The author states that his objective is to present, in a systematic manner, laboratory methods available for the investigation of hemostatic disorders. The first part is an account of the current concepts of hemostasis, especially as they relate to understanding the tests. The chapter on platelets and blood vessels is particularly good; it is brief, to the point, and little of significance is omitted.
The second part of the book outlines laboratory procedures. I counted descriptions of more than 100 tests, and these include most of the standard procedures likely to be performed during a routine laboratory examination. Only a small percentage of the tests described, however, are performed in any one laboratory. To test all the known coagulation functions using one test for each could take an average technologist more than a week, assuming the methods were already set up. Obviously, one has to be highly selective, and the