Book Review Fertility and Obstetrics in Cattle. Noakes, D. E. Oxford, Blackwell Science. 1997. 2nd Edn. 160pp. £25.00. ISBN 0632-040-83-1

David Noakes is a man for whom I have a high regard. In his Preface he gives the aim of this book as "an immedia te source o f r e fe rence and in fo rmat ion for veter inary stu- den t s , v e t e r i n a r y s u r g e o n s and a n y o n e w o r k i n g with cattle". I have therefore used the book for reference.

Bovine viral d iar rhoea (BVD) is indexed to two pages, where causes o f e m b r y o n i c dea th and of abo r t i on are listed, with a short paragraph on BVD. Vaccination is men- t ioned, so the book is up to date, but the s tudent is left unaware o f the fascinating (and frustrating) complexi t ies of the interact ion between BVD and its host. Gonodot ro- phin- re leas ing h o r m o n e , GnRH, and busere l in are no t indexed. LHRH is dealt with briefly as an endogenous hor- mone , but to find its use as the pharmaceut ical p roduct used to treat ovarian cysts you have to look unde r cysts (not ovarian cysts).

I was pleased to find pregnancy rate indexed, and the o lder term ' concept ion rate ' cross-referenced to it. DAISY is not indexed, though in "Further Reading" two of the ten i tems are the excel lent DAISY reports 2 and 4. Records, computers , and moni to r ing also drew a blank, but there are a couple of pages on this topic. Retained foetal mem- branes is cross-linked to retained placenta. If you look up foetus or foetal you find only the original (and now gener- ally p re fe r red) fetus or fetal. What to do with re ta ined m e m b r a n e s is still a r g u e d abou t , bu t David N o a k e s ' approach fits exactly with mine. Dealing with an abort ion, however, entails legal obligations, and I was pleased to see

f requen t reference in the book to legislation. Readers are referred to current regulat ions and, as the rules in UK have changed since the book went to print, this is wise! In inves- t igat ing causes o f abor t ion , the use o f a carunc le (i.e., maternal placenta) can increase the rate of diagnosis par- ticularly of fungal abort ion. Two of my enthusiasms are the links between lameness and fertility (not listed) and feed- ing and fertility. Nutr i t ion is dealt with, and I was pleased to find reference to condi t ion score ( though targets would be a helpful addit ion) and to excess protein, a l though no reference to the value of measur ing blood or milk urea.

This second edi t ion benefits f rom a dozen B-mode ultra- sound pictures and b r i e f notes on this new techn ique . Cross-references are widely and well used, but in this case a cross-reference from pregnancy diagnosis would be help- ful. Students would benefi t f rom a warning that scanning is not an easy substitute for manual palpation. The chapter on dystocia is a good a t tempt to deal with a subject that can be learned only through practical exper ience . The warning of the danger o f calving aids could be supp lemen ted by notes on how the), should be used.

This 146-page volume forms part o f Blackwell 's 'Library o f Veterinary Practice' . My first thought was that it was an excel lent idea to build up a set of such monographs . Only eight titles are current ly available, however, so unfor tu- na te ly this ser ies is no t the answer to b u i l d i n g up a comprehens ive veterinary library and at £25 this vo lume is not cheap. Nevertheless, it is a good book, well divided into n u m b e r e d sections, with a comprehens ive conten ts list, and is a handy size. I would like to see some references. I hope that the third edi t ion will come after a shorter inter- val t h a n 11 ),ears. I r e c o m m e n d this m o n o g r a p h to veterinary students and veterinary surgeons.

BOB WARD