lmrg t/l~PY/tio~~a~ the authors co11clncle that “the malady remains, in the present state of our lino~~ledgr, heyontl the resources of therapy. ”

On the whole this volume is a remarkably clear, wise and vivitl discus- sion of endocarditis. It is distinctly a clinical description with little discussion of the anatomical changes. As such there we few! if any, bett,er articles on the subjrct in modern literature.

T17. R. 7’.

Noum.4n TIUI~~ DE PATIIOLOGIE INTEKNC. ;SIALADIES DU C~EUR ET I)EH

VAIASEAVX. By Charles Laubry wit,11 the collaboration of Daniel Routier, J. Walser and Ed. Doumier. Paris, 1930 (one or two Sol- umes), Doin & C’ie.

This work (1,200 pages with 842 illustrations and 10 large color piates) is more than a pathological study; it. is an attempt to classify diseases of the heart and blood vessels, to discuss et,iology, symptoms, signs, functional disturbances. gross and microscopic pathology, treat- ment and prognosis. Tt is founded on the authors’ own work and study ; is carefully written, systematically arranged and well illus- trated. At times one feels that the systematization is carried to the point where it becomes confusing rather than helpful, that a familiar subject (such as. the arrhythmias) is being rewritten or that an impor- tant one (as thrombo-angiitis obliterans) is passed over rather ligbt,ly, but these arc minor criticisms. The section on diseases of the blood vessels is’ particularly interesting, and throughout the book the beanti- ful illustrations, the emphasis on pathological findings and the funda- mental good sense of the suggestions for treatment, (even if one does not share the authors’ faith in the value of iodidw) make this a valuable book.

E. H.

RYPERTENSION. By Leslie T. Gager, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medi- cine at the George Washington TTniversity ; Attending Physician Gallinger Municipal Hospital ; Associate Physician George Washing- ton University Hospital. Baltimore, 1930, 158 pages, Williams & Wilkins Co.

In this monograph a splendid exposition of the story of blood pres- sure from its inception to the present time has been accomplished. The book is very well written and thoughtfully conceived, so that it is a pleasure to read it and follow the writer’s impression derived from the vast literature on this subject and from his practical experience. It is a great delight, for some of us at least, to find a clinician who is willing to acknowledge that functional pathology is of equal import,ance in the practice of the art of medicine with pathological anatomy, and that some conditions, e.g., hypertension, are diseases attributable to patho-

BOOK REVIEWS 445

physiology and not to deviations from the normal that may be demon- strated to the eye or touch. In the development of his subject Gager has a singularly happy faculty in pickin, w out the historical stepping stones that are both interesting and significant, so that this part of the work becomes a source of instruction instead of a dry catepoq of dates and happenings as is so often the case. The review of the facts in regard to hypertension are exceedingly well culled out. and t.he arguments pro and con on any doubtful point are fairly given. The generous stat,ement t,hat. (p. 107) ‘LAs a matter of fact, it has been my experience that significant and lastin, 0~ reduction in severe chronic hypertension is frequently impossible either by drugs, venesection or withdrawal of cerebra-spinal fluid, ” is refreshing in its sincerity and honesty; it corresponds to the experiences which all physicians have gone through and is vastly different from the impression created by many reports which advocate certain forms of treatment as being al- most infallible. Gager has used potassium thiocyanahe wit,h satisfac- tory results in patients with uncomplicated genuine or essential hyper- tension; he has been largely responsible for the favorable reception this drug is receiving in this count,ry. This volume on hypertension may be recommenclecl to the physician who desires a review of this subject that embodies a thoughtful presentation, logical conclusions and a sparkling literary form that is rare in a medical book.

I&TENT. ADVANCER IN CARDIOLOGY. By C. F. T. East and (‘. W. C. Hain. Philadelphia, 1929, I’. Klakiston’s Son & Co.

It is difficult indeed to restrain one’s ent,husiarm in writing of this small book. It is small only in comparison with the a.verage textbook upon diseases of the heart, for it contains nearly three hundred and fifty pages, and is surprisingly complet,e. The authors have “t,ried to give a summary of the new knowledge, and also to describe its bearing upon problems which are not primarily cardiac. ” In a review so brief as this it is impossible to indicate how well they have succeeded, but of their success there can be no reasonable doubt. T\‘ot only have they given admirable summaries of recent advances in our knowledge of circulatory diseases, but they have also suppliecl that additional thing for lack of which so many attempts of this kind have failed, namely, a running eriCcal commentary that is, well-founded, authori- tative, and refreshingly sane. The presentation is concise, as it must and should be, but ample space is devoted to every important phase of each subject; for example, such matters as the circus movement of auricular flutter and fibrillation are cliscussed in detail ancl with ad- mirable clarity. The volume is not restricted to matters of diagnosis: general treatment and digitalis therapy are’ each given an entire long chapter.