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Show Journal of Neiiro- Ophthalmology 17( 3): 218- 220, 1997. Book Reviews Radiology of the Eye and Orbit, edited by Thomas H. Newton and Larissa T. Bilaniuk, Raven Press, Ltd., New York, 1994, $ 127.00. Type of Book: This text, volume 4 of the Modern Neuroradiology series, is a descriptive atlas of imaging techniques for the eye and orbit. Each section is generously illustrated with black and white examples of neu-roimaging technologies. Concise clinical summaries provide background information for each illustration. Scope of Book: The manual is formulated as a practical guide to imaging techniques and their use in demonstrating normal and abnormal anatomy. Each section begins with technical aspects of imaging, proceeds through detailed coverage of the normal anatomy of the eye and orbit, and offers clinical examples of disease each with brief descriptions of the illustrated condition. Theoretical aspects of technology and basic science are discussed, particularly so for ultrasonography; the emphasis, however, is clearly on practical illustrations. Contents: The first half of the book is devoted to MR imaging. The initial chapter summarizes basic information on MR sequences, image weighting, surface coils, and artifacts- a body of knowledge essential to understanding of this technique. Following sections include MR anatomy of the globe, an extensive coverage of the ocular conditions that may be imaged by MR, detailed orbital MR anatomy, and lastly, a comprehensive review of orbital processes with emphasis on the effects of various sequences and weighting. Throughout, the clinical features of the more common conditions are described in detail. The remaining half of the text is equally divided between ultrasonography and CT scanning of the eye and orbit. A background section on ultrasound covers principles, techniques, and artifacts in enough detail to allow the clinician a clear understanding of the clinical examples that follow. There is a brief description of color Doppler imaging. The final chapters cover CT imaging. It begins with a detailed discussion of orbital anatomy ( replete with anatomic sections correlated with the CT photographs) and ends with illustrations of the more common orbital disorders, particularly those with bony changes better imaged with this technique. Strengths: Although MR technique and resolution have advanced significantly in the last 5 years, the images in this text are remarkably current. Fat- suppression techniques are included, and most of the orbital surface coil images are excellent, even by current standards. The comments on theory and technique for each category of imaging provide the appropriate level of background to introduce the clinical examples. The anatomic portions © 1997 Lippincott- Raven Publishers, Philadelphia Barrett Katz, M. D. of each section are excellent. Overall, the editors have done an admirable job of combining the radiologic and clinical aspects of ocular and orbital disease. Weaknesses: This book is not designed as a comprehensive review, but rather as an introduction and illustrated survey of the most common applications of these techniques to ophthalmologic conditions. It is neither a detailed radiologic text nor an encyclopedic resource. As in all such works, certain subjects have limited coverage; the section on CT findings in trauma is short, as is that on color Doppler imaging, a topic that has advanced enormously since this text was initially published. Recommended Audience: This text is directed to clinicians managing diseases of the eye and orbit; there is more detail than most medical students can use, but it is an excellent introduction or review for ophthalmology residents and practitioners, and it is a superb first text for those who will use these techniques most frequently, particularly fellows in neuro- ophthalmology and orbital surgery. Critical Appraisal: This is an outstanding reference. It is a beautifully illustrated guide to the most frequently used techniques for imaging the eye and orbit, providing a solid fund of knowledge for those who manage these conditions. It is an essential component of any library supporting ophthalmology. Anthony C. Arnold, M. D. Juleps Stein Eye Institute Los Angeles, California From Eye To Mind: Information Acquisition in Perception, Search, and Reading, edited by R. Groner, G. d'Ydevalle, and R. Parham. El Sevier, Amsterdam, North- Holland, 1990, $ 170.75. Type of Book: This book is a conference report of a symposium held at the XXIV International Congress of Psychology, Sidney, Australia. It was published in addition to the official Proceedings Series of the Congress as the first volume of a new series Studies in Visual Information Processing. The book covers three areas: eye movement registration and analysis, attention and visual search, and reading. Scope of Book: The book gives an account of psychological research relevant to mostly theoretical issues concerning eye movements, attention, and reading. Little stress is given to a clinician's point of view. Contents: The first section of 16 papers reports find- 218 BOOK REVIEWS 219 ings regarding such widespread topics as the relation of eye movements to cognitive style, chronometry, and the perception of form and motion. The second section includes attention and its relationship to saccadic reaction times, target search, the development of procedural knowledge, and accuracy of fixation. Problems of everyday relevance are covered such as the useful field of view in realistic traffic situations, and cognitive processes in film editing. The third section focuses on reading, comprising general issues of eye placement on letters and words; variations dependent on reading context, sentence comprehension, and fixation durations; and higher order processing. Strengths: The book is a valuable resource. All of the papers are well written, contain adequate detail on important points, and make use of graphic representation when necessary. Most of them are well referenced. The authors are noted specialists in their respective fields and represent a fine cross- section of state- of- the- art knowledge. Weaknesses: The text offers a wide variety of independent contributions but not a broad overview of the field. Because the meeting took place in 1988, some of the reports, although competent, can no longer be considered current. The relevance of some of the reported findings may be limited by the fact that they are based on data from a small number of subjects ( down to n = 1). Recommended Audience: The book provides a valuable source for neuro- ophthalmologists and those who are involved in research on the relationhips between eye movements, attention, and reading. Readers with mainly clinical interests will have little offered to them. The book is not recommended for the general ophthalmologist or resident in training, nor is it a good introduction for the novice. Critical Appraisal: This is an interesting summary of experiments about the role played by eye movements in the perceptual acquisition of information, cognition search, and information processing. Although highly technical, it offers a special summary of issues of spoken and written language, and our abilities to see from a psychological perspective. Susanne Trauzettel- Klosinski Tubingen, Germany Strabismus Management, by William V. Good and Creig S. Hoyt. Contributions from Michael C. Brod-sky, J. Raymond Buncic, Luis C. F. DeSa, Richard Gregson, David S. I. Taylor, and Harry E. Wilshaw. Raven Press, New York, 1996, $ 95.00. Type of Book: Strabismus Management is a multiau-thored, single- volume review text focusing on the medical, optical, and surgical management of congenital and acquired comitant and noncomitant strabismus. A cadre of well- known pediatric ophthalmologists and neuro-ophthalmologists have contributed to this work, which contains 379 pages of text and multiple black- and- white photographs and diagrams. Scope of Book: This work aims to provide the reader with easily accessible information on the types of strabismus commonly encountered in clinical practice. Contents: The text is divided into nine sections, containing a total of 30 chapters. A brief introduction summarizes demographic and epidemiologic data on strabismus, amblyopia, and childhood refractive errors and reviews management of the latter two topics. The next section covers congenital esodeviations ( infantile and accommodative ET, Duane's and Mobius' syndromes), followed by a section on exodeviations containing infantile and intermittent XT, alphabetical strabismus patterns, and craniofacial anomalies. The longest chapter in the section on vertical strabismus concentrates on fourth nerve palsy. Brown's syndrome, DVD, and inferior oblique and rectus palsies also are covered. These sections on esotropia, exotropia, and vertical deviations comprise approximately half the book in 14 chapters. Following are sections on restrictive strabismus ( including thyroid eye disease, strabismus after orbital fractures, and orbital fibrosis syndromes), postoperative strabismus ( i. e., after cataract, glaucoma, or retinal surgery), and paralytic strabismus ( third and sixth nerve palsies). The final two sections discuss neurologic disease associated with strabismus ( particularly myasthenia gravis and nystagmus, with a review of superior oblique myokymia), and finally discuss general concepts of surgical and medical management ( BOTOX). Surgical principles and complications also are mentioned in individual chapters discussing the various types of strabismus. Strengths: Strabismus Management definitely achieves its intended purpose. The text is clearly and concisely written and easy to read. With the limitations imposed by scope and size, it is remarkably complete, especially with respect to the most common types of strabismus encountered in general practice. The authors rightly veer away from discussing particular surgical techniques and quantifications, yet emphasize the importance of one's own experience and individualization in these matters. Weaknesses: Several entities are not addressed in this book, e. g., the use of superior oblique tendon expanders for Brown's Syndrome, the Wilmer review of superior oblique myokymia, a critical appraisal of the results of BOTOX in the treatment of nystagmus, the neuroana-tomic and neurophysiologic substrates of amblyopia and strabismus, and use and interpretation of various psychophysical sensory tests for evaluating binocular cooperation. The more experienced strabismologist will find its depth shallow in places, for instance, when exactly to use BOTOX in cranial neuropathies, or the use of posterior fixation sutures with transposition procedures in Duane's syndrome and sixth nerve palsy. Recommended audience: Written primarily for the primary care ophthalmologist, this book will also be useful to the ophthalmologist- in- training. The neuro- ophthal-mologist who, in the face of managed care woes, seeks to J Neum- Ophlhalmol, Vol. 17, No. J, 1997 220 BOOK REVIEWS enter or re- enter the world of strabismus therapy, will also benefit greatly from this text. Critical appraisal: Strabismus Management achieves all of its goals for its intended audience. For a text of its scope, it is the most complete and up- to- date work on this topic on the market today. It will be a useful and frequently referenced addition to many libraries. R. Michael Siatkowski Miami, Florida Books in brief Barrett Katz, MD Neuro- Ophthalmological Disorders: Diagnostic Work- Up and Management, edited by Ronald J. Tusa and Stephen A. Newman. Marcel Dekker, Inc, New York, 1994, $ 195.00. This book provides practical and timely information for the practicing clinician. Drs. Tusa and Newman have edited material by neurologists and ophthalmologists with both basic science and clinical interests within neuro- ophthalmology. Chapters are short and written with clarity, brevity, and simplicity. Whereas this is neither a textbook nor an encyclopedic source of information in neuro- ophthalmologic problems and principals, it is a comprehensive array of explicit summaries of clinical topics written by the people most interested in those areas. Indeed, it is an opportunity for many of the contributors to share what they view to be the most cogent aspects of their areas of especial interests and expertise. The volume is eminently readable. Its format is reminiscent of the old University of Miami series in neuro-ophthalmology. It is divided into five sections: the afferent system, the efferent system, cavernous sinus and orbit, technological advances in neuro- ophthalmology, and pathology. Each chapter stands by itself. Most are well illustrated with photographs, schematics, and tables. The strength of the text arises from the good match between contributing authors and assigned topics. The book is of particular interest to those already grounded in neuro-ophthalmology since they will most appreciate the concise recapitulations of topics formulated in this compendium. The authors have assembled useful and practical summaries by practice physicians and aimed them toward the practicing community. This fine text is worth a visit. Practical Pediatric Ophthalmology, by David Taylor and Creig Hoyt. Blackwell Science, Ltd., London, 1997, $ 65.00. This monograph, written by Drs. Taylor and Hoyt, offers the rest of us a distillation of their knowledge, experience, and intellect. Written in the tradition of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, it is a travelogue through the often perilous landmarks of pediatric ophthalmology by two of its finest clinicians. The authors share that it took them but a week do this; one can only imagine what they would have come up with had they taken a month. The book makes liberal use of illustrations with outstanding color photographs- many of them taken from David Taylor's Pediatric Ophthalmology text. The writing shows brevity, style, class, and wit. The illustrations afford wonderful neuroradiologic imaging, some schematics, and line drawings. Specific techniques for performing many procedures- from a lachrymal sac massage to Tensilon testing- are offered in summary form. For those of us not as gifted as Drs. Hoyt and Taylor, this text is a good place to begin reading about other than garden variety pediatric ophthalmology. The book is a wonderful compendium to those ophthalmologsts who see children, and a testament to the cogency of thinking and many talents of Drs. Hoyt and Taylor. J Neuro- Ophthalmol, Vol. 17, No. 3, 1997 |