Diagnostic Surgical Pathology, ed. 3, 2 vols.

Abstract

Staff Pathologist, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. I was thrilled when asked to review the third edition of Diagnostic Surgical Pathology, having thoroughly used and abused the first two editions of this textbook throughout my residency and early professional career. I was curious whether there had been significant changes made between the second and third editions, particularly in light of the “startling advances in immunohistochemistry and molecular biology,” as stated in the preface of this third edition. Also stated in the preface by the editor and associate editors is the fact that the “authors have updated and rewritten much of the content of Diagnostic Surgical Pathology to reflect these advances,” and I am happy to report that this is in fact the case. The format of the current edition is similar to that of prior editions; the chapters on each of the organ systems are subdivided into a variety of major categories, many of which are further subdivided into clinical, histologic, and differential diagnostic considerations. Most of the chapters are written by the same authors as in the prior edition, but a significant number of new co-authors have been added, which clearly adds new perspective and breathes new life into many of these chapters. An obvious major improvement over the prior edition is the replacement of many of the black and white photomicrographs with color photomicrographs. These photomicrographs are well-spaced throughout the text, are usually of appropriate size, but many are dark and have a strong bluish tinge. In addition, some of the low-magnification photomicrographs are extremely out of focus, and some of the figure legends have been misplaced. Despite some of these shortcomings, the predominantly color photomicrographs in the new edition offer a significant advantage to the reader and are generally of excellent quality. In comparing the text in the current edition to that of the prior edition, I found large portions to be completely rewritten (as the editor and associate editors promised). Virtually all of the chapters have incorporated newer immunohistochemical and other diagnostic techniques into the text (and placed them in their proper perspective). Given my interests in gastrointestinal and soft tissue pathology, I paid particularly close attention to these chapters, especially the timeliness of the references. I was not disappointed by any of these chapters, and in fact, I was most impressed with how up-to-date the references are, many of which were from 1998 and 1999. For example, Dr. Brooks' chapter on disorders of soft tissue incorporates the cytogenetic and molecular genetic alterations that are characteristic of a variety of sarcomas, including appropriate and timely references. In summary, I found the third edition of Diagnostic Surgical Pathology to be a significant update and improvement over the second edition (which itself was excellent, in my opinion). The differences in text and photomicrographs certainly warrant a place on any surgical pathologist's bookshelf, even for those with the second edition.