Abstract
Grasso, P. Essentials of Pathology for Toxicologists, 166 pp. Taylor & Francis, London. $119.95. ISBN 0-415-25980-0.
This is the first edition of a textbook that was developed from a series of lectures on pathology given to students in a Master of Science program. This textbook was developed to provide fundamentals of pathology and appears to be an adequate introductory text for individuals who are being exposed to pathology for the first time. At the outset, pathology is defined, basic mammalian adaptive responses are presented, and pathologists' tools and reports are discussed briefly. General Pathology and Clinical Chemistry are the major sections of the book. General Pathology is a rather easy-to-read synopsis of key definitions and processes associated with cell biology, cell and tissue injury and repair, cell growth alteration, including hyperplasia and cancer, and immunology. The book's text is supplemented with easy-to-follow line-drawing figures (18 each) and simple tables (17 each) to facilitate understanding of key points of learning. The Clinical Chemistry section was intended to relate biochemical changes to histopathologic or structural effects discussed in the earlier portion of the textbook. This is a strong point of the book because great care has been taken to relate biochemical parameters to specific cell organelles, metabolic pathways, biologic functions, and disease states. The Hematology section is much smaller than the General Pathology or Clinical Chemistry sections, but it is also well written, providing reasonable emphasis on parameters that are commonly assessed in toxicity studies, use of historical control data, and newer hematology parameters available through flow cytometry–based automated hematology analyzers. Causation of disease and recent advances in pathology are also presented briefly. With a few exceptions, the content is factually accurate. An example to describe hyaline (“hyalyne”) began with an accurate description of eosin imparting a bright red color. A sentence after that appeared to suggest hyaline was stained with hematoxylin and that α2µ was a protein in unleaded gasoline. A second example is the section on cancer that has a table, on the character of a tumor, which has transposed column headings for two of its three columns of data. The third section of the book is a glossary that contains definitions for numerous terms that may be more appropriate for emphasis in a general toxicology textbook. A wide range of references to include recently published textbooks have been included to provide additional information beyond that emphasized in the book. This book may have limited value for pathologists and other individuals with a good grasp of the fundamentals of pathology. It is recommended for individuals who may need to quickly understand the fundamentals of general pathology, clinical chemistry, or hematology.