Fox H and Wells, M:

Haines and Taylor Obstetrical and Gynaecological Pathology, Fifth Edition, 1626 pp, London, Churchill Livingstone, 2003 ($450.00).

Unlike most new editions, the latest edition of Haines and Taylor's Obstetrical and Gynaecological Pathology is actually shorter than the previous edition! Not that this textbook is small; it is still two volumes, 49 chapters, and quite comprehensive. Many of the chapters that were added to the fourth edition have been dropped, such as separate chapters on immunopathology, immunohistochemistry, quantitative pathology, and molecular pathology. Instead, these topics are discussed in the context of specific pathological entities, though there is a short chapter on the application of new techniques at the end. A nice addition is a summary of chapter contents, with page numbers, at the beginning of each chapter.

About a third of the authors are new, bringing a “freshened” look to some chapters. For example, Dr. Paradinas has added substantial insight to the trophoblastic diseases chapter, with new pictures and discussions of newly defined entities, such as the epithelioid trophoblastic tumor. The addition of a section on differential diagnosis of lesions containing chorionic villi is also helpful to the practicing pathologist. In another example, Dr. Zaino has brought a simplified look to the chapter on endometrial hyperplasias and carcinoma, with the deletion of the discussion on endometrial metaplasias (metaplasias have been moved to the chapter on an expanded normal endometrium and non-proliferative conditions of the endometrium chapter). The more complex look of tables and graphs that characterize Drs. Kempson and Hendrickson's work is gone.

This text covers more topics than most other textbooks of gynecological pathology, including the pathology of other organs during pregnancy. These topics are rarely touched upon elsewhere and make this text a valuable addition to the pathology library.