634 Aust Vet J Vol 76, No 9, September 1998

Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals, KLOverall, Mosby-Williams & Wilkins, New South Wales, 1997,544 pages, ISBN 0 8016 6820 4

This is the state-of-the-art textbook for veterinarians who are inter-ested in the diagnosis and resolution of small animal behaviour

problems. It aims to provide practical and clinical information for prac-titioners and veterinary students. Its sections on normal behaviour aredesigned to promote preventive management styles. There is also anexcellent summary of the epidemiology of behavioural abnormalitiesin cats and dogs (required reading for those who still believe that rudi-mentary skills in behaviour counselling are not essential for generalpractice). As one would expect with a clinical guide, the emphasis ison common causes of owner dissatisfaction. Serious problems likecanine aggression and feline elimination disorders are dealt with ingreat detail, while more esoteric ethopathies such as stereotypies areaddressed with much less gusto. Diagnostic flow charts, client ques-tionnaires, further reading (for the vet and the client) and behaviouralmodification regimens are provided along with the latest approachesto pharmacological support.

With behavioural questions and answers consuming approximately20% of a small animal practitioner’s time, this volume deserves aplace on the bookshelves of all forward-thinking practices. Althoughthe photographs are occasionally of less than professional quality, thetext they support is well-written indeed. With research interests thatfocus on the development of animal models for human psychiatric ill-ness, Karen Overall has taken the diagnosis of companion animalbehaviour problems into an exciting new realm. Her approach to theclassification of behavioural abnormalities has attracted a worldwidefollowing and workers in this field are being encouraged to conform toher nomenclature system. It is argued that this is the only way we canset the intellectual framework for understanding future developmentand growth in this intriguing area. Overall has overhauled behaviouralmedicine. She is not to be ignored.

PD McGreevy

Dr McGreevy is a lecturer (with research and clinical interests in companion ani-mal behaviour) in the Department of Animal Science, University of Sydney.

BOOK REVIEWS

The Link - Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, H Narang,HH Publishers, England, Melbourne agents: DA InformationServices, Victoria, 1997, 327 pages, ISBN 0 9530764 0 7

The author, Harash Narang, is a resident of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,England. He joined the Medical Research Council in 1970 to study

spongiform encephalopathies (SEs), and later transferred to thePublic Health Laboratory Service. This book sets out to bring togeth-er accumulated historical, and recent knowledge of the SEs, and tolink these with the author’s own findings and observations over 25years.

Narang states that as one of the few researchers in the UK withspecialised knowledge of SEs, he foresaw the danger that the bovinespongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak could become one of‘horrific proportions’. In this book he infers that, his early warnings tothe Ministry for Agriculture, Food & Fisheries (MAFF), were ignoredand his offers to help both MAFF, and the Ministry of Health wererefused.

Narang lists his research findings in SEs which he states includesidentifying the first four cases of the variant strain Creutzfeldt-Jacobdisease (vCJD) in humans, the means of developing simple diagnos-tic tests for CJD and BSE, and identifying a ‘virus-like’ particle as thepossible aetiologic agent of SEs.

Among the claims that Narang makes for the causes of SEs, are hisdiscovery and identification of intracellular ‘virus-like’ tubofilamentonsparticles which he calls Nemavirus (nema = filamentous). Hedescribes a touch technique for the verification of diagnosis of scrapieor other SEs from fresh brain material for electron microscopic exam-ination in which the Nemavirus structure consists of a scrapie-associ-ated fibrillar (SAF) core, a host-derived, protease-resistant protein(PrP), surrounded by a single stranded DNA coil, and an outer proteincoat of, as yet, undetermined composition. He concludes the descrip-tion of the Nemavirus by stating, ‘it is most likely that the outer proteincoat with ssDNA, is the infectious agent which co-purifies with theSAF/PrPsc fractions in various amounts as fluffy fragments’.

Narang’s book unfortunately only adds to the confusion that hassurrounded the SEs for much of this century. After reading his claims,and his failure to scientifically refute his hypotheses, readers may beexcused if they thought a good part of the book was a result of hisfrustration with authorities.

Ian M Parsonson

Dr Parsonson has a long-term interest in prion diseases.

Equine Diagnostic Ultrasound, VB Reef, WB Saunders Co,Division of Harcourt Brace & Co, New South Wales, 560pages, ISBN 0 7216 5023 6

Ultrasonography is now an important tool in equine practice. Thisbook, written by one of the world’s leading ultrasonographers, is

the first devoted to equine ultrasound and it will be the ‘gold standard’.All aspects of equine ultrasonography are covered, including muscu-loskeletal, thoracic imaging and cardiovascular ultrasonography,abdominal ultrasonography of adult horses and foals and ultrasono-graphy of fetus, the genital tract of the mare and stallion and smallparts such as the eye.

The first two chapters cover the physical background instrumenta-tion of ultrasonograph and imaging. The principles are particularlyimportant for the understanding and interpretation of ultrasoundimages. The use of tissue-equivalent phantoms to illustrate the princi-ples discussed is an approach that works extremely well. These chap-ters would be of value to all practitioners interested in ultrasonogra-phy, not just equine practitioners.

The chapter dealing with muscles and bones is the longest in thebook, reflecting the most frequent use of ultrasonography in equinepractice. This chapter alone would make the book a valuable pur-chase for all equine practitioners. The beginning of the chapter isdevoted to patient preparation, a topic that is vitally important for adiagnostic study and one that is sometimes overlooked. The authorprovides an overview of relevant anatomy and a detailed descriptionof the scanning technique used for musculoskeletal ultrasonography.Ultrasonographic findings, normal and abnormal, are well illustratedby clinical cases although occasionally the images are less than ideal.This probably reflects the difficulty in reproducing ultrasound images.One of the greatest advantages of this book is that it covers areas notoften scanned, such as the peroneus tertius tendon and the back.

The other chapters are set out similarly with each chapter intro-duced by patient preparation, anatomy and scanning technique. Thismakes the book easy to read and use as a reference. The ultrasoundimages that accompany the text are well labelled and described.‘Equine diagnostic ultrasound’ is a ‘must’ for all veterinarians who useultrasound in equine practice. The book is extremely comprehensiveand well referenced.

C Beck

Dr Beck is a Resident in Diagnostic Imaging at the University of Melbourne.