Atlas of Clinical Fungi, First Edition ISBN 9070351269

Beschrijving

Atlas of Clinical Fungi, First Edition ISBN 9070351269

G. S. de Hoog and J. Guarro, editors, 1995. 720 pages. .

This well-illustrated book of fungi contains much more information about fungi than most dermatologists, or even most mycology technicians, will require. Because the book is in atlas format, the text is minimal. The illustrations, line drawings, photomicrographs, and electron micrographs are the predominant and most impressive feature of this volume. These are beautifully done and would be an invaluable asset to a doctor in mycology, but I suspect that a mycology laboratory technician or a physician would prefer a simpler guide to medically important fungi. The book does not contain any descriptions of colonies or illustrations of colony morphology.

The text thoroughly discusses classification and nomenclature, and each organism is headed by the division, class, order, family, and genus of the organism presented. Each division, class, and order is illustrated by diagrams. In a field such as mycology, this is no small feat and is a valuable contribution.

In a text such as this, the names chosen for fungi are arguable. The editors use Cladophialophora bantiana as opposed to Xylohypha bantiana or Xylohypha emmonsii. They use Delacroixia coronata instead of the more familiar Conidiobolus coronatus. However, these authors are concerned about minute details of classification, and one would expect no less.

My only criticisms are that the clinical pathology is given in brief clinical descriptions and that no illustrations are provided. In addition, the book is divided into two sections; the common organisms are shown in the first section, the more rare, in the second. This requires flipping from one section to the other to view various types of some fungi (e.g., Aspergillus spp.). Although the idea is sound, it becomes unmanageable when a particular group of fungi, some of which are more common than others, needs to be researched. In addition, the illustrations of the more rare organisms are better than those of the common—a help to the nomenclature specialist, but not necessarily to the more practical laboratory researcher.

The Atlas of Clinical Fungi is a magnificent book, but it has far more material than most practicing dermatologists would appreciate. It is a book published for those interested in classification rather than for those wanting description to identify fungi. My suspicion is that only a few particularly interested dermatologists will purchase the volume.