Pathology of the Pancreas, Gallbladder, Extrahepatic Biliary Tract and Ampullary Region
Lack E. (£145.00) Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0 19 513392 7.
Superb! The author has succeeded in producing an excellent textbook covering an extensive range of pathology, including both common and exotic entities.
As the title suggests, this book is divided into three parts: “I. Pancreas”, “II. Gallbladder”, and “III. Extrahepatic biliary tract and ampullary region”. The first chapter, entitled “Embryology, anatomy, and function of the exocrine and endocrine pancreas”, includes original artwork and makes for very interesting and informative reading.
The approach is extremely methodical and the text is comprehensive. The text is written under appropriate headings/subheadings, which makes it easy to read. Where relevant, there is additional information on frozen section and fine needle aspiration. I found that the book covered most common entities in detail and I do not see how this area of pathology could have been covered any more extensively. Special mention must be made about the excellent illustrations used in this book. The text is supported by over 1000 high quality, colour illustrations. These include well chosen colour images of gross and microscopic pathology, in addition to numerous colour artwork illustrations that enhance the text. Pertinent ultrastructural images are also included.
This is not meant as a major criticism, but if there is any downside, it has to be the small size of the print, which was smaller than that of most other pathology textbooks.
This book is an absolute must for histopathologists reporting on specimens of the pancreas, gallbladder, extrahepatic biliary tract, and ampullary region. I also strongly recommend this book to pathology trainees and other clinicians. I predict that this book will become one of the standard pathology textbooks on pancreatic, gallbladder, and extrahepatic biliary diseases.
