Atlas of Blood Cells: Function and Pathology
http://www.100md.com
《新英格兰医药杂志》
This spectacular atlas, the finest in its class, emerged from the collaboration of a stellar group of experts who have skillfully woven a profusion of light, electron, and scanning photomicrographs, along with diagrams and tables, into the grand tapestry of hematology as we understand it today. Led by Dorothea Zucker-Franklin (of New York University) and Carlo Grossi (of the University of Genoa), these internationally known authorities present incontestable proof — if any proof at all were needed — that morphology, molecular biology, genetics, and immunology are the four pillars that support clinical practice and research in hematology. Virtually every one of the almost 1000 pages of the two volumes (excluding references and the index) displays at least one photomicrograph, diagram, or table, and on some pages all three kinds of pictorial elements appear. The photomicrographs meet the highest standards of the art of printing photographs in color or black and white, and they were clearly chosen for their didactic value. The result is an extraordinary feast for the eyes and brain alike.
Atlas of Blood Cells is not just a picture book, however. In addition to hundreds of pictures of blood and bone marrow cells, readers will find here a gorgeous 83-page chapter on chromosome rearrangements in hematologic diseases; displays of DNA-microarray patterns in various neoplastic disorders; illustrations of the use of the polymerase chain reaction to detect minimal residual disease in chronic myelogenous leukemia; examples of cytofluorometric analyses of normal and neoplastic lymphocytes; and succinct, informative explanations of the structure and function of the human immunodeficiency virus, hematopoietic growth factors, and the mechanism of immunoglobulin gene rearrangement. These examples, taken from many like them, are evidence that Atlas of Blood Cells is not merely a recycled version of previous editions.
In fact, this edition is an extensive revision of its predecessor, which first appeared 23 years ago. It covers all aspects of hematology for which microscopic images are relevant; there is not much here concerning treatment or the coagulation system, although there is an extensive section on platelets and megakaryocytes. The book begins with hematopoiesis in the embryo and ends with hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. Each blood-cell lineage is dealt with systematically, first with a detailed exposition of the normal structure and function of the lineage under discussion and then with a picture-based tour of diseases that involve the cell. Erythrocytes, all the varieties of granulated cells, monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, and all the classes of lymphocytes make their appearance chapter by chapter. In these pages, readers will find virtually all the important variants of blood cells, the diseases arising from them, and instructive demonstrations of the mechanisms of these diseases. For example, an entire page in the section on pernicious anemia illustrates abnormal mitotic figures in megaloblasts and displays a vivid image, produced by the immunofluorescent technique, of antibodies against gastric parietal cells in the disease.
It is unreasonable to expect that every important recent advance will receive mention in a work of this scope (even though the bibliographies contain references as recent as 2001), but this is of little consequence in the context of the book's grand vision of hematology. The production values are superb. The glossy paper is heavy-weight, the font is clear, the section headings stand out nicely, the layout of figures and legends is expertly done, and the folio size of the two volumes allows close inspection by the naked eye of all photomicrographs.
Atlas of Blood Cells is a triumph of scholarship, an exceptional example of the craft of medical publishing, and a work of art. I enthusiastically recommend it.
Robert S. Schwartz, M.D.(Third edition. Edited by )
Atlas of Blood Cells is not just a picture book, however. In addition to hundreds of pictures of blood and bone marrow cells, readers will find here a gorgeous 83-page chapter on chromosome rearrangements in hematologic diseases; displays of DNA-microarray patterns in various neoplastic disorders; illustrations of the use of the polymerase chain reaction to detect minimal residual disease in chronic myelogenous leukemia; examples of cytofluorometric analyses of normal and neoplastic lymphocytes; and succinct, informative explanations of the structure and function of the human immunodeficiency virus, hematopoietic growth factors, and the mechanism of immunoglobulin gene rearrangement. These examples, taken from many like them, are evidence that Atlas of Blood Cells is not merely a recycled version of previous editions.
In fact, this edition is an extensive revision of its predecessor, which first appeared 23 years ago. It covers all aspects of hematology for which microscopic images are relevant; there is not much here concerning treatment or the coagulation system, although there is an extensive section on platelets and megakaryocytes. The book begins with hematopoiesis in the embryo and ends with hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. Each blood-cell lineage is dealt with systematically, first with a detailed exposition of the normal structure and function of the lineage under discussion and then with a picture-based tour of diseases that involve the cell. Erythrocytes, all the varieties of granulated cells, monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, and all the classes of lymphocytes make their appearance chapter by chapter. In these pages, readers will find virtually all the important variants of blood cells, the diseases arising from them, and instructive demonstrations of the mechanisms of these diseases. For example, an entire page in the section on pernicious anemia illustrates abnormal mitotic figures in megaloblasts and displays a vivid image, produced by the immunofluorescent technique, of antibodies against gastric parietal cells in the disease.
It is unreasonable to expect that every important recent advance will receive mention in a work of this scope (even though the bibliographies contain references as recent as 2001), but this is of little consequence in the context of the book's grand vision of hematology. The production values are superb. The glossy paper is heavy-weight, the font is clear, the section headings stand out nicely, the layout of figures and legends is expertly done, and the folio size of the two volumes allows close inspection by the naked eye of all photomicrographs.
Atlas of Blood Cells is a triumph of scholarship, an exceptional example of the craft of medical publishing, and a work of art. I enthusiastically recommend it.
Robert S. Schwartz, M.D.(Third edition. Edited by )