Book Review

The Diagnosis and Detection of Breast Disease

N Engl J Med 1994; 331:1246-1247November 3, 1994

Article

The Diagnosis and Detection of Breast Disease
By Deborah E. Powell and Carol B. Stelling. 452 pp., illustrated. St. Louis, Mosby, 1994. $80. ISBN: 0-8016-7487-5

The collaboration of two experts from the University of Kentucky, one in pathology (Deborah E. Powell) and the other in diagnostic radiology (Carol B. Stelling), makes this book an eminently practical and useful addition to the library of books on breast diseases. The book is divided into two parts: a discussion of the technical and clinical aspects of breast diagnosis and an atlas of breast diseases.

The first part contains chapters on the normal breast (structure, function, and epidemiology) and the various techniques available for the diagnostic exploration of this organ, such as mammography, self-examination, and techniques for localizing nonpalpable lesions. These chapters are well written, and the radiologic images are of good quality. The cytologic illustrations, in black and white, do not always adequately demonstrate the features described in the text.

The second part of the book contains chapters on circumscribed breast masses; papillary lesions and radial scars; fibrocystic breast changes; carcinoma of the breast; stromal, vascular hemolymphoid, and metastatic breast lesions; and inflammatory, granulomatous, and male breast disorders. This atlas covers practically all breast lesions the clinician, radiologist, or pathologist will ever see. The lesions are well described, and the black-and-white illustrations adequately demonstrate the various mammographic and histologic features.

Each chapter contains several boxes that summarize important points discussed at length in the nearby text. These boxes, with a gray background, are easy to spot on the page. It is therefore possible to capture at a glance the essential characteristics of the subject being discussed, which is very useful. The bibliography is complete, up to date, and well organized.

This is a well-written, well-presented book, and those who are interested in breast disease should find it handy.

Alexander Meisels, M.D.
Hopital du Saint-Sacrement, Laval University, Quebec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada