308
BRITISH
JOURNAL
OF
ORAL
&
MAXILLOFACIAL
SURGERY
The new edition is of the same high standard. However there are now competitors and some of them shorter. At least one covers the entire undergraduate course including major oral surgery for general practice in a series of simple diagrams but without much in the way of explanation. Yet another is in the form of self instructional guide which many students favour and this when computerised may be the way of the future. The strength of Howe’s work and why I will continue to recommend it to my undergraduates is that not only will they learn techniques of minor oral surgery but also understand their rationale as currently accepted in the U.K. A. .I. MACGRECOR
Dentofacial Orthopedics with Functional Appliances. By T. M. GRABER, T. RAKOSI, A. G. PETROVIC. 1985. Published by the C.V. Mosby Co.. St. Louis. pp. 449. Price f46X)O Over the past 10 years there has been a marked re-awakening of interest in functional appliances. Their use, however, has been largely empirical. The enthusiast can show beautiful results which fixed appliances could not have achieved without surgical assistance. but in other cases the results may bc partial corrections of doubtful stability. This book represents an attempt to review the whole field of functional appliances and improve its scientific footing. The combination of an eminent American orthodontist with two prominent Europeans provides an ideal team for such a project. The opening chapters cover research on crania-facial growth together with the principles of diagnosis for functional therapy. This is followed by a section reviewing. in some detail. most of the better known functional systems and the problems presented by various malocclusions. It is well illustrated with treated cases. At the end there is an exhaustive list of references and suggested reading. Surgical treatment, being largely inappropriate for the age group involved, receives little mention. There is a lot of information in this book. It is well produced and bound and would make a welcome addition to any departmental library. J. D. MUIK (Distributed
by Blackwell:
Oxford)
A.B.C. of Plastic and Recontructive pp. 67. Price Journal, London.
Surgery. f6.50.
By D. DAVIES. 1985. Published
by British
Medical
This book which is a collected series from the British Medical Journal is a short concise review of the whole subject of plastic surgery. The specialty covers a wide field so that of necessity a book of this size can only cover each topic fairly briefly. The book is well illustrated with photographs and diagrams which enhance the text. It is modestly priced and I think good value for money. The book gives quite a lot of information which conveys a good ‘birds eye view’ of the whole specialty to anyone who is interested in the subject. It would therefore be invaluable to a general practitioner, a consultant in another specialty or a trainee just starting out in a career in plastic surgery, but possibly there would be too much detailed information present to be of much value to a medical student. B. V. M.
CORPS