The major current thrusts in clinical pathology are (1) management, (2) patient-focused activities, (3) quality assurance, (4) automation, (5) data handling, and (6) the biology of disease. Progress in Clinical Pathology, vol 3 presents a mixed bag of 12 chapters of variable nature and quality touching upon three of these areas. The difference between "Clinical Chemical Analyses via an Automated System" and "Tumor Embolization in Man" emphasizes the wide range of subjects.
One wonders at the value of the proliferation of the "Review of," "Yearbooks of," "Progress in," "Advances," etc, etc, which appear at frequent intervals. Apparently, the philosophic purpose of a book like this is to bridge the gap between journals and textbooks. Most such books simply summarize existing literature, rather than present original material.
In point of fact, the active clinical laboratory worker generally derives new information about his own area of interest from professional meetings (papers, panels,