Physical Diagnosis in Neonatology - Hardcover

Fletcher, Mary Ann

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0397513860 ISBN 13: 9780397513864

Publisher: Lippincott Raven, 1998

Synopsis

This volume is a complete and systematic guide to physical examination of neonates, interpretation of physical findings in neonates, and identification of clinical syndromes as they appear at this stage. The first section reviews the fetal and postnatal development of the various organ systems, describes techniques of physical examination, and thoroughly discusses the significance of physical findings in each body area. Coverage includes detailed information on normal findings and variations of normal, as well as abnormal findings. The second section lists the critical signs, symptoms, and physical findings that are diagnostic or suggestive of specific syndromes. Full-color photographs depict the presentation of specific syndromes in neonates.

About this title

From The New England Journal of Medicine

In treating tiny neonates who cannot provide an oral medical history, who are often too small and fragile to handle with ease and safety, and who are cared for in intensive care units equipped with the latest diagnostic equipment, one might justifiably question the need for and the value of the physical examination. Fletcher's Physical Diagnosis in Neonatology responds to this question with a resounding voice. Fletcher writes in the preface that "this book is intended to remind us of the irreplaceable value of looking at, listening to, and touching infants during... the newborn period."

Unlike many medical books, even reference books, whose value quickly depreciates because the contents are time-sensitive, this book is ageless. It is really a picture book for pediatricians and neonatologists. The book is filled with hundreds of high-quality glossy color pictures, black-and-white close-up photographs, and well-drawn cartoons depicting anatomical features. It has pictures of babies with bullae and blisters, babies with hygromas and hydrocephalus, babies with cleft palates and cryptorchidism, and babies with anonychia and acne. These pictures will not age with time. In the best tradition of the famous Canadian communications guru, Marshall McLuhan, in this book the medium is the message. Each picture or set of pictures is accompanied by a descriptive legend, an algorithm, or a table. There are separate tables, for example, describing skin lesions according to color, distribution (e.g., single, grouped, disseminated, or confluent), shape and pattern (e.g., discoid, annular, target-shaped, arcuate, petaloid, or reticular), and type (e.g., papule, vesicle, patch, plaque, or crust).

Physical Diagnosis in Neonatology is divided into four sections, each of which in turn is divided into subsections. Each subsection starts with a short description of a stage of embryologic development, which is illustrated with a color cartoon. This is followed by descriptions in boldface type of methods for examining individual regions, each followed immediately by 4 to 10 color pictures showing normal and abnormal examples of the region being examined. In the "Head and Neck" subsection, for example, a description of the examination of the face is followed by 10 color pictures of faces, examination of the nose is followed by 9 color pictures of noses, and examination of the mouth is followed by 8 pictures. The overall effect is a detailed text-and-picture combination that leaves the reader with a sense of completeness. Finally, each chapter ends with a glossary of the terms used to describe the physical findings discussed in that section. Many of the terms are obscure and of limited clinical value, but would probably be useful in a game of Scrabble (e.g., cyclopia, catagen, and epulis). Unfortunately, the table of contents is of little help to the reader who wishes to find a topic within a subsection, because page numbers are not listed for each topic. For example, the entirety of the section entitled "The Trunk Region," which includes discussions of the chest, abdomen, genitalia, perineum, and back, is listed as running from pages 303 to 405.

Physical Diagnosis in Neonatology will be of great use to two groups of readers. Trainees in neonatology will find this textbook invaluable: it teaches an approach to physical diagnosis that is thoughtful, logical, and complete. Practicing neonatologists will find the book, especially the pictures and cartoons, useful as a reference source for identifying and distinguishing between normal and abnormal physical findings.

Reviewed by Stanley Zlotkin, M.D., Ph.D.
Copyright © 1998 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.

Edition details

• Publisher: Lippincott Raven
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0397513860
• ISBN 13: 9780397513864
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 553