A Colour Handbook of Skin Diseases of the Dog and Cat
January 4, 2010 in Books
by Tim Nuttall, Richard G. Harvey & Patrick J. McKeever
Published by Manson Publishing / The Veterinary Press
This book consists of an A5 format, hardback book with 300 pages of text and photographs. It provides clinical information useful for general small animal practice, backed up with key references. It is well organised; the pages allocated to each disease are well demarked. Key references are supplied but unobtrusively. The diseases are organised by key clinical appearance: pruritic dermatoses, nodular dermatoses, pigmentary abnormalities etc. In addition there are chapters for each of otitis externa and disorders of the nails and these I thought particularly useful.
Any arrangement of individual diseases must always be somewhat arbitrary but this book also has the advantages of an alphabetical index of diseases at the start as well as a general index at the rear, to be found after the lists of references for each disease. These resources do mean that the book is easily searched for either presentations or named conditions.
The space given to each disease varies according to its clinical importance. Generally there are clear sections titled: aetiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, differential diagnoses, diagnosis, management and then at the end: key points – emphasising one or more aspects previously stated.
The clinical experience of the authors infuses the text; with many comments and clinical suggestions referenced to one of the authors. There are photographs of almost all diseases, in most cases several. In the book’s introduction there are useful images of primary and secondary dermatological lesions.
In my opinion the amount of detail in this book is ideal for the general practitioner. The section for most diseases can be read in a minute or so but the important information is there and the references are supplied. There is up-to-date information about how to diagnose and manage those important, common but difficult, dermatological conditions: atopy, pyodermas, hypothyroidism, otitis externa etc and the book is worth having just for these.
This book is thoroughly recommended.
Book review by David Godfrey BVetMed CertSAM CertSAD DipABVP MRCVS
