Abstract
The table of contents is divided into five parts, which include the general headings Introduction to Pathology, Inflammation and Healing, Circulatory Disorders, Disorders of Growth, and Neoplasia. These parts each have 2–3 chapters, for a total of 12 chapters. The chapters are presented as an overview without much detail. Selected topics are presented in more detail as boxed focus elements, with text, tables, and figures drawn from the literature serving to illustrate the accompanying general text. This approach succeeds nicely by drawing attention to the concept and filling in historical perspectives for those new to pathology. It also results in a variety in page layout and presentation with an occasional drawback of inefficient use of space.
The intended audience for this book is professional veterinary medical students who are being introduced to disease and tissue reactions to injury for the first time. This text may be useful for graduate students for learning about general disease processes; however, every aspect of the book, including the preface, is aimed at the future veterinarian. The book is written in a style that gives the student an understandable accounting of basic principles of tissue injury and various types of tissue reactions. Selected references are given at the end of chapters and include some recent articles if further information is desired. The content of the book would not be an adequate resource for a veterinary pathology resident or practicing veterinary pathologist.
In the 11 years since this book was first published, there have been tremendous strides in understanding mechanisms of disease in many areas. This revised edition contains newly added, up-to-date presentations on concepts not included in the previous edition such as oxidative injury, reflow injury in myocardium, apoptosis, and programmed cell death. As in the first edition of this text, there are numerous high-quality figures and illustrations that complement the text well. Figures used previously in the first edition are reproduced with greater quality in the second edition.
Some subject areas have been markedly reduced in scope in the revised edition, apparently as an attempt to cope with an expanding knowledge base by dealing with subjects more concisely, and for the most part this has been successful. Two of seven parts in the first edition (Part 6, Immunity; and Part 7, Causes of Disease) have each been reduced to chapter status (Chapter 6, Immunopathology; and Chapter 3, Etiology). A hazard of such truncation is that clear, accurate presentations of current concepts may be compromised. On the other hand, some chapters changed little and would have benefited from more attention. There have been many new concepts in hemostasis since the first edition, but the chapter “Hemostasis” has changed little. Glaringly incorrect information in hemostasis from the first edition persists in the second edition, particularly in the area of dicumarol poisoning and the action of vitamin K. Some additions were made to this chapter in regard to endothelial regulation of coagulation and vascular reactivity, but the approach does not sufficiently portray the breadth of change that has occurred since the first edition.
Dr. Cheville is a highly respected veterinary pathologist and scientist who has written several highly specialized texts for veterinary pathologists. Writing a basic text in the current information explosion is a formidable task, and Dr. Cheville has done an admirable job of limiting information to the level of his intended audience. The risk of cutting information to the basics is that it may not have been done in a way that the teacher or course coordinator of a class looking for a text would have preferred. The other hazard of authoring a basic text is being sure that the information presented covering a large, rapidly expanding topic area is always accurate and up to date. Some examples of the later problem are evident in the text. A possible solution would be to recommend multiple authors for a text; however, this causes further problems of authors not limiting the scope of their interest areas and producing a book that is excessive for the beginning student. This book represents a significant contribution to teaching basic veterinary pathology and should be considered for use in teaching pathology to beginning veterinary students.