The Human Hippocampus An Atlas of Applie

J. Anat. (1989), 166, pp.
269-272 269
Printed in Great Britain
Book Reviews
Study Guide and Review Manual of Human Embryology. By KEITH L. MOORE. (Pp.
xi+ 247; some illustrations; £10.) Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders. 1989.
This book is a collection of multiple choice questions (MCQs) on human embryology. Each
chapter starts with a brief statement of Objectives, continues with a set of questions on the
particular topic and ends with the answers and notes on the questions. The Objectives are the most
unsatisfactory as they do not make a complete syllabus and they are not all tested in the following
questions, while points not included in the objectives are tested. On the whole the questions are
good although it is always possible to find individual questions to criticise. The only general point
I would comment on is the confusion with embryonic directions; terms such as 'vertical plane' and
'posterior' are sufficiently ambiguous that they are better not used in embryology. There is
emphasis on numerical points such as exact times of appearance of features and on clinical topics
(distinguish types of spina bifida or give the commonest cause of cleft palate). Whether this is
considered a fault or a benefit depends on the particular course.
The book will be useful for postgraduate students for revision. I would hesitate to recommend
it as a whole for undergraduates because of the hazard of attempting to learn rather than revise
from the book, because of the inadequacies of the Objectives section and because of the differing
coverage of different courses. It will be invaluable as a source of ideas for teachers faced with the
task of setting MCQs, either as part of an examination, or for specific revision topics. It is clear
that the author had this in mind as the copyright notice, although so grammatically convoluted
as to be nearly incomprehensible, appears to give conditional permission to copy parts of the book
for just this kind of use.
E. J. EVANS
The Human Hippocampus. An Atlas of Applied Anatomy. By HENRI M. DUVEROY. (Pp.

166; 145 figures; DM. 148.) Munchen: J. F. Bergmann Verlag. 1988.
Despite its title, this book is something more than an atlas. The first third of it includes a detailed
description of the anatomy of the human hippocampus. The remainder is an atlas of semi-serial
coronal, sagittal, and horizontal sections through it. The main objective is to explain the
appearance of these sections by relating them to the descriptions given earlier, thereby providing
a basis for interpreting sectional images of the living hippocampus produced by medical imaging
techniques.
The descriptions given are at the macroscopic and lower power microscopic levels. They are
based on a study of 60 hippocampi examined in one of three ways: on Bodian silver impregnated
sections, in frozen sections of the whole head, or following India ink injection to demonstrate the
blood supply.
An introductory outline is given of the anatomy of the hippocampus, its relationship to the rest
of the limbic lobe, its regional subdivisions, neuronal morphology and connections. This sets the
scene for a very detailed, lucid and comprehensive account of the structure of the hippocampus,
including the dentate gyrus, and of its topographical relationships to neighbouring parts of the
brain and head. The description is very well correlated with its histological subdivisions, its blood
supply and vascular bed morphology. The atlas which follows this comprises over half of the book
and illustrates series of sections through the hippocampus in the three primary sets of planes. The
appearance of many of these is very complicated. However, the manner in which the underlying
morphology is presented in the earlier chapters renders them thoroughly comprehensible. The
book thus succeeds admirably in its main objective.
The text is generally well written, brief and to the point. There is an extensive list of references.
The standard to which the book is produced is extremely high. The greater part of it is taken up
with illustrations which are uniformly of very good quality indeed. The majority are either low
power photomicrographs or photographs of excellent dissections or sections through the
hippocampus and related structures. These are admirably brought together by superb diagrams
illustrating the three-dimensional structure of the hippocampus.
270 BOOK REVIEWS
As well as being of value for neurosurgeons and radiologists, this book will be very useful as
a reference for those who teach this complex area, whether to undergraduates or postgraduates.
JOHN P. FRAHER
The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology. 4th edition. By K. L. MOORE.

(Pp. xii + 462; many illustrations; £18.95.) Philadelphia, London: W. B.
Saunders. 1988.
One welcomes the fourth edition of this book as a long-standing and comfortable friend. We are
introduced to two more of the lovely Moore grandchildren in this edition. The reader feels he has
had a personal glimpse of a family album.
This edition has been up-dated to include or expand on several new prenatal diagnostic
techniques, e.g. chorionic villous sampling; ultrasonography etc. These are important tools in the
armoury of the clinician and a welcome addition in an embryology textbook for medical students.
The chapter devoted to the causes of human congenital malformations has incorporated the latest
reported teratogenic effects of anticonvulsants, marijuana, retinoic acid (Vitamin A) etc., all of
which are pertinent and important in medicine today.
This edition has chosen the colour blue for the cover, all the chapter titles and subtitles.
Additionally, the previous edition's black and white diagrams have now largely changed to various
hues. Many have been colour-coded for ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm derivatives, which is
a very useful, colourful and artistic addition to the book. Others, however, have obviously been
made blue purely for continuity, while the colours used to indicate grey, deep pink and yellow are
murky. The effect is less satisfactory.
Despite this very minor criticism, this edition is again an outstanding, if not the best,
embryology textbook for medical students and postgraduate students available today. It is to be
highly recommended to all students as a clear, concise, interesting and clinically relevant text. Its
presentation is an excellent balance of text, diagrams and photographs. Each chapter is a distinct
entity, but carefully integrated with the other chapters in the book. One can only admire this book
and hope every medical student and student of human embryology will purchase this edition.
Their pleasure at understanding this difficult, but beautiful subject will be intellectually gratifying
to all teachers and devotees of human embryology.
MARJORIE A. ENGLAND
Clinical Anatomy. By H. H. LINDNER. (Pp. xi+690; profusely illustrated; £22.25.)

Hemel Hempstead: Prentice-Hall U.K. 1988.
Within the six hundred and forty-two pages of this book a great deal of information has been
recorded. The topographical anatomy of the human body has been reviewed in 52 separate
sections, commencing with the head and central nervous system, continuing the description with
the trunk, and terminating with the upper and lower limbs. Within each section succinct
paragraphs have been introduced to leaven the regional anatomical details with information
concerning relevant clinical conditions and, where appropriate, radiographs have been employed
to illustrate the underlying pathology to which reference has been made. This volume should prove
a useful basis for the revision of anatomy within the later years of the medical curriculum.
Some changes are necessary. In Figs 3-10 and 3-11, the titles of the illustrations of the fifth and
seventh nerves require to be transposed. In Fig. 6-9, the term 'Posterior longitudinal ligament'
seems to indicate the lower parts of the two radiate ligaments of the costovertebral joints, and the
term 'Ligamenta flava' would appear to indicate the superior costotransverse ligament. In Fig.
17-1, the term 'Left innominate artery' should be abbreviated either to 'Innominate artery' or,
preferably, to brachiocephalic artery. The adjective 'brachiocephalic' is employed in the lower
part of the same page in the cross-section of the thorax in Fig. 17-2 with reference to both arteries
and veins.
The statement on page 260 that the oblique fissure on the right lung is more vertical than that
on the left would not coincide with the views of all anatomists. In Fig. 39-10, the seminal vesicles
appear to commence to grow from the medial aspect of the mesonephric ducts, although they
appear in the lateral position in Fig. 39-13. In Fig. 17-6, the same nerve on the left side of the neck
is labelled at different points as 'vagus nerve' and 'phrenic nerve'. It appears to be the left phrenic
nerve. A point of clinical interest lies in the mechanism of left-sided varicocoele on page 505. It is

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J. Anat. (1989), 166, pp.

The Human Hippocampus. An Atlas of Applied Anatomy. By HENRI M. DUVEROY. (Pp.

The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology. 4th edition. By K. L. MOORE.

Clinical Anatomy. By H. H. LINDNER. (Pp. xi+690; profusely illustrated; £22.25.)

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