Learmonth GW:

An Atlas of Cytopathology of the Head and Neck: With Clinical and Histological Correlation, 153 pp, London, Arnold, 1998 ($89.50).

An Atlas of Cytopathology of the Head and Neck is a single-author monograph that covers inflammatory, developmental, and neoplastic disorders. Generally, the book is well written with excellent illustrations. Special coverage is given to virtually all aspects of head and neck cytology. The book is organized into 10 chapters; 3 chapters are devoted to fine needle aspiration of lymph nodes, and 1 chapter each covers salivary gland tumors, cysts of the head and neck, oral cavity, nasopharynx, nose and paranasal sinuses, skin and soft tissue, and eye and orbit.

What is unique to this book is that the materials are presented in a case-oriented approach: one or two cases are presented for each disease; each case begins with a brief clinical history accompanied by clinical photographs or MRI scans; then a series of photomicrographs are displayed, including the standard Papanicolaou’s stain and immunohistochemistry. Exfoliative cytopathology of the head and neck, which is not a common practice in the United States, receives good coverage.

Cytologic photomicrographs are in most cases accompanied by histologic pictures, which I found particularly useful for histologic correlation. The figure legends are concise and to the point.

As an atlas should, the book contains numerous illustrations on almost every page. These cytology photomicrographs are at a sufficiently high magnification, in color, and of exquisite sharpness.

Reviewing this book was an enjoyable and informative endeavor. Any pathologist, pathology resident, or cytotechnologist should benefit from having this as part of his or her bench top references and personal library.