Lewandrowski K:

976 pp, Baltimore, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2002 ($125.00).

This text is an excellent resource for clinical laboratory personnel, covering both the technical and management aspects of lab operations. Experienced administrators and scientists have collaborated to produce a text that is both comprehensive and detailed. The book is unique in that it addresses several practical issues laboratorians face on a daily basis, including regulatory issues, economic pressures, management challenges, and trends in automation. The text is comprised of three sections, the first of which addresses the full range of management issues, including human resources, budget control, specimen transport networks, and information systems. The second section contains chapters covering laboratory techniques, contemporary instrumentation, and clinical chemistry methodologies. The last section, titled “Analysis and Clinical Correlations,” deals with laboratory tests as the basis for the pathophysiological evaluation of disease. This section includes chapters on important analytes including plasma proteins, electrolytes, and lipids. The chapters on cerebrospinal fluid evaluation, toxicology, and coagulation are particularly useful. I highly recommend this book as a unique and comprehensive reference for clinical laboratorians and for those in clinical pathology training.