A Pocket Obstetrics

is not recommended apart from a few patients in whom radical surgery is recommended. Various clinical trials are described-the use of radium only or combined with deep X-ray therapy either before or after the insertion of the radium, etc. One read with surprise that the cure rate is no better than in 1932. The better figures reported are due to the patients receiving treatment earlier. The reviewer was most impressed by the chapter on social studies. It shows that the only satisfactory method to persuade women to attend for cytology is by personal contact with their family doctor or local health visitor. Reasons why people do not attend for smears and repeat smears are discussed. These include lack of evening sessions, disregard for the dignity of the women while waiting and a rough examination by the doctor. Many women (30 per cent) did not know that repeat smears were necessary. The chapter on professional and public education discussed how a voluntary organisation-the Manchester Regional Committee on Cancer-combined with the Department of Social Research in the hospital to become an authoritative body on education. This chapter enumerates the pessimistic views of medical students, nurses and doctors about cancer but indicates how progress has been made in changing these opinions. This book is directed to the entire medical profession and not those dealing with cancer of the cervix. Indeed, many gynaecologists and radiotherapists may be disappointed in it as it does not include results of treatment by surgery nor compare the results of their treatment with that of other centres. It should be regarded as a challenge in the field of social and preventative medicine. Anyone who reads the book will be encouraged to increase efforts to eliminate cancer of the cervix in the province. Therefore, it should be in the hands of all family doctors as well as those specialists who deal with the disease in all its forms. THIS small book has by a "strict economy of words" attempted to present the essential facts of Obstetrics. It contains 150 pages of solid factual knowledge covering the whole range of anatomy, reproductive physiology, normal and abnormal labour and pregnancy disorders. This seventh edition has been well revised and includes many recent advances. The obvious limitations of this book are the lack of discussion and the absence of adequate illustrations on such topics as the mechanism of labour. As far as concise …