Recent Advances in Surgery 29

Abstract

followed by an analysis of structure and then of function.Some of this material has been published previously in the Annals and formed the substance of the author's MD thesis.Part 4 is on applied instrumentation and, for example, deals with haemorrhage, wound closure, extraction of foreign materials and amputation.This section contains much of general surgical interest and for the occasional reader may be of greater interest than some of the more specialised earlier chapters.The book is lavishly illustrated throughout with more than 500 black-and-white line drawings and photographs.There is also a central section of 30 colour plates showing boxed collections of 19th-century instruments and plates from illustrated surgical manuscripts and books of the past.Each chapter is extensively referenced.To conclude, there is a comprehensive bibliography and a useful appendix detailing museums and collections throughout the world that exhibit surgical instruments.Are there any criticisms?I could find only one error during a detailed reading and that relates to an illustration rather than the text!Plate III is incorrectly labelled.Beyond this I found some of the illustrations disappointingly small given the detail they contain and a few have reproduced poorly.Overall, however, I believe this to be a unique reference volume that will be consulted for many years to come by those who wish to understand how the developing craft of surgery necessitated developments in instrument design and, conversely, how serial advances in materials technology allowed developments to take place in the craft of surgery.It will also be of special interest to instrument collectors and medical historians.