Aids to Theatre Technique

Second edition. (Pp. xii + 422; figs. 68. 37s. 6d.). London: Butterworth. 1952. X'ills is described as "a handbook of pre-operative and post-operative treatment." House-surgeor4 and registrar-s will find it a useful companion in the wvards and in wvorking for the F.R.C.S. About one quarter of the book is devoted to the genieral principles of metabolism in relation to surgery, thrombo-embolism, wound healing and so on. Clear directions are given for blood anid fluid administration, oxygen therapy, anti-coagulant treatment, the care of wounds and other such practical procedures. The rest of the book is devoted to regional surgery and reasoned discussion is combined with detailed advice about the management of most of the common surgical operationis. There is a classified bibliography. The advice given throughout is orthodox and sound, but there are several ways in which the book could be improved. A chapter on chemotherapy and the antibiotics in surgery is much needed, and a general account of suclh topics as ambulation after operation, breathing exercises, analgesia and sedation, and vitamins would save repetition and vagueness in the chapters on regional surgery. It is surprising to find no account of post-operative atelectasis, plasma substitutes, the care of gangrene, and the managetnent of the diabetic undergoing surgery. It is difficult for anyone but the expert to keep abreast of recent developments in metabolism, but some account of the r-elationi of the suprarenal cortical hormones to nitrogen, fluid and electrolyte balance following trauma wvould help to clarify these subjects. R. B. W.