The rat brain in stereotaxic coordinates (2nd edn) by George Paxinos and Charles Watson, Academic Press, 1986. £40.00/$80.00 (264 pages) ISBN 012 547 6213

The second editon of Paxinos and Watson's rat stereotaxic atlas is, like the first, a detailed and definitive resource for stereotaxic surgery, brain dissection and neuroanatomical instruction. It offers accurate and detailed stereotaxic coordinates in three planes of section (coronal, horizontal and sagittal), and is presented in a clear, coherent manner. The photomicrographs included are well-reproduced and informative and the corresponding linedrawings detailed and thoroughly annotated. The nomenclature employed is clear and useful. As such, it is, like the first edition, an indispensable commodity for neuroscientists utilizing rodent models for research as well as for students learning basic fundamentals of rat brain neuroanatomy.