Slide Interpretation in Oral Diseases and the Oral Manifestations of Systemic Diseases

Doctors Scully and Shepherd are faculty members in the University Department of Oral Medicine and Oral Surgery, Bristol, England. This handbook consists of over one hundred case presentations in which the authors demonstrate the diagnostic significance of the oral manifestations of numerous dental, maxillofacial, and systemic diseases. Case material is drawn from both adult and pediatric populations. Each case consists of one or two brief, vivid, color photographic essays and roentgenographs followed by directed questions. At the end of each chapter, each case and its inherent disease process are discussed, and careful consideration is given to both the differential diagnosis and other issues relating to patient management. Most important, the authors have effectively focused on the direct significance of the presenting oral lesions, while reinforcing the putative systemic ramifications of these lesions as they relate to accompanying extra-oral symptomatology. Scully and Shepherd's wide-ranging spectrum of subject matter includes examples of the head and neck manifestations of congenital, dermatological, endocrine, metabolic, gastrointestinal, hematological, hepatic, immunological, and neurological disorders. Also included are a number of slide presentations on the oral signs of systemic infections in both normal and immunosuppressed patients-of particular interest today in the treatment of the AIDS patient, a topic alluded to in a number of the cases. In addition, the authors discuss a number of cases involving trauma to the head and neck; they offer both immediate treatment suggestions and thoughtful suggestions on long-term reconstructive alternatives. The authors are not at all loath to acknowledge that the information presented is not intended to serve as a comprehensive textbook. This short paperback can in no way be considered a definitive text. Instead, the authors' well-organized comments address an expansive selection of pathologies, and the brief considerations of each process which follow are well-reasoned and never appear superficial. The clarity and conciseness of this volume make it an enjoyable and instructive practical exercise in the interpretation of symptoms and in differential diagnosis, both for the medical student and the house officer. The diagnostic significance of the inspection of the oral cavity takes on new meaning for all medical practitioners after a careful reading of this new book.