Abstract
If Thomas Carlyle were alive today, perhaps he would have reserved his derogation, “the dismal science,” for immunology rather than squandering it on some Malthusian application of economics; at least, that is, if he would poll most veterinary students, clinicians, academicians/diagnosticians, or any normal person not suffering lymphomaniacal tendencies. So, any attempt to make the real dismal science more palatable and/or accessible would be considered by most a step in the right direction. Primer to the Immune Response fits that bill, in part, but unfortunately falls significantly short of it for those seeking education in veterinary and comparative immunology, that is, comparative beyond the occasional reference to mice.
Although not novel in concept, the use of eclectic quotes disparate from immunology provides an interesting attention grabber at the beginning of each chapter. Hats should be off for “contributor” Maya Chaddah, medical illustrator, who, throughout the book, provides some of the best instructive illustrations anywhere that will spare most readers from having to dive into the dismal acronym-laden, if succinct, topical, and up-to-date, immunological details provided by the authors in the text. For those short of time or simply those short of attention span for immunology (ie, most readers), these illustrations are the high point, and arguably most useful aspect, of the book. Throughout the book, The Focus on Relevant Research sidebars provide brief and interesting insights into the application of basic science to current immunological thinking and practice. Each chapter ends with summary take-home messages, a quiz, extrapolative conceptual questions, and suggested readings, all of which solidify and extend the concepts and details in the chapter.
Part I of the book comprises 12 chapters with subjects ranging from innate immunity to mucosal immunity and is, indeed, a good up-to-date primer on the basic structure and function of the mammalian immune system. This section of the book is perhaps most useful for veterinarians in any of the many facets of the profession. But even in this section, there is no acknowledgment of the existence of important species differences in the players in immune responses. For example, if this textbook was one’s only source of information, one would be ignorant of the profound differences in prevalence and, perhaps, “responsibilities” of γδ T cells and differences in BALT, not to mention variation in the predominance and role of anybody isotypes and subtypes. Thus, as a sole or primary introductory or review text for any veterinarian, it is significantly wanting.
Part II of the book comprises 8 chapters dealing with clinical immunology, vaccines, and immunologically based diseases. While interesting and informative for any veterinarian who works in a medical school environment or is a polymath or, really, for anyone interested in how the immune system may contribute to one’s own morbidity and mortality, this part of the book will be of very limited practical use for most of the veterinary profession.
In summary, and in fairness, this book was most probably designed with the medical student or academic physician as the target audience. With that constraint in mind, the authors have produced a comprehensive and accessible textbook with clinical relevance. However, for most veterinarians of the various stripes comprising the profession, although the first part of the book covering basic immunology is a good and well-illustrated introduction to or review of current concepts in the dismal science, overall, the book is essentially devoid of any comparative immunology. This deficit also limits its application for those working on animal models of human disease. Therefore, for the vast majority of veterinarians, this book is, at best, a companion, not a surrogate, for Ian Tizard’s “Bible.”