Book Review: Comparative Anatomy and Histology: A Mouse,Rat,and Human Atlas

Comparative Anatomy and Histology: A Mouse, Rat, and Human Atlas, edited by Treuting, Dintzis, and Montine, is a critical and essential text for many pathologists. The target audience in the first edition was comparative pathologists. The addition of the rat in the second edition expands the audience to include the toxicologic and industrial pathologist. This text is also useful for MD pathologists examining rodent tissue, as well as veterinary students, pathology trainees, and those expanding their scope of work or transitioning careers. This text also serves as a quick resource for seasoned pathologists.

In addition to the expansion of the text to include rats (the first edition focused only on mice and humans) and the inclusion of a new chapter, the entire text has been realigned so that all chapters have a similar format and a more intuitive flow, making the book easier to both read and use. There are chapters on necropsy and phenotyping, and the newest chapter is a 14-page primer on imaging and immunohistochemistry. Practical and useful information is provided that reviews microscopy, immunohistochemistry, digital imaging, and quantitative microscopy. The chapter does not go into great detail as these are technologies with continual updates/new methodologies. Instead, it examines basics and explains methods used and broader concepts, including a flowchart that describes how to validate antibodies for immunohistochemistry. The organ system chapters are now consistently organized by tissue, with a description of the gross appearance followed by histological features. A summary table of gross and histologic anatomic differences among species is also included in each chapter. Photographs and photomicrographs are abundant and add to the text. Both rodents (rats and mice) are discussed, with any differences mentioned, and then human tissues are also discussed with gross and histological images of the organs. Sex differences in organs are also described where relevant (salivary gland, adrenal gland). Several of the chapters have been expanded, providing more detail where needed, such as the endocrine chapter that now has the addition of pituitary and pineal glands for completeness.

One minor aesthetic point is that the previous edition had “need to know” bullets that were separate from the text and images and were easily seen. With the latest edition, these bullets are more aligned with the text of the chapters and not as distinct for easy reference.

The editors must be commended for tackling a book of this magnitude and quality.

They have corralled some of the best-known comparative pathologists (there are 58 contributors) as authors of the 24 chapters as well as participating in authorship of over 50% of the chapters themselves.

This edition is much improved and worth purchasing even if you already have the first edition. The reorganization of the chapters alone makes for a much more readable text and worth the upgrade, but it is the addition of the rat that seals the deal.