Abstract
Occasionally, a book becomes available that sets a new standard for a subspecialty, and such is the case for the third edition of Haschek and Rousseaux’s Handbook of Toxicologic Pathology. This substantially sized (3 volumes weighing in at 25 lbs and nearly 3000 pages) and exceptionally compiled and useful book gathers extensive knowledge from the field of toxicologic pathology as well as tangential and integrative areas, including preclinical development, laboratory animal science, morphometrics, and the biology and mechanisms of injury, to mention only a very few. It represents the work of more than 150 authors from public and private sectors. The 3 volumes address the practice of toxicologic pathology (volume 1), safety assessment in toxicologic pathology (volume 2), and systems toxicologic pathology (volume 3). Individual chapters within each volume are arranged in an approachable standard format, starting with introductory comments followed by basic principles (general concepts or structure/function background depending on the topic) and continuing with thorough discussions of the focus areas. Each chapter ends with a list of suggested readings rather than any text citations. A well-designed electronic edition is available from Elsevier (ePUB format) and Amazon’s Kindle. One of many standout virtues of this offering is the uniformly high quality of illustrations and photographs—typically a weak link in large, multiauthored books—especially those that are pathology oriented. Clearly, great care was made in setting high standards and then producing and translating images to the textbook and electronic format. This book presumes no particular understanding by the reader of the field of toxicologic pathology but also, because of its breadth, can serve as a valuable reference for the seasoned veteran. In particular, the systems pathology (volume 3) portion of the book is valuable as a basic pathology text—toxicologic or otherwise—because it examines tissue injury from both anatomic and functional perspectives. Based on the readability and logical structure of each chapter, it is easy to see that the style and approach of this book was driven by teachers, whether they come from academia or industry. In fact, the dedication cites a Japanese proverb: “To teach is to learn….” As such, the third edition of this handbook lends itself to being a reference book that reads like an accessible and helpful textbook. The only unfortunate aspect is the cost, which, while understandable, may limit its reach. The best advice that I can give is to take a loan out (if you must) and purchase it—you will not regret it.