600 BOOK REVIEWS

many cases, and was particularly useful in correcting "blurring of vision" at the near point.

The Maddox-rod test with Risley prism was used in testing, but the important factor, before prescribing, was to have the patient wear the correction with prism in a trial frame for a sufficiently long period of time, in the office, in order to determine what portion of the correction found would be accepted. This varied from 25 percent up to 100 percent of the imbalance found on test-ing. Where there was a difference between the correction for distance and near, less was prescribed, since relief would be ob-tained even by prescribing only a portion of the prism correction. In three cases, patients returned for reëxamination in one year, and a greater percentage of the correction was then acceptable.

Refraction comprises the majority of work, particularly during the early years of practice. In residency training, the emphasis on surgery is the primary interest of the resident, but a great deal of his success or failure will depend on how much he learns about the tedious "uninteresting" portion of his training, the refraction clinic. Dr. Miles's article is especially valuable to the student, and worth a lot of thought for the practitioner.

(Signed) Maurice Kadin, Racine, Wisconsin

BOOK REVIEWS D I S E A S E S OF T H E F U N D U S O C U L I W I T H

ATLAS. By Adalbert Fuchs, M.D. Trans-lated by Erich Pressburger, M.D. Edited by Abraham Schlossman, M.D. Philadel-phia, The Blakiston Company, 1949. Edi-tion limited to 995 numbered copies. 337 pages, 81 figures, 44 color plates, index. Price, $30.00. In 1943 the original (German) edition of

this superb book appeared, published by Franz Deuticke of Vienna. It was only shortly after the war that it became availa-

ble to the outside world. Because of its popularity and value, it was thought that an English edition would be in demand. The author, translator, and publisher are to be congratulated for their decision in this matter, for this edition satisfies a much needed want by the many ophthalmologists who do not read German with any facility.

The subject matter correlates the clinical (ophthalmoscopic) findings of the diseases of the ocular fundus with the histologie description of the pathologic processes in-volved. The illustrations are superb and adequate. The text is lucid and exceedingly well translated and edited. Much new ma-terial has been added both in text and illustration. It is a volume that every ophthalmologist will want to have in his li-brary and for reference. It will increase in value with time and is truly a collector's item. Derrick Vail.

T H E PHYSIOLOGY OF THE EYE. By Hugh Davson, D.Sc. (London). Philadelphia, The Blakiston Company, 1949. Cloth-bound, 451 pages, 301 illustrations, index. Price, $7.50. A fresh and vigorous personal view

dominates Davson's compact and systematic presentation of ocular physiology. The volume incorporates most of the significant advances made since the monumental Volume 1 of Duke-Elder's Textbook of Ophthalmology was published in 1932. No-where else is so much new material so readily accessible but, to my regret, the specific source references have been omitted. Duke-Elder's conception of the aqueous humor is subject to critical réévaluation ; the role of hyaluronic acid in the vitreous, cornea, and lens is detailed; and the latest investigations in all phases—flicker, electro-physiology, photochemistry, color vision— are fairly interpreted.

A practicing ophthalmologist would have inclined toward a more decided clinical bias, and probably would have essayed an analysis of the mechanisms involved in photophobia,