Gastritis

The author has written a long monograph on a subject which is accorded no more than a few pages in most text-books. This is not to be wondered at when it is remembered that he has devoted almost 30 years to the study of the stomach and has been responsible for the development and popularization of a technique which makes possible the direct visualization of most of the interior of that organ. The material incorporated in the monograph is based upon the study of 55 carefully selected histologic specimens and upon dinical and gastroscopic observations of more than 2500 cases of gastritis. After presenting a brief historical survey and a detailed dassification of the dinical types of gastritis, the author describes the histological features of the anatomical divisions of the normal stomach and then indicates the variations in the gross and microscopic appearance of the diseased stomach. The bulk of the monograph is given to a detailed clinical description of the various forms of gastritis included in the author's classification, each description following the traditional headings of etiology, symptomatology, objective findings, diagnosis, course, and therapy. In the latter part of the book there is a summary of the 55 selected cases that yielded the biopsy, resection, and autopsy specimens for the histological studies. This is followed by a section composed of illustrations of normal and diseased stomachs, of two colored plates of gastroscopic photographs, and of occasional reproductions of roentgenograms. The entire subject of gastritis is at the moment a controversial one. It is doubtful if anyone else has made a comparable clinical and anatomical study of the stomach and it is therefore not now possible, on the basis of other evidence, either to affirm or to deny the author's findings and conclusions. It is dear that the various elements of controversy can be resolved only by further studies that are as extensive and detailed as those here recorded. This work will be read with interest and with profit by investigators and dinicians who are particularly interested in the disorders of the stomach, even though they may not wholly subscribe to the opinions expressed therein. The monograph is attractively printed. The illustrations are for the most part clear and informative. An excellent bibliography is included. M. TAFFEL