326 CLINICAL RADIOLOGY

HINCK, V. C., HOPKINS, C. E., SAVARA, B. S. (1962). Sagittal Diameter of the Cervical Spinal Canal in children. Radio- logy, 79, 97-108.

MeRAE, D. L. & STANOEN, J. (1966). Roentgenological

findings in Syringomyelia and hydromyelia. American Journal of Roentgenology, 98, 695-703.

SIMRIL, W. A. & THURSXON, D. (1955). The Normal Inter- pediculate space in the Spines of infants and children. Radiology, 64, 340-347.

B O O K R E ~ E W S

Bone Tumours In Man and Animals. By L. N. OWnN. Pp. 201 with 117 illustrations. London; Butterworth.

This book is written by a Veterinary research worker and must be the first of its kind. The author describes the patho- genesis, diagnosis and treatment of bone turnouts in man and in most animals. Special attention is paid to bone neoplasia in the dog, an animal that shares man 's environment and has a life span between that of mouse and man.

The text is concise and lucid. Not unexpectedly in such a wide field, some errors creep in. On page 2, it is stated that osteoid osteoma is rare before epiphyseal closure in man. However, the error is corrected on page 25 where the author states that osteoid osteoma is common in older children and in young adults. Mr .Owen is only half correct in saying that unscreened films with thick emulsion are used for radiography of the limbs in man. Likewise, one would question the statement that tumours of soft tissue frequently metastasize to bone in man. Biopsy is defined as the surgical removal of tissue for examination and diagnosis. This is incorrect: biopsy is the examination of the tissue by the histologist.

The author has undoubtedly assembled a lot of information that would be difficult to find elsewhere. Illustrations are adequate though Fig. 66 is upside down. The book should prove of interest to those interested in comparative oncology. Diagnostic radiologists will not find human bone tumours dealt with in sufficient detail for their needs. Nevertheless the book is interesting and well worth reading. It is a handy book to consult on the odd occasion when one is confronted with a bony swelling in an animal.

PHILIP JACOBS

Tmnours of the Thyroid Gland. Atlas of Tumour Pathology. Second Series. Fascicle 4. WILLIAM A. MEISSNER and SmELDS WARREN. Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, D.C. 1969. $2.85.

Tumours of the Thyroid Gland. Neoplastic Disease at Various Sites. Volume VI. Edited by Sir David Smithers. E. & S. Livingstone. Edinburgh and London, 1970. £5.5s. 0d.

These two books are both of distinction, complementary to each other, and capable of use as a comprehensive and sound foundation of knowledge to anyone interested in, and and faced with the problems of, thyroid cancer. Both should be regarded as essential to all those who manage the disease in man.

"Meissner and Warren" is a new edition of the earlier

Armed Forces Institute fascicle. In many ways it is the best text book of morbid anatomy available on thyroid cancer, beautifully illustrated and arranged, and one of the most useful bargains we have available, thanks to the United States taxpayer. I t is up to date, and refers to European (mainly British and Swiss) literature as well as American. One finds, for example, a very fine review of medullary carcinoma, illustrated by coloured illustrations, showing amyloid stained with Congo-Red and with thio-flavin T. fluorescence, with references to four 1966 papers from E. D. Williams, the most recent reference being to a 1968 paper. Thyroid lymphoma is well described, with the difficulties of separation from carcinoma and thyroiditis being carefully analysed. The nomenclature of papillary and of follicular carcinoma is well discussed with acceptance that many tumours are mixed, and that the name might be related to the predominant cell type. There is inclusion of virtually all thyroid pathology with acceptance of not only benign tumours but also 'tumour-like lesions'. Altogether, this fascicle deserves the highest recommendation.

Sir David Smithers' textbook can be similarly approached with keen anticipation and curiosity as to how it will com- pare with the very fine earlier volumes in his series, especially since the last (Volume 5 on the Kidney and Ureter) was published as long ago as 1963. Many of us were beginning to worry that even Sir David was having difficulty in cajoling his busy colleagues into delivery of their long promised chapters. It is to be hoped that the volume on Malignant Lymphoma in particular may appear soon.

"Tumours of the Thyroid Gland" is indeed of the same stature as its predecessors. Its authors are by no means all connected with the Royal Marsden Hospital, or even con- fined to London; they come also from Glasgow and from Cleveland, Ohio, and correspond to the editor's wide range of knowledge and of reading. The general standard is made clear by stating simply that the contributors include I. Doniach on aetiology, E. D. Williams on medullary carci- noma, and Selwyn Taylor. There are very characteristic chapters from the editor himself on malignant lymphoma and on thyroglossal duct anomalies. I t is interesting and a tribute to both the industry and resources of Sir David and his colleagues that Chapters IX and X both appear to stem from individual cases.

There are chapters of value, not only on the pathology, clinical features, and treatment of thyroid cancer, but also on diagnostic radiology, the use of isotopes in diagnosis, and computer probabilities. This book is thus a comprehensive and stimulating text on thyroid cancer.

K. E. HALNAN