Book Reviews

CD-ROMRook/WiIkinson/Ebling Textbook of Dermatology, 6th Edition.EDITED BY R.H.CHAMPION, J.L.BURTON, A.D.BURNS, S.M.BREATHNACH

(1999). Oxford: Blackwell Science. ISBN 0-632-04904-9.Price £295 þ VAT.

This CD contains the complete contents of the 6th edition ofRook, including over 2000 high-resolution images. In the 6years since Rook first appeared in this format, CD-ROM hasbecome accessible to a much larger number of physicians.Most personal computers bought in the last few years will beable to run this CD, although as yet there is no Macintoshversion available. The present edition requires a computerwith a Pentium or equivalent processor with 16 MB RAM,16-bit display driver, Windows 95/98/NT and, obviously, a CDdrive.

The CD launches itself automatically when inserted into thedrive and the user interface is relatively straightforward afterabout 10 min of exploration. As in the paper version, the textis presented in chapters which could be read in their entirety.Alternatively, the appropriate sections can be found eitherby scrolling down a list of headings that can be clicked, orcan be navigated by a branching tree structure of headingsand subheadings. Figures, tables and references can beaccessed directly or opened from the text of a particularsection by clicking highlighted text and causing a pop-upwindow to appear. It is easy to search the text, bibliography,table and figure legends for one or more words and complexsearches using Boolean operators, parentheses and wild cardcharacters can be designed.

This second attempt at presenting Rook on CD is aconsiderable advance on the first as reviewed in 1993 (Br JDermatol 1993; 129: 652–3), and many of the suggestions inthat review have been incorporated. The formatting and proofreading are more professional, a hierarchical tree of headingsand subheadings has been introduced. Images can now beaccessed independently of the text, allowing a slide show ofimages in the order they appear in the text or identified in asearch of the words in their legends. There is still no use ofhypertext to refer to other parts of the text. With theincreasing use of the internet to access the wider dermatolo-gical literature, hypertext links to on-line databases would addto the usefulness of the CD.

So who will want to buy this CD rather than the textbook?Some may be tempted by the price which is £100 less than thepaper version. Unfortunately, in the European Union, ValueAdded Tax is charged on CDs but not books and this erodesover half of the saving. Some may be prepared to pay a littlemore when buying the textbook if a CD was also included inthe package but this option is not available. The CD would be amore attractive purchase if it were cheaper when bought withthe book. However, an advantage of the CD over the book is itsportability for those who travel with a computer or who have acomputer wherever they work. The disadvantage of portabilityis less security.

The CD breaks the ‘Rule of Rook’ which states that whateveryou are looking up is in the volume that you are not lookingat. It certainly feels easier to quickly look up several differentsubjects using the search facilities. However many people stillfind it easier to read from a printed page especially if readingentire sections or aiming to read the entire book.

DAVID BURDEN

Oral Diseases: Textbook and Atlas EDITED BY T.M.LOTTI,L.C.PARISH, R.S.ROGERS III (1999). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.ISBN 3-540-62416-3, 400 pp. Price £134.00.

This textbook and atlas of oral diseases is the edited work of 68authors from a variety of countries around the world, the vastmajority of these contributors being dermatologists ratherthan those primarily concerned with oral disease.

The intention has been to make a highly illustrated and verycomprehensive text which would be used by specialists andnon-specialists alike. Core information on oral mucosal diseaseis covered, often several times in different chapters in order toallow each chapter to be read in isolation. This would becommendable if the repeated references to one disease processwere not contradictory: page 191 provides a. good review ofthe aetiology and pathogenesis of recurrent aphthae, whilstpage 162 suggests the aetiology erroneously to be aherpesvirus. Figure 7·8, which is also erroneously labelledan aphthous lesion, however, is clearly herpetic in nature.

The text is fully illustrated, although often very poorly. InFigure 10·4 it is difficult to see the mouth, let alone the oralmucosal changes. Figures 10·7 and 10·11 are clearly of thesame patient, but are assigned a different diagnosis and Figure3·15 does not correspond with the legend.

In an attempt to be fully comprehensive, a whole chapter(Chapter 24) is devoted to surgical procedures for the lips andoral cavity, although the relevance of this is obscure since thetext is devoted to significant reconstructive surgery whichwould be outwith the scope of all but the specialist surgeon.

As a result of the wide international authorship, the textcontains interesting illustrations of the rare and obscure, butunfortunately appropriate coverage of the more commonconditions is often flawed and misleading and therefore isunlikely to be of value to the non-specialist stomatologist atwhom the book is aimed. Since several alternative, betterillustrated and more accurate texts are available, this bookcannot be recommended.

DAVID WRAY

Toxicology of Contact Dermatitis: Allergy, Irritancy andUrticaria D.BASKETTER, F.GERBERICK, I.KIMBER, C.WILLIS (1999).Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-97201-0, 180 pp.Price £50.00.

This volume is one of the Current Toxicology series which is

British Journal of Dermatology 1999; 141: 610–611.

610 q 1999 British Association of Dermatologists

aimed at experts in the field and intended as a point ofreference or a means of updating services.

This volume of Toxicology of Contact Dermatitis is by authorswho are well recognized experts in the field. The contents aredivided into the clinical perspectives, which are carefullyexplained and understandable for non-clinicians, and contactirritation mechanisms, giving an updated outline of thevarious biochemical and immunological components involvedin inflammatory responses. A third section is related tocontact irritant responses using in vitro animal and humanmodels. There is a comprehensive section on risk assessmentin contact irritation, which is particularly helpful for theassessment of unknown compounds and obviously for thewider implications in marketing and toxicology of newproducts.

The next section is related to sensitization in contactreactions and, again, the immunology, cellular and otherimmunological factors are covered concisely and clearly.Models of contact sensitization are discussed in in vitroguinea pig, mouse and human investigations.

There is a section on assessment of contact sensitization riskwhich is followed by contact urticaria model risk assessmentwith a discussion on the various types of contact urticariaresponse.

In the conclusion of this book, entitled ‘What lies ahead?’the authors present their overview of the present state ofknowledge of the clinical condition called contact dermatitisand the various difficulties in taking into account the greatvariation in the human responsiveness and potential forreaction. The continuing vexed question between the differ-ences between allergic and irritant contact reactions ishighlighted. Funding will have to be more forthcoming toelaborate on this aspect of the clinical entity of contactdermatitis. Contact urticaria is still in its infancy in terms ofresearch and understanding of the processes involved.

In summary, this book is a credit to the authors who are wellknown in presenting their information in a concise andrelevant fashion. Their enthusiasm for this kind of work isevident throughout the text. It is a very worthwhile referencebook for anyone working in the field of contact dermatitis orskin pharmacology. The fact that the various aspects ofthe toxicological considerations of contact reactions in theskin have been so clearly explained makes this book useful tonon-clinicians as well.

I think it is an essential part of a library in all pharmacydepartments and all departments of toxicology, investigativelaboratories involved in contact dermatitis research and

in clinical departments of contact dermatitis and evenoccupational health.

A.FORSYTH

A Pocketbook of Hair and Scalp Disorders: An IllustratedGuide JOHN GRAY AND RODNEY DAWBER (1998). Oxford: BlackwellScience. ISBN 0-632-05189-2, 112 pp. Price £14.95.

This pocket-sized book, written both by a general practitionerand an internationally recognized expert in hair disorders, isaimed at interested non-specialists, primarily general practi-tioners, but also at specialist nurses, medical students andother healthcare professionals. With such a broad remit, onemight imagine the authors had a rather difficult job to do. Infact, the book is very well written, beautifully illustrated withgood quality colour photographs and generally achieves anappropriately balanced approach to the diagnosis andmanagement of hair and scalp disorders.

It is written in an easy to understand style, withexplanations of potentially unfamiliar technical terms. Along-side the text, boxes of highlighted facts are included. Theseprovide the reader with interesting, easily remembered factsand figures about hair and hair loss, very useful whenexplaining these problems to patients. The description ofhistory taking and examination of patients with hair loss isfairly comprehensive, emphasizing the importance of establish-ing whether hair loss is localized or diffuse, scarring or non-scarring. Techniques such as hair pulls and plucks and the useof hair growth windows are also described. Given that thebook is designed for non-specialists, I wondered whether itmight have been appropriate to indicate that these tests shouldprobably be restricted to specialist hair clinics.

Important causes of hair loss such as androgenetic alopeciaand alopecia areata are covered in some detail, includingpossible treatments, with less common disorders also described.Despite the frequency with which scalp disorders are seen in thecommunity, this section of the book was fairly short, with onlythe briefest mention of common conditions such as seborrhoeicdermatitis and psoriasis. The advice on treatment of theseconditions was rather vague, in clear contrast with the sectionon hair loss. Although the text is a small one, perhaps a ‘fairer’balance could have been struck between hair and scalp disease.Overall, 1 enjoyed reading this book and felt that it would be avaluable companion for general practitioners interested in themanagement of hair and scalp disorders.

SUSAN HOLMES

BOOK REVIEWS 611

q 1999 British Association of Dermatologists, British Journal of Dermatology, 141, 610–611