Dermatology: A pictorial review

BOOK REVIEWS

Color atlas of vascular tumors and vascularmalformationsOdile Enjolras, Michel Wassef, and Rene Chapot,editors. New York, 2007, Cambridge UniversityPress. 299 pages. $160.00. ISBN: 978-05218-485-10.

Once I finally set aside the time to read thistextbook, I couldn’t put it down. The amazing clin-ical, radiologic, and pathologic ‘‘stories’’ completelydrew me in. Drs Enjolras, Wassef, and Chapot havecompiled years of experience in their multidisciplin-ary Vascular Anomalies Clinic into a fascinating atlas.

The authors successfully cover the entities thatone would view as vascular birthmarks and that havebeen agreed upon by the International Society for theStudy of Vascular Anomalies as either vasculartumors or vascular malformations. Each chapter hasa summary that includes the clinical aspects, patho-logic features, appropriate investigations, and treat-ment of each entity. This is followed by beautifulhistopathologic images. A highlight of each chapteris entitled ‘‘clinical patterns, investigations, and treat-ment.’’ This section shows sequential clinical andradiologic images of numerous patients with fairlydetailed information about their clinical courses. Onecan see before and after pictures with normal pro-gression or with various interventions. I found thissection of each chapter enormously interesting andeducational. The images were spectacular.

This textbook would be of use to any of thesubspecialists who would comprise a multidisci-plinary team for vascular anomalies. In particular,

Dermatology: A pictorial reviewAsra Ali. New York, 2006, McGraw-Hill Professional.300 pages. $64.95. ISBN: 978-00714-229-32.

Dr Ali should be applauded for writing a derma-tology board review book. Other than review guidesdistributed by pharmaceutical companies to resi-dency programs, we are unaware of any other booksthat attempt to encompass and highlight all thematerial required to pass the American Board ofDermatology exam.

In terms of raw material, the board-eligible der-matology resident is responsible for informationranging from biochemical pathways to the latestinjectable filler. The first question a resident mustanswer while studying for the board examination is,‘‘Where do I begin?’’ Dr Ali assists by organizing thisbehemoth subject matter into specific categories. Atthe very minimum, a resident may use Dr Ali’s tableof contents as a road map of subject matter to review.Once inside the book, the chapters are written inoutline fashion with red bold headings followed bymany bullet points. Some readers may prefer thisbrief style, while others may lose focus feeling as ifthey are simply reading a list of facts.

In terms of organization, one common way to startthis type of broad review is to focus on basic scienceand immunology. Basic science is not discussed untilchapter 18, but it is one of the strongest chapters inthe book. Its strength lies in the fact that there arefew resources that break down this content into well-organized, brief, and easily understood synopses.This section is a good building block for understand-ing the more intricate pathophysiology of the variousdiseases. Instead of basic science, this book openswith hair findings, followed by eye findings, nailfindings, and fungal disease. There is also an oblig-atory discussion of the epidermis and dermis, focus-ing on cell types and functions as well as adhesionmolecules and the elusive dermaleepidermal junc-tion. The keratins and their associated disorders arealso highlighted, while, collagen, elastic tissue, andground substance are addressed in detail. The sectionconcludes with a discussion of adnexal structures andmatrix metalloproteins. If this information is notenough to whet the palate of a stressed out derma-tology resident cramming for theboards, it is followedby summary sections on integrins and glycosamino-glycans. Other later highlights include sections onoral pathology, eye findings, fungal diseases, biosta-tistics (often overlooked), and electronmicroscopy.

J AM ACAD DERMATOL

The one question people ask when perusing aboard review book like this is, ‘‘If I know everythingin this book, will I pass the exam?’’ The answer is awholehearted, ‘‘Maybe.’’ While we applaud Dr Ali forcompiling such a comprehensive study guide, wewould also encourage any dermatology residentpreparing for the boards to supplement with addi-tional atlases, a separate genodermatosis book, asystematic review of glass pathology slides, andinteractive study sessions with colleagues.

Jason McBean, MDNew York, New York

Nathaniel Jellinek, MDProvidence, Rhode Island

doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2008.01.017

MAY 2008 897