94 BOOK REV;EWS

The Essentials of Forensic Medicine, by C.J. Polson and D.J. Gee, 3rd edition, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1973, pp. 717 (incl. index), price & 12.00.

The birth weight of the first edition of this work in 1955, by Professor Polson, was 1 lb 14 oz. Some 10 years later it reached a second edition with a weight of 2 lb 14 oz. Now, with the aid of Professor Gee, it has become a fairly weighty tome of 4 lb 6 oz. This marks considerable gravimetric progress in the course of some two decades.

Part 1 (pp. 3-603) deals with Forensic Pathology. Part 2 (pp. 607-715) surveys The Iaw Relating to the Practice of Medicine, and is, of course, only applicable to the United Kingdom.

The erudition and thorough documentation which typified the earlier editions is characteristic of the new edition. The illustrations are superbly reproduced (in black-and- white as well as in colour). They contribute the features of a practical and useful refer- ence atlas to a very comprehensive treatment of the subject.

The sections dealing with the age of ante-mortem wounds should be supplemented with the excellent observations on abrasions by Robertson and Hodge (Forens. Sci., 1 (1972) 17-25). This work permits the histological classification of healing abrasions with reasonable confidence and accuracy in intervals up to 12 days.

The volume is attractively produced and will be a useful reference source for legal and medical forensic practitioners. It is appropriately aimed, not at the undergraduate medical student (for whom numerous and concise works are available) but at post-graduate students, for example, pathologists who include forensic pathology in their field of inter- est and practice, and, of course, the growing number of forensic pathologists whose special training and experience is becoming recognised as an essential service required to assist the authorities in the investigation of crime and the courts in the administration of

justice.

H.A.

Handbook of Forensic Pathology, by A. Fatteh, Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1973, pp. 349 (incl. index).

This is a useful contribution to the forensic literature. It is an adequate introduction to the subject which should satisfy the needs of the medical student as well as the legal practitioner and, in addition, is a helpful source of information to the medicolegal practi- tioner .

In the account of the so-called asphyxial deaths the author rightly draws attention to the non-specificity of petechial haemorrhages; for example, their occurrence in the skin of the conjunctivae and in the skin of the eyelids is not uncommon in sudden death from coronary artery disease (p. 135). It is observations such as these that led Gordon to formulate a classification of deaths according to which a distinction is made between the general (non-specific) and particular (specific) signs in deaths due to anoxia. This classic

BOOKREVIEWS 95

contribution places the signs of asphyxia in their scientific perspective and forms an essential framework for any discussion of this category of deaths of medicolegal impor- tance.

Dr. Fatteh’s volume is magnificently illustrated with clear reproductions of excellent illustrations which add great value to an interestingly written and informative manual.

H.S.

Handbook for Dental Identification Techniques in Forensic Dentistry, by Lester L. Luntz and Phyllys Luntz, Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1973, pp. 194 (incl. index),

This handbook by the well-known workers in the field of dental identification, Lester and Phyllys Luntz, gives as the title says the special techniques used in forensic odon- tology connected with identification. Other parts of forensic odontology are left out. The book gives an immediate impression of good knowledge of the field and a clear and detailed description. After an historical introduction particularly dealing with the Webster case the authors come to detailed information about the way of making an identification from the moment when the police call for help until the description is delivered back to the authorities, be they the police or the court. It must be mentioned that the handbook is intended for work in the U.S.A. which means that parts of it are not referable to European use. But anyhow most of it is of value for all forensic dentists round the world.

A complete description of the dental identification kit is followed by the methods used for getting access to the mouth. This is of importance as it is easy to destroy valuable information if this is not carried out with the utmost care. Every step of the preparation of the jaws for examination is demonstrated by pictures. Special emphasis is given to the burned and decomposed body.

It is pointed out that the post-mortem records should be as detailed and correct as possible.

As the book is made for American dentists the universal system for recording is used. The now internationally accepted FDI digital system is mentioned in a following chapter. X-ray techniques and photographic equipment are described extensively; this may be considered as unnecessary for the average dentist who is mostly familiar with taking photographs of the patients in his daily practice. For dentists who have not used photo- graphs before the chapter gives valuable information on the choice of cameras and lenses and of lighting.

The chapter dealing with ante-mortem records goes very much into detail and the recommendations should be studied by every dentist. According to international exper- ience most records obtained from dentists in connection with identification are very poor and mostly lacking important information.

The transmitting of dental data is related particularly to American habits. It is very informative and could also be of value for forensic odontologists working in other coun- tries, but then with the necessary alterations.