Book reviews
Lecture Notes on General Surgery. 8th ed. H. Ellk and R. Calne. 233 x 150 mm. Pp. 395. Illustrated 1993. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific. €1495.
This book has been a firm favourite with medical students since the 6rst edition was published nearly 30 years ago. It is reasonably priced and is a conveniently portable size, although too large for the average white coat pocket. The book aims to cover the fundamentals of general surgery, but also encompasses thoracic surgery, neurosurgery, urology and transplantation. Chapters are set out in a logical manner and frequently include notes on embryological development when appropriate. A strength of this volume is that the information is provided by a mixture of lists and text; the book frequently uses the 'surgical sieve' approach, which many students find helpful for revision purposes. The book is sparsely illustrated with line drawings, which are clear and well labelled but frequently add little to the text. The new edition has unfortunately missed opportunities to update some aspects of management which, in their current form, could be criticized as outdated. Although the authors state that the book is not designed as a substitute for standard texts, this certainly needs to be emphasized to the student who might otherwise feel that this volume alone will be adequate for their final examinations.