Diagnostic Pathology: Blood and Bone Marrow, 2nd Edition

By Kathryn Foucar, MD

ISBN: 9780323392549

Pub Date: 12/13/2017

Reviewed by: Anamarija M. Perry, MD (University of Michigan Medical School)

Description

This is the second edition of a book in the highly acclaimed Diagnostic Pathology series that covers full spectrum of blood and bone marrow diseases. The first edition was published in 2011.

Purpose

The aim is to provide a succinct discussion of the full breadth of significant blood and bone marrow nonneoplastic and neoplastic disorders. The authors have achieved their stated goals.

Audience

This book will be useful to anyone who interprets bone marrow biopsies – hematopathologists, surgical pathologists, pathology residents, and hematopathology fellows. Clinical hematologists and fellows also could use it as a quick reference.

Features

This edition has been revised according to the 2016/2017 World Health Organization (WHO) Classification (with inclusion of new entities). The new WHO criteria reflect continuous “molecularization” of hematopathology and this book puts an emphasis on molecular and genetic features. Moreover, a discussion of metastatic neoplasms in the bone marrow is included. The first of the book’s 12 sections covers the basics of hematopoiesis and bone marrow histology, bone marrow examination and techniques, and synoptic bone marrow reporting, as well as an overview of constitutional and bone marrow disorders. The next seven sections cover nonneoplastic blood and bone marrow disorders including anemia, erythrocytosis, benign leukocyte disorders, constitutional granulocytic disorders, megakaryocytic disorders, infection, and miscellaneous nonneoplastic disorders and conditions. The rest of the book is dedicated to neoplastic disorders, including myeloid neoplasms, acute leukemias of ambiguous lineage, lymphoid neoplasms, and other neoplasms that involve the book marrow. Each entity is presented in a structured manner with the following sections: terminology, etiology/pathogenesis, clinical issues, microscopic, ancillary tests, differential diagnosis, and selected references. The book uses a bullet-point format, like all the books in this series. At the beginning of each entity the most important “Key Facts” are listed for quick review. Each diagnosis is accompanied by multiple microscopic images (and where pertinent other images such as graphs, histograms, karyograms, drawings, etc.) of very high quality. Figure captions are concise and helpful. A comprehensive index is provided at the end of the book.

Assessment

Like other books in this series, this one is an excellent achievement. The editorial team, led by Dr. Foucar, a world-renowned expert in the field of bone marrow pathology, has done a great job in assembling an impressive number of microphotographs of common and rare blood and bone marrow disorders. This book is visually stunning and, given the number of images, it can serve as an atlas.

The text is well written, with an emphasis on important facts, diagnostic criteria, and testing recommendations. The molecular and genetic findings are covered in detail. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who deals with blood and bone marrow specimens. It is also an excellent resource for trainees who don’t have time to read long passages in large textbooks. Don’t look any further, this is one of the best bone marrow pathology books on the market.

Doody’s Review Service Weighted Numerical Score: 97 — 5 Stars!