Pediatric Diagnosis

far from complete. This, of course, is inevitable in such a text and, in fact, it is highly desirable since it should motivate the reader to seek further information. Appropriate sources for further reading are provided in the carefully selected bibliographies. In the course of his reading the reviewer had many occasions to use the index and found it to be quite complete and providing a rather untroubled use of the textual material. In summary, within the limits that must always be imposed on a text which encompasses as much material as is represented by this book, the reviewer finds it a quite satisfactory and worthwhile introduction to the study of medicine and one which should be of value to all of us who are students and practitioners. Doctors Green and Richmond, both professors of pediatrics familiar with the dual requirements of clinical service and educational responsibilities, have prepared this new book on pediatric diagnosis dedicated to "those who care for children everywhere." Their objective is to help "stude'nts and practitioners to increase their diagnostic skill through a systematic and integrated approach to patient study that can be readily applied at the bedside or in the office." The emphasis is on "competence in history taking and physical examination; on the accomplishment of early diagnosis; on the application of information from the basic sciences to clinical situations; on the development of a functional knowledge of physical, physiologic and psychologic growth and development; and on differential diagnosis." In an initial brief but perceptive essay on pediatric history, helpful observations and suggestions are expressed regarding techniques of interviewing. The authors stress the importance of putting parents and patients at ease, the opportunities to learn by attentively listening and observing during the interview, and the physician's role as a promoter of health rather than exclusively as a healer of the sick. The main body of the book is devoted to extensive sections on the physical examination and on signs and symptoms. In the first of these, an introductory essay on special features of the pediatric physical examination is followed by a series of detailed evaluations organized on the basis of familiar anatomical categories. In the section on the neurological examination, however , special consideration is given to neurological injury in the newborn infant, cerebral palsy, meningitis and meningismus, as well as to evaluation of the cranial nerves and spinal cord. A chapter on developmental …