David Ellison, Seth Love, Leila Chimelli, Brian N Harding, James Lowe, Harry V Vinters: Neuropathology: A Reference Text of CNS Pathology (2nd edn), 754 pp, St Louis, MO, Mosby 2004 ($365).

The most extensively illustrated neuropathology text is the weighty ‘Ellison and Love’, first published in 1998 and now appearing in its second edition. The new edition packs 364 additional pictures into a book that already had more than 2500 photographs. The text is also updated to reflect advances in the molecular basis of neurological disease. This hefty opus covers, in print and accompanying CD-ROM, the full range of CNS pathology: malformation, infection, autoimmunity, vascular disease, trauma, toxic/metabolic injury, neurodegeneration, and neoplasia. As a comprehensive atlas, ‘Ellison and Love’ is outstanding. But, as they state in their preface, the authors aspired to ‘provide a reference book that was heavily biased towards the use of color illustrations, yet included much more information than an atlas.’ To that end, numerous tables and data boxes are included in the book as well. For example, if one were to look up the relatively uncommon condition known as acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalopathy, the reader would see three color-coded text boxes as well as two gross and eight microscopic autopsy photographs; more pictures of the entity than you would find in any other neuropathology text. What you will not find, however, are any radiological pictures, which are virtually nonexistent in this text. Nor will you find, in contrast to the first edition, electronic versions of the data boxes on the CD-ROM, an inconvenience should you want to utilize them in a presentation. One might argue that the authors step out of their niche by attempting to be a textbook as well as an atlas. Indeed, the omnibus two-volume textbook Greenfield's Neuropathology (Graham and Lantos, eds.) was updated with the seventh edition as recently as 2002. Nevertheless, as a source of pictures, tables, and illustrations, ‘Ellison and Love’ is unrivaled. Although the page layout is less elegant than that of the first edition, which tended to have fewer figures per page, the book is useful for those seeking a central source for gross and microscopic photographs of the major pathologic entities of the CNS.