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Book Review: Manual of Equine Medicine and Surgery

Colahan, P. T., Mayhew, I. G., Merritt, A. M., and Moore, J. N. (eds.). Manual of Equine Medicine and Surgery. 590 pp. Mosby, St. Louis, 1999. $39.95. ISBN 0-8151-1741-8. This manual is designed to be a quick, handy reference providing information on assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of commonly encountered problems in horses. The book is organized in a bullet outline format and contains 19 chapters arranged by body systems, with additional sections on diagnostic approaches, practice management, patient evaluation, therapy, critical care, neonatal care, and chemical restraint and anesthesia. Although this manual can be considered a complete, standalone work, it is designed to be used in conjunction with its parent text, the 5th edition of Equine Medicine and Surgery, a two-volume set by the same authors. The chapters in the manual are arranged in identical order as the parent text and sections are cross referenced by listing the corresponding page numbers. The manual contains information on a large number of conditions. The conditions are typically discussed by presenting a brief definition followed by clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, which represent a synopsis of the information in the parent text. When surgical intervention is indicated, the procedure is mentioned, but details of the technique are omitted. Differential diagnoses are not provided for each condition; however, the diagnostic approaches chapter contains a useful listing of conditions to consider when presented with a particular clinical problem. The chapters are not referenced, although the parent text contains extensive bibliographies. The book contains a few helpful tables and a very complete index. It is readable, cohesive, and consistent for a multiple-author text. This manual largely succeeds in its objectives. The compact size and reasonable price make it most useful for practitioners as a quick reference to be kept in a practice vehicle, or for veterinary students or technicians. With its admitted lack of in-depth discussion, it would have less utility for veterinary pathologists. The parent text, with its more complete discussions, including pathophysiology, would be a better choice for the pathologist dealing with horses and desiring a comprehensive text.