BOOK REVIEWS

HUMAN NEUROANATOMY, 8th Edition Editrd 11) MI. B. Carpmter..\. Siitin, 872 ppj 1ViIlianis €3 Miilki i is , Bullimow, M D , 1983. $43.00 H m m n Nrwuutiufoniy has been the standard text for the neuroanatomy courses for medical students and allied health students for many years. This latest edition has been significantly improved by new illustrations antl by bringing the text up-to-date with modern concepts of the nervous system. The text is both detailed and com- prehensive. The organization of the book is similar to that used in previous editions. The text begins with the gross anatomy of the brain which introduces the student to the general organization of the nervous system and to neuroanatomical terminology that is so important to the study of the nervous system. Following a chapter on the development and histogenesis of the nervous system the cellular elements are discussed including neurons, neuroglia, receptors. and effectors. .4t this point, the text turns to a regional analysis of the anatoniy of the nervous system. There are also separate chapters on meninges. blood supply, and the autonomic nervoub system.

With this edition. the text becomes one of the most complete and Up-to-date texts currently available. Its bibliography is extensive, containing 2,802 references. Since most other comprehensive and detailed texts of neuroantomy are either going out of print or out of date, Hitniun N~urorrnntomy virtually stands alone as a compendium of neuroanatomical knowledge that em- bodies the modern concepts and significant changes of the last decade. Its readability has improved over the years, although still is not on a par with some of the shorter, less comprehensive texts. Those sections which contain long descriptions of the anatomy and extensive classiricatioris are the least reatiable parts oP tlie text. The readability has improved significantly on those parts of the text that were extensively revised arid brought up-to- date for this edition. One of the strengths o f th r text is its excellent illustrations. The text is profusely illus~rated, with many new diagrams in this edition. The diagrarris illustrate important points in the text arid use color to make complicated figiircs more uritlerstandable. The photographs of both light and electi-on rnici-ographs

have been reproduced with clarity and the frequent use of color is particularly appreciated. The text figures sur- pass in quality the figures which appear together in the back of the book as an atlas. In some instances. the atlas figures are artist’s rendition of neuroanatomical material and in other instances the label-lines to photomicro- graphs of brain sections sometimes interfere with the anatomical detail of the section. The authors have done an excellent job in combining the relevant current con- cepts derived from the most recent techniques. into a well-illustrated text of regional neuroanatomy. I n many places they have included examples of the clinical antl functional implications of the anatomical concepts. The index is adequate, but not as complete as one might like in a reference text.

JOSEPH WELLS, ptln Burl ingt o 11. Vrrmon t

MECHANICS OF SKELETAL AND CARDIAC MUSCLE Edikd by Chandler A . Philliii,~, Jrrrold S . Prtri$\k?. 307 pp. Charles C Thomas, Springfield, IL, 1983. $24.75 This is a 307-page volume, jointly edited by Dr. (:hand- ler Phillips (a physician) and Dr. Jerrold Petrofskv, both of the Departments of Engineering and Physiology, Wright State University, Dayton.

In tlie preface, the authors state that the book is aimed at “muscle physiologists, physical medicine spr- cialists, cardiologists, and biomedical engineers.” The editors approach the subject from a mathcmatical de- scription of muscle function, and the book is organized as chapters with a logical sequence: Chapter 1, muscle as an energy converter; Chapter 2, rnusclc describing its complex motor forc:e--velocity relationships; Chapel- 3, a description of the electrical activity of muscles, princi- pally as summated and integrated when recorded with surface electrodes; Chapter 4, controlling skeletal nius- cle electromechanically; arid Chapter 5, the application of functional electrical stimulation of paralyed muscle.

462 MUSCLE & NERVE JuliAug 1983