This outstanding monograph by Jirout, which has been translated into the English language by John A. Goree, should become a medical classic in the very near future. In fact, it is the first major work on air or gas myelography to be published in over 25 years. Medical publications concerning this subject have increased during the 1960s; however, there have been varied opinions as to the value of the procedure. The chief reason given for recent interest is the increasing number of cases being published where the use of positive contrast media has been accompanied by complications.
Chief complications which have been reported are arachnoiditis, foreign body reactions, and hypersensitivity reactions, all of which are apparently unreported in gas myelography. Jirout reports on his experience of over 2,000 pneumomyelograms which have been performed during the last 15 years. The majority of these were done in the Neurologic Clinic at Charles