Book review
1
J Cutan Pathol 2002: 29: 445 Copyright C Blackwell Munksgaard 2002 Blackwell Munksgaard . Printed in Denmark Journal of Cutaneous Pathology ISSN 0303-6987 Book reviews Ackerman BA, Guo Y, Lazova R, Kaddu S. Differen- tial Diagnosis in Dermatopathology II, 2nd edn. New York, USA: Ardor Scribendi Publishers, 2001. Most physicians have little time or energy to expend on extraneous information. In keeping with the spirit of this notion, these authors have chosen to present challenging situations that practising dermatopatholo- gists frequently encounter. Hence, the reader should have a basic foundation in dermatopathology in order to gain the most from this text. In this regard, the book is best used as an adjunct to one’s library. Its design allows for quick reference to entities that pose confounding histological and/or clinical charac- teristics. Each chapter is dedicated to a single case involving two diseases with histological and/or clin- ical overlap. The layout of each chapter affords the reader an outline comparing and contrasting the two diseases. A discussion follows each outline, thereby providing information and explanations needed to understand the disease and the differential diagnosis. Particularly clever is the illustrative layout of Chapter 6. By using the mirror image of one disease to show the features of another, the text adroitly demonstrates acute discoid lupus erythematosus and subacute cu- taneous lupus erythematosus to be histologically indis- tinguishable. The illustrations are magnificent, util- izing high-resolution images to depict the slightest morphological change. There is also an extensive glossary of terms provided. Equally unique is the absence of an index or a table of contents. In this manner, the text parallels real-life experiences around the microscope. That is, it pres- ents various disease processes with subtle histological or clinical differences. Thus, one could conceivably read this book leisurely, almost as a novel, identifying with the clues and pitfalls reminiscent of everyday sign-out. However, the statements and ideas are so powerful that, despite the pleasurableness of this book, they also serve as poignant anecdotes to be used in times of imminent crisis. I have been given a delightful opportunity to review Differential Diagnosis in Dermatopathology II. I highly rec- ommend it for those individuals searching for concise methods to differentiate diseases with overlapping fea- tures. I found it to be useful and am eager to read the other books in this series. Access to the complete 445 set would be an invaluable asset to the edification of one’s knowledge and could, potentially, serve as a life- saving reference when faced with difficult diagnostic situations. Erika Balfour LeBoit PE, Harvell JD. Dermatopathology. CD- ROM from ‘The Pathology Masters Series’. Po- mona, CA, USA: Universal Multmedia, Inc., 2001. Dermatopathology , by Philip LeBoit MD and Jeff D. Harvell MD is the latest edition of ‘The Pathology Masters Series’, a line of CD-ROMs produced by Universal Multimedia. The target audience for the series is pathologists in training as well as practising pathologists who desire a brief refresher course in any of 10 selected topics in pathology. This latest disk pro- vides an overview of dermatopatholgy with roughly 3 hours of audio lecture and over 350 color slides, the majority of which are clinical and microscopic im- ages. The subject matter is divided broadly into in- flammatory skin diseases and tumors of the skin. The inflammatory disorders are subdivided further into histological patterns such as psoriasiform dermatitis, vasculitis and vesicobullous diseases. The tumors are subdivided according to cell type of origin. Each of these smaller categories is then presented as a 10–20- minute lecture. These lectures are concise and in- structive, and all diseases are depicted well in clear clinical and histological photographs. In this manner the disk meets its objective of introducing the field of dermatopathology. The CD is also well formatted. The content is easy to access by simply ‘pointing and clicking’ with the mouse, and the photographs are copied easily to the user’s desktop for use in creating presentations. How- ever, the disc does not have any self-assessment tools that would reinforce the learning of the material pre- sented. This would be a welcome addition to future installments in this series. Brad Johnson Dermatology Resident University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
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Transcript of Book review
J Cutan Pathol 2002: 29: 445 Copyright C Blackwell Munksgaard 2002Blackwell Munksgaard . Printed in Denmark
Journal ofCutaneous Pathology
ISSN 0303-6987
Book reviews
Ackerman BA, Guo Y, Lazova R, Kaddu S. Differen-tial Diagnosis in Dermatopathology II, 2nd edn.New York, USA: Ardor Scribendi Publishers, 2001.
Most physicians have little time or energy to expendon extraneous information. In keeping with the spiritof this notion, these authors have chosen to presentchallenging situations that practising dermatopatholo-gists frequently encounter. Hence, the reader shouldhave a basic foundation in dermatopathology in orderto gain the most from this text. In this regard, thebook is best used as an adjunct to one’s library.
Its design allows for quick reference to entities thatpose confounding histological and/or clinical charac-teristics. Each chapter is dedicated to a single caseinvolving two diseases with histological and/or clin-ical overlap. The layout of each chapter affords thereader an outline comparing and contrasting the twodiseases. A discussion follows each outline, therebyproviding information and explanations needed tounderstand the disease and the differential diagnosis.Particularly clever is the illustrative layout of Chapter6. By using the mirror image of one disease to showthe features of another, the text adroitly demonstratesacute discoid lupus erythematosus and subacute cu-taneous lupus erythematosus to be histologically indis-tinguishable. The illustrations are magnificent, util-izing high-resolution images to depict the slightestmorphological change. There is also an extensiveglossary of terms provided.
Equally unique is the absence of an index or a tableof contents. In this manner, the text parallels real-lifeexperiences around the microscope. That is, it pres-ents various disease processes with subtle histologicalor clinical differences. Thus, one could conceivablyread this book leisurely, almost as a novel, identifyingwith the clues and pitfalls reminiscent of everydaysign-out. However, the statements and ideas are sopowerful that, despite the pleasurableness of thisbook, they also serve as poignant anecdotes to be usedin times of imminent crisis.
I have been given a delightful opportunity to reviewDifferential Diagnosis in Dermatopathology II. I highly rec-ommend it for those individuals searching for concisemethods to differentiate diseases with overlapping fea-tures. I found it to be useful and am eager to read theother books in this series. Access to the complete
445
set would be an invaluable asset to the edification ofone’s knowledge and could, potentially, serve as a life-saving reference when faced with difficult diagnosticsituations.
Erika Balfour
LeBoit PE, Harvell JD. Dermatopathology. CD-ROM from ‘The Pathology Masters Series’. Po-mona, CA, USA: Universal Multmedia, Inc., 2001.
Dermatopathology, by Philip LeBoit MD and Jeff D.Harvell MD is the latest edition of ‘The PathologyMasters Series’, a line of CD-ROMs produced byUniversal Multimedia. The target audience for theseries is pathologists in training as well as practisingpathologists who desire a brief refresher course in anyof 10 selected topics in pathology. This latest disk pro-vides an overview of dermatopatholgy with roughly 3hours of audio lecture and over 350 color slides, themajority of which are clinical and microscopic im-ages. The subject matter is divided broadly into in-flammatory skin diseases and tumors of the skin. Theinflammatory disorders are subdivided further intohistological patterns such as psoriasiform dermatitis,vasculitis and vesicobullous diseases. The tumors aresubdivided according to cell type of origin. Each ofthese smaller categories is then presented as a 10–20-minute lecture. These lectures are concise and in-structive, and all diseases are depicted well in clearclinical and histological photographs. In this mannerthe disk meets its objective of introducing the field ofdermatopathology.
The CD is also well formatted. The content is easyto access by simply ‘pointing and clicking’ with themouse, and the photographs are copied easily to theuser’s desktop for use in creating presentations. How-ever, the disc does not have any self-assessment toolsthat would reinforce the learning of the material pre-sented. This would be a welcome addition to futureinstallments in this series.
Brad JohnsonDermatology ResidentUniversity of Arkansas
for Medical Sciences
