trations. F. A. Davis Company, 1914-16 Cherry St., Philadelphia 3, 1950.
This edition is more than a revision, since most of the
articles have been completely rewritten and there are several
new contributors. Dr. Stroud is an outstanding cardiologist
in his own right, so that he was able to assign to the specialist
the task of writing the particular article in the field with which
he is most familiar. This book is, therefore, a complete and
authoritative reference book on the cardiovascular system.
All phases of the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac diseases
are adequately covered. In addition, there are some unique
features not ordinarily found in a textbook on cardiac diseases.
There is, for instance, a long chapter on methods of rehabili-
tating the cardiac patient not written in vague generalities but
with specific information based on actual data and experience.
More than 200 pages are devoted to a thorough coverage of
peripheral vascular diseases. There are numerous excellent
illustrations. In spite of the many contributors, skilful editing
has managed to achieve a unity rarely found in books of this
type.
The classification of cardiovascular diseases in chapter 3 is
excellent but unfortunately is just different enough from the
official classification of the American Heart Association so that
it may cause confusion. This is particularly true of the classi¬
fication of cardiovascular ability wherein the classification dis¬
carded by the American Heart Association several years ago
is used rather than the present one. This is, of course, a minor
defect and will not affect the usefulness of the work as an
authoritative, up-to-the-minute reference book on cardiovascu¬
lar diseases.
Cancer: New Light on Its Causes, Detection, Treatments, Cures and the
Brilliant Promise of Today's Research. By Beka Doherty. Cloth. $3.
Pp. 327. Random House, 457 Madison Ave., New York 22, 1949.
Increasing public
awareness of the complexity and gravity
of the problem has resulted in a growing demand for
cancer
more information about the disease presented in a form suit-
able for popular consumption. An interested and enlightened
segment of the population wants to know more about the nature
of the disease, more about the relative successes and failures of
the medical profession in meeting its challenge and more about
the possibilities for the future as a result of expanding research
efforts. It is the general purpose of this book, at least partially,
to fulfil these demands.
Although the author is not a physician, she has received
counsel and encouragement from a number of outstanding work-
ers in the field of cancer ; hence the work is an authoritative
and enlightening account of the history and present status of
cancer control activities. Written primarily for the nonpro-
fessional reader, the volume will undoubtedly prove to be a
valuable asset to the physician to help him to allay the fear,
dispel the superstition and overcome the ignorance relative to
cancer.
The subject the volume has been organized around
matter of
four broad aspects of the cancer problem: (1) cancer as related
to the patient ; (2) cancer from the physician's point of view ;
(3) cancer as a research problem, and (4) cancer as a public
health problem.
From the patient's point of view, an attempt has been made
to brush away the social stigma which so frequently was
attached to cancer in the past, and a plea is made for intelli¬
gent, fearless and prompt action in dealing with any condition
suggestive of cancer. A more serious aspect of the problem
is reflected in the section dealing with the physician's responsi-
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the importance of time in diagnosis and adequacy of treatment
if a cure from cancer is to be obtained. This, the author
believes, requires a high degree of suspicion of malignancy and
an urgency for prompt diagnosis and treatment on the part of
every practicing physician.
The sections on research and public health, although some¬
what heavier reading than the other sections, provide an ade¬
quate picture of the wide variety and extent of research projects
and public health activities now being conducted in an effort to
learn more about the natural history of the disease.
Lists of approved cancer hospitals, clinics and detection cen¬
ters as well as states providing service for tissue diagnosis and
organizations interested in cancer control have been appended.
For the benefit of the nonprofessional reader, a glossary would
have been a valuable asset to the volume, though none has been
provided.
The Organization of Behavior: A Neuropsychological Theory. By
D. O. Hebb. Cloth. $4. Pp. 335, with 19 illustrations. John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., 440 4th Ave., New York 16; Chapman & Hall, Ltd., 37-39
Essex St., Strand, London, W.C.2, 1949.
The author has attempted to combine present day knowledge
of physiologyand psychology into a comprehensive theory of
thought and emotion to explain the nature of consciousness in
physicobiologic terms. The theory is based in considerable part
on the variable effect and oftentimes apparent lack of effect
which major brain operations have on intelligence and behavior.
The concept of the author is that any frequently repeated par-
ticular stimulation leads to a slow development of a "cell\x=req-\
assembly" in the cortex and diencephalon and perhaps in the
basal ganglions of the brain capable of acting briefly as a closed
system which can deliver facilitation to other such systems and
having, usually, a specific motor facilitation. A series of such
events constitutes a "phase sequence" equivalent to thought
process. The process described is considered essential to adult
waking behavior. An alternate intrinsic organization is believed
to occur during sleep and in infancy which consists of "hyper-
synchrony" in the firing of cortical cells. A transient disturb-
ance of this organization is said to be the cause of emotional
disturbances. Chronic disturbances lead to neurosis or psychosis.
The author traces his theory through in a discussion of it as it
applies to learning, volition, hunger, emotional disturbances
and other factors of behavior.
Two known cases of psychosis in chimpanzees presented from
the data of the Yerkes Laboratories of Primate Biology in
Florida are of considerable interest.
Although much of the material is of a controversial nature,
the viewpoint is interesting and the author has made a real
attempt to find a common ground of understanding for current
neurophysiologic and psychologic concepts.
Advances in Surgery. Volume I. Editorial Board: William DeWitt
Andrus, Chairman, and others. Contributors to Volume I: Arthur H.
Blakemore, M.D., and others. Cloth. $11. Pp. 554, with 50 illustra-
tions. Interscience Publishers, Inc., 215 4th Ave., New York 3 Inter-
science Publishers, Ltd., 2a Southampton Row, London,
;
W.C.1, 1949.
The admirable purpose for which these books are designed
will win the appreciation of every surgeon. The big problem
is whether any book can keep pace with the actual advances as
they occur. The editorial board has succeeded in selecting as
contributors a group of men who are busily engaged in advanc-
ing the frontiers of surgical science.
The seven main subjects include shock, stricture of the biliary
ducts, regeneration of nerves, antibiotics, immersion foot syn-
drome, vessel anastomosis and tumors of the bone. Especially
interesting in the thorough discussion of a modern concept of
surgical shock is the knowledge gained from experiments using