This is the ideal time for detailed study of the evolution of our knowledge of the anatomical and clinical aspects of coronary arterial obstruction. The disease was rare until two centuries ago, and less than a century ago was rare among Americans dying in charity hospitals. In another century it may be as rare as tetanus or typhoid, but now is the "captain of the men of death" in prospering countries of Europe and North America.
Leibowitz gives us an excellent account of the gradual evolution of our knowledge of the clinical features and anatomical finding in patients with coronary obstruction. Only a few paragraphs are devoted to etiology and treatment, areas which should be ready for the historian within another generation.
This text, clearly written and modestly illustrated, deals with manuscripts and printed accounts of coronary patients, from the dawn of our profession in antiquity down to the