The Reproductive System at a Glance, 3rd edn

Abstract

This book fulfils a useful niche within the ‘at a glance series’; indeed, as the title implies, it is a repository of information. It enables the medical student to cut down on the time-consuming practice of trolling through major textbooks to get the basic information required for getting on top of the subject, and as a revision source for exam preparation. It will also be an invaluable resource for midwives and nurses working in reproductive medicine. ‘The Reproductive System at a Glance’ is split into two parts: Part 1, Normal Human Reproduction and Part 2, Human Reproductive Disorders. This immediately partitions a complex subject into manageable and easily accessible domains and avoids the danger of the reader getting ‘side-tracked’. For example, if one is reading Phenotypic Sex Differentiation in Part 1, this doesn't become complicated by abnormalities, which are dealt with separately in Part 2. Part 1 is divided into twenty-five chapters and Part 2 into twenty-three chapters. Each chapter consists of two substantially packed pages. This is a nice compact source text, with plenty of good labelled and coloured diagrams. However, the preface of the book is perhaps a little misleading in that it says the book consists of twenty-five chapters in Part 1, in which it covers normal human reproduction, commencing with embryology. This it clearly doesn't, as the first chapter is on the pituitary gland. One has to wait until chapter six, in which the topic is on ‘Gonadal Development in the Embryo’. Chapters one to four deal with the importance of reproductive hormones - their sources and mechanisms of action. This is followed by reproductive genetics, gonadal development, and sex differentiation. In chapters eight to eleven the gross and microscopic anatomy of the system is discussed, and here one must be aware of slight differences in nomenclature between American and UK terminology: in the chapter ‘Gross anatomy of the female reproductive tract’, the intramural parts of the isthmus region of the uterine (Fallopian) tubes are called cornua (horns). The chapters continue in a sequential series, covering puberty, male reproductive physiology, menstrual cycle, sexual response, fertilisation, and pregnancy through to labour and lactation. Chapters twenty-four and twenty-five deal with the menopause and contraception. Chapters twenty-six onwards deal with reproductive system disorders, beginning with abnormalities of male and female development, including a section on gender assignment. Other chapters include precocious puberty, amenorrhoea, and sexual dysfunction, for which the authors use a wonderful, easily understood diagram. Infertility, pregnancy risks with multiple gestations, pregnancy loss, labour abnormalities, and pre-eclampsia are also included. The chapter dealing with benign and malignant diseases of the breast has a very nice table with the determinants of breast cancer and the relative risks. Testicular tumours and diseases of the prostate are covered next, followed by chapters covering ovarian neoplasms, endometrial and cervical cancers, genetic imprinting and reproductive tract tumours. The final three chapters deal with sexually transmitted diseases of both bacterial and viral origin. The book ends with a bank of MCQs with answers. This will be very useful for the student when revising for exams and for self-testing after having read the relevant chapter. I have a few minor criticisms, not on content but on layout. The font size for the ‘contents’ list is too small; in contrast, the ‘table and figure acknowledgements’, have large and well-spaced text. The split into Parts 1 and 2 would have been helped visually by inserting a page between the continuous chapters, i.e. a page with the heading ‘Part 2’ between chapters 25 and 26. But these are minor cavils to this otherwise positive review. ‘The Reproductive System at a Glance’ will be particularly useful for those who want a user-friendly overview of both normal and abnormal anatomy and physiology of the male and female reproductive systems.