Color Atlas of ClinicalHematology

Alan Victor Hoffbrand, John E. Pettit, Paresh VyasMosby. Elsevier, 2010. 527 pages. ISBN 980-0-323-04453-0

It is now more than 50 yrs since this atlas was first pub-

lished. The atlas has the same layout as 20 yrs ago as

quite a few of the pictures are the same as those pub-

lished in the 1988 edition. Thus, the current edition

appears to be a conservative contribution to haematolo-

gy, where science is moving at a very fast pace. How-

ever, the atlas does have some major advantages. For

instance, its size alone makes it difficult to overlook.

More importantly, it provides an excellent and compre-

hensive encyclopaedia of blood disorders. The colour

atlas covers the full spectrum of haematology, with

focus on morphology of blood and bone marrow cells.

In addition, it provides excellent clinical pictures; illus-

trations of cytogenetic aberrations, fluoresence in-situ

hybridization, and flow cytometry; schematic illustra-

tions; and tables of physiologic and updated disease

classifications; some gene array and scan fragment stud-

ies; and X-ray imaging. The chapters cover diagnostics

and clinical presentations of benign and malignant con-

ditions, thrombosis, and haemostasis. Separate chapters

describe parasitic disorders of haematological relevance

as well as some aspects of transfusion medicine. Ther-

apy has deliberately been excluded. Also, the section on

fine needle aspirates has been omitted, as only tru-cut

biopsies should be used in haematological practice in

general.

This fourth edition also offers electronic facilities in

the online version, which is activated at a Web site by a

personal code. The Web site features make it possible to

consult the book from any PC and, in this way, ensures

that it is easy to use whenever needed. Pictures, schemes

or classifications, and tables etc. are located from a sim-

ple search query in the index, or the image library. This

first-class material may be downloaded in JPEG standard

format or as a PowerPoint presentation.

The illustrations, which constitute by far the major

aspect of this large book, are of a premium quality. They

offer a visual feast and are an ideal learning tool that

will prove useful in visual perception for the clinician

and in pattern recognition for the pathologist.

Ole Weis BjerrumDepartment of Haematology,

Rigshospitalet,

Blegdamsvej 9,

2100 Copenhagen Ø,

Denmark.

e-mail: ole.weis.bjerrum @ rh.regionh.dk

doi:10.1111/j.1600-0609.2009.01394.x European Journal of Haematology 84 (367)

BOOK REVIEW

ª 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S 367