While this small book is actually written for neurosurgeons, I believe it is worthwhile to bring it to the attention of internists, since it shows certain practical methods to relieve pain with which they may not be familiar. This work represents a symposium held at the City of Hope in which various new technical approaches for control of intractable pain were reviewed by experts in such fields as neurosurgery, neurology, cardiology, oncological surgery, psychiatry, psychology, neurophysiology, and legal medicine.
The book limits itself, to a large extent, to the surgical control of intractable trigiminal neuralgia. While the editors state that the main purpose of the book is to attempt to formulate underlying neurophysiological mechanisms for chronic pain, they are unable to achieve their purpose. There is a large chasm between the neurophysiologist studying pain in the laboratory and the clinician treating a patient. There is not even unanimity in regard