Atlas of Pediatric Physical Diagnosis: Text with Online Access, 5e
This impressively heavy and bulky book is loaded with useful information and impressive photographs and should be added to the pediatric library of all departments, schools, and practitioners' offices. The fourth edition of the Atlas is more comprehensive than previous editions: it has vastly expanded chapters and additional features that make it easier to use than the previous editions. The quality of the illustrations continues to be high, and the tables, figures, radiographs, and photographs are generally of superior quality. Zitelli and Davis's book is, to be sure, a compendium of tables and images, but it also includes a considerable amount of written material to accompany the pictorial content. The selection of photographs is excellent. Most of them are in color, and the illustrative examples of particular diagnostic entities are generally appropriate. Most of the photographs are of white children; because certain dermatologic conditions have different manifestations in children of African descent, it would have been useful to show those differences, where applicable. The topics covered are those that lend themselves to visual diagnosis. There are some redundancies: the chapters on nephrology and urologic disorders share some topics, and many of the subjects covered in the chapter on infectious disease are also covered in the chapter on dermatology. Useful techniques for physical examination are also illustrated and include ways to hold or position a child for examination of the ears, methods of genital examination to evaluate for sexual abuse, and techniques for ophthalmologic and neurologic evaluation. These helpful suggestions are well described in the text and clearly shown in photographs. Developmental assessment is also illustrated by appropriate pictorial examples. The Atlas nicely juxtaposes schematic illustrations with photographs of pathological specimens and photographs of specimens with radiologic images. This edition includes examples of imaging techniques, such as computed tomographic scanning, magnetic resonance imaging, radionuclide scanning, and ultrasonography, in addition to radiography. For example, the schematic representation of grades of hydronephrosis is particularly enhanced by the accompanying cystourethrograms. Of particular relevance is the excellent chapter on child abuse and neglect. Photographs show techniques such as examination with the use of Wood's lamp, which enhances the visualization of bruises and of relatively unusual injuries, such as cigarette-lighter burns and bruises from coining or cupping. This remarkably comprehensive chapter includes the different diagnostic entities to be considered in evaluating a child for the possibility of physical or sexual abuse. The examination strategies and techniques for clinical, radiologic, and laboratory evaluations and the historical information necessary to confirm such diagnoses are provided in comprehensive detail. Perhaps the only way to improve this publication would be to include with it a CD-ROM containing many of the tables and photographs. The bulkiness of the book and its sheer weight will keep it in a bookcase or on a desk; it is not a book to carry around for reference. However, it is a must-have book, and at $129 it is a best buy.Kathleen G. Nelson, M.D.Copyright © 2003 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.