Book Review: Veterinary Dermatopathology. A Macroscopic and Microscopic Evaluation of Canine and Feline Skin Disease

flammatory cutaneous nodules. Although the authors. have retained the classical categories of cutaneous neoplasm, tumor subclassification has been substantially revised, much of it based on the medical system of classification. This approach is most apparent in the chapters on epidermal and follicular tumors, although classification of glandular and some mesenchymal tumors has also been amended. Fo~ example, the entity "canine basal cell tumor". has essent~ally been discarded in favor of three subcategones of a folliclederived tumor, the trichoblastoma. The authors are to be commended for their meticulous descriptions of cutaneous neoplasms, but the eventual success ofthis revised and complex classification system will depend upon its .biol?gical validity, relevance, and prognostic value. Even If this s~hem.e is not universally adopted by the veterinary profession, It will benefit the discipline of veterinary dermatopathology by challenging veterinary pathologists to reevaluate current dogma and reexamine their personal philosophy regarding tumor classification. The entire text is well written and is superbly illustrated with 727 black-and-white photographs. Each disease is illustrated by several photomicrographs and clinical photographs that are effectively situated on the same page as the narrative. Salient references listed at the end of each chapter are often, but not consistently, quoted in the text. The index is complete and relatively easy to use. . One criticism of this book is the statement made III the preface that prognoses would be excluded from the text. The deliberate omission ofprognoses from inflammatory diseases is understandable, because a multitude of variables affect the clinical outcome. But because prognostic data are integral to the validity of tumor classification and absolutely ess~n~ial ifpromoting a revised scheme of classification, the omission of this information is interpreted to be an egregious error. This is unfortunate because biological behavior of malignant neoplasms is actually included in the text with the clinical features of these tumors. Until readers stumble upon this important information, they are unnecessarily misled by the statement in the preface, which is a disservice to the authors' painstakingly thorough description of c~taneous neoplasia. A minor criticism is the occasional use of mappropnate modifiers to describe histologic changes; "mild" is used to describe numbers of cells, and the vaguely descriptive term "mixed mononuclear cells" is occasionally employed. Veterinary Dermatopathology is an excellent and innovative textbook. Not only does it provide thorough clinical and histologic descriptions of small anima~ dermatose.s, but it stimulates and challenges the reader. Without question, Veterinary Dermatopathology should be a mandatory addition to the library of those involved in the practice and art of veterinary dermatology and dermatopathology.