Brain, Vol. 122, No. 11, 2197,
November 1999
© 1999 Oxford University Press
Book reviews |
FIFTY NEUROLOGICAL CASES FROM THE NATIONAL HOSPITAL.
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Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK
The neurosciences meeting is the highlight of the week in most neurological centres; junior doctors learn to present patients in a logical and concise manner in front of a critical audience, other juniors are quizzed about the differential diagnosis, the presentation is then open for general discussion before the investigations, diagnosis and management are finally discussed. What better way is there for junior doctors to learn and for the post-menopausal neurologist to be kept up to date?
This small soft-backed book edited by Adrian Wills and the late David Marsden documents the patients presented at the Grand Rounds at the National Hospital in one year. It is attractively set out and following the history, examination, investigations and diagnosis, there is a very useful commentary from an appropriate expert and one relatively recent reference.
As you might expect from the National Hospital, there is the exotic patient which most of us are unlikely to see, e.g. Finnish familial amyloid polyneuropathy, Madelung's disease and Sandhoff's disease, but there is also the more straightforward patient, e.g. infratentorial meningioma, multiple sclerosis and cerebral lymphoma associated with HIV infection. I was particularly fascinated by the thought of listening over the patella for a fast thumping sound similar to that of a distant helicopter in case 28, but you will have to buy the book to learn the diagnosis!
This is a delightful book to dip into—on the bus, train, over coffee, and even for your own meetings if you are short of a case one week. It would be churlish to criticize it, although in case 47 under examination I think it should read `predominantly central nervous system' rather than `peripheral nervous system'.
During the past two decades there has been an explosion of advances in the neurosciences and neurology remains the most exciting and fascinating of specialties. This is captured by the editors of the book and every unit should have a copy in the junior doctors' room so that they can test each other; it is also a useful source of reference. What a pity it is too expensive for the Specialist Registrar's Christmas present.
Notes
Edited by Adrian J. Wills and C. David Marsden. 1998. London: Martin Dunitz Ltd. Price £24.95. Pp. 184. ISBN 1-85317-677-X.
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