by David C. Preston and Barbara E. Shapiro, 685 pp., ill.,
Philadelphia, Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann, 2005, $155.00 As a keen fan of the rst edition of this book, I was delighted to have the opportunity to review this new edition. As in the previous edition, this one starts with an overview of techniques for electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies. Directions for testing various nerves are given in outline form. The proper placement of the recording and stimulating electrodes is depicted in large photographs using human models. Also included is an EMG atlas complete with photographs of limbs, with black dots denoting the proper needle insertion points. This section of the book serves as a very practical handbook for the trainee electrophysiologist. There follows a series of chapters focused on common neuromuscular disease entities (e.g., median neuropathy at the wrist). Each chapter begins with a concise review of the important clinical features followed by a discussion of the authors favored electrodiagnostic workup. Tables in each chapter summarize the recommended electrodiagnostic protocols, and serve as handy reference tools for the busy electromyographer. Areas of the text have been expanded, prompting the authors to split a number of the
2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Book Review
old chapters. For example, ulnar neuropathy has been
broken into separate chapters on lesions at the elbow and wrist. Every chapter makes use of multiple large, clear gures that serve to reinforce the text. At the end of every chapter, several clinical scenarios are presented complete with electrodiagnostic data, and the reader is expected to arrive at the correct diagnosis. After each case, the answer is given and potentially confusing aspects of the case are discussed. Included with the text is a CD-based EMG waveform tutorial. It is formatted to run on either Windows or Macintosh computers. Some of the other tutorials on the market have more sophisticated features, such as the capability to run different waveforms simultaneously, but this tutorial is perfectly adequate in itself. Preston and Shapiro achieve an equitable balance between clinical discussions and reviews of electrodiagnostic approaches. What separates their effort from many of their competitors is their concise, practical writing style that seems honed from interacting with students. This book is an ideal resource for the trainee in electrophysiology; the clarity of the presentation and logical organization of the text will make it a highly useful and well-used resource for more experienced electromyographers as well. Jeffrey W. Ralph, MD Published online 24 October 2005 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mus.20447