Postgrad Med J (1992) 68, 232 - 233                                 ©The Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine, 1992            Postgrad Med J: first published as 10.1136/pgmj.68.797.232-a on 1 March 1992. Downloaded from 
            Book Reviews
            Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine, 16th           common side effects, indications and contra-indications
            edition, edited by Christopher R.W. Edwards and Ian            for the block are given. For each nerve block there is a
            A.D. Bouchier. Pp. viii + 1027, illustrated. Churchill         comprehensive list of references although it is to be
            Livingstone, Edinburgh, London, Melbourne, New York,           regretted that many of these remain in their original
             1991. Paperback £19.50.                                       German. Only one labelling in German of the excellent
                                                                           diagrams, which occurs on page 280 for the facet joint
            For over 30 years and 50 editions, Davidson's Principles       block, seems to have escaped the eagle eye of the editor.
            & Practice of Medicine reigned supreme as the compre-             Evenat the price of£64 this book is ofsuch quality that
            hensive account of British medical practice for under-         it should hold its place amongst the reference books and
            graduate and postgraduate students worldwide. Its editors      atlases of regional anaesthesia. The authors and the
            set out to offer a readable text marketed at the middle        translators are to be congratulated on producing a book
            ground between introductory works and the standard             that should be in every Anaesthetic Department Library
            reference books. This they achieved with unrivalled            and I would further recommend that anaesthetists involv-
            success. However, by the fifteenth edition, 'Davidson'         ed in nerve blocks should have this book even closer to
            wasstarting to show its age. Therefore, with the advent of     hand.
            monthly 'add on' textbooks and two new British works                                                          Alan Logan
            clearly aimed at the same readership, amajor revision was                                  Postgraduate Medical Centre,
            overdue.                                                                                              St Mary's Hospital,
               In response to this challenge, the new team of editors                                         Newport, Isle of Wight.
            has produced a sixteenth edition which has been updated
            and extensively rewritten with two new chapters, the
            inclusion ofmany more figures and photographs and the          The Family Practice Drug Handbook, A.F. Ellsworthy,
            now obligatory information boxes and summaries. The            R.F. Bray, B.S. Bray and J.P. Geyman. Pp. xx + 663.
            new text maintains Davidson's reputation for 'read-            MosbyYearBook,StLouis, Baltimore, London, Sydney,
            ability' and the new figures are clear and well annotated.      1991. Paperback £16.
            The increased emphasis on the practical issues of the          This pocket-sized book coming from The                   ofcopyright.
            managementofdisease is to be welcomed butwhetheritis           Washington, Seattle is intended               University
            sufficiently detailed in most instances to fulfil the claim    reference. Drugs are listed        as a quick prescriber's
            that this edition of Davidson is a 'usable manual on the       primary usageandeach         generically according to their
            management ofdisease' is debatable. Also the quality of        headings including       monographusesastandard setof
            the reproduction ofradiographs is poor and it is surpris-      to Pregnancy and Available Forms, Dosage, Risk Posed
            ing that the publishers did not learn from their rivals that                       Lactation (using the Food and Drugs
            the use of a limited range of colours can vastly improve       Administration     Risk Categories),    Pharmacokinetics,
            the presentation of such a book.                               Adverse Effects, Drug Interactions (classified according
               Despite these reservations, this new edition of an old      to significance) and Cost. Purely specialist treatments
            friend is to be welcomed and the extent ofits updating and     (such as cancer chemotherapy) have been excluded,
            revision means that it should be acquired by all medical       although interactions with such drugs (e.g. methotrexate)      http://pmj.bmj.com/
            libraries, but it will face stiffcompetition in the bookshops  are included. Seventy-one tables are distributed through
            from similarly priced texts.                                   the book with functions, such as to compare or classify
                                                                           drugs, list their applications, or give therapeutic guide-
                                                            J.F. Waller    lines. The information is presented in a clear and concise
                                         Princess Alexandra Hospital,      manner.
                                                        Harlow, Essex.        This book will doubtless be well received in America
                                                                           with good reason. Its appeal to family doctors working in
                                                                           other countries will be limited because the names and
            Regional Anesthesia, 2nd edition, edited by W. Hoerster,       preparations of available drugs can differ considerably.        on October 3, 2022 by guest. Protected by
            H. Kreuscher, H. Chr. Niesel and M. Zenz. Pp. 300,             Doctors working in the National Health Service in
            illustrated. Mosby Year Book, St Louis, Baltimore, etc.,       Britain receive a new edition of the British National
            Wolfe Publishing, London, 1991. Hardback £64.                  Formulary (BNF) twice yearly. This also lists drugs
            The American translation of this standard German               according to usage but precedes each section with brief
             textbook - already in its third edition - has come across     notes giving therapeutic advice and guidance to assist in
            very well and will be useful for both novices and              the selection of suitable treatment. The Family Practice
             experienced practitioners in the field of regional anaes-     Drug Handbook user must look to a separate source for
             thesia. The chapters on pharmacology, advantages over         such guidance. However, he/she will have much more
             general anaesthesia and the applications of regional          detailed information on pharmacokinetics and the possi-
             anaesthesia are well written and comprehensive. Two           ble advantage that interactions are listed as part ofeach
             hundred and thirty pages ofexcellent colour plates follow     monograph rather than being tucked away at the back of
             that demonstrate a very complete range of nerve blocks        the book.
             both for anaesthesia and pain relief. Each chapter in this                                                 J.S. Corcoran
             section describes the local anatomy, stresses the recom-                                             The Health Centre,
             mended equipment, the position of the patient, the                                                      Torrington Park,
             technique to be followed. Preferred drugs and their                                                    London N12 9SS.