Brain, Vol. 125, No. 10, 2364-2365,
October 2002
© 2002 Oxford University Press
Book Review |
ATLAS OF NEUROANATOMY
School of Biosciences 2, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
ATLAS OF NEUROANATOMY
By Joseph J. Warner
2001. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann
Price £90. pp. 676. ISBN 0750672501.
As stated in the Foreword by Dr M. A. Samuels, Joseph Warner’s Atlas of Neuroanatomy is the result of a ‘life-long love affair with the nervous system’. It is a huge book in every sense resulting from the accumulation of a vast amount of neuroanatomical material (slides, neurohistological preparations, sections of autopsy material, etc.) during a long career in clinical neurology and neuroscience. As Dr Warner states in the Preface, all the illustrations in the book are the result of his own involvement at every stage of preparation, from resection of nervous tissue at autopsy until the final production of the photographs for subsequent reproduction at the printers. It is also worth noting that technical advances in neuroimaging that he has pioneered have been selected for presentation at recent annual meetings of the Society for Neuroscience. Thus, this is not only a vastly comprehensive and inclusive work but one that is of a truly contemporary nature.
The book (or maybe it should be described as a ‘monumental tome’) is presented in eight parts. Part 1, ‘Neuroanatomy’, consists of a wonderful collection of colour and black and white photographs of the brain, some gratifyingly close-up, to provide a very comprehensive representation of the most complex three-dimensional organ of the body. Close-up photographs of the ventral midbrain and diencephalon are particularly welcome as this area, often difficult for a student observer to see clearly, and containing important structures, is beautifully displayed. In addition, the amount of space devoted to the craniocervical region and to the course of the vertebral arteries which are areas of anatomy often neglected in anatomical atlases and are beautifully illustrated here. The photographs of the ventral aspects of the brain and its vasculature (some exhibiting aneurysms) and of the superficial cortical vessels are stunning. Initially I found the order of pagination somewhat confusing until I realised that photographs were grouped such that the numbered keys to the main photograph were placed overleaf rather than opposite the definitive image with numbered leader lines facilitating self-assessment of the image in question. I hope that this was the intention!
Part 2, ‘Sectional Neuroanatomy’, occupies 160 pages and is extremely comprehensive. Again, a wonderful collection of photographs of coronal, horizontal and parasagittal sections of whole fixed brains, sections varyingly stained and clear diagrams at a range of magnifications are the hallmarks of this section. The arrangement of related pictures into groups occupying about three pages will be particularly useful, particularly for a relatively inexperienced student but also for revision or reference purposes for the more experienced. For example, an unlabelled horizontal section of whole brain and a magnified view at the level of the genu of the corpus callosum (stained by different methods) is followed by a labelled photograph of the latter with a numerical key, a diagram of the medial surface of the hemisphere indicating the level of the section and a photograph of the area that has been magnified in the second picture—together a very useful and instructive collection of images. The series of parasagittal sections is much more comprehensive than those usually included in other atlases of neuroanatomy and the inclusion of sections taken parallel to the long axis of the brainstem is very welcome. These sections provide excellent views of this region and the connections between the brainstem and the hemispheres.
Part 3, ‘Neurohistology’, is a very much more useful section than in many atlases because the micrographs are taken at sufficient magnification for cortical neurone types to be unequivocally identified and therefore for cortical layering to be convincingly displayed! But, as always, it is the innate beauty of the cerebellar Purkinje cells that steals the show! It is regrettable that some attempt had not been made to fix small pieces of autopsy material (or brain material from another source) so that they could have been immunostained in order to demonstrate the morphology of neuronal and neuroglial cell types with the many markers that are nowadays available for these important cell types. Demonstrating neuroglial cell types clearly by conventional neurohistological methods is not easy. Oh, and incidentally, why do autonomic ganglion cells not rate equal representation alongside the micrographs of sensory ganglia?
Parts 4–6 consider the sectional neuroanatomy of the thalamus + basal ganglia, the brainstem + cerebellum + spinal cord and lastly the mesencephalon–diencephalon transition. The format of these parts is as in Part 2 and many of the photographs are as striking, if not more so, than those of the entire hemisphere. This is mainly due to their large format. Once again the parasagittal sections of the brainstem are particularly useful in following tracts through the region but also in viewing structures such as the red and inferior olivary nuclei in their entirety and understanding the connections and neuroanatomy of the cerebellar peduncles
Part 7 is a compendium of diagrams of neural systems with a bias towards normal motor control and that in certain pathophysiological states and of eye movements. The inclusion of the pathway by which hypothalamic control over the sympathetic innervation of the pupil is affected is good to see as many of my students fail to be convinced of its existence for the reason that it is not possible to demonstrate to them the descending pathways in Weigert-stained brainstem sections.
Part 8 is entitled ‘Functional Neuroanatomy and Patho physiology: Clinical Correlations’ and that’s exactly what it contains. Once again a melange of CT scans, MRIs, photographs, pathological sections of autopsy material principally focusing on cerebrovascular lesions provide excellent reference material. Other examples of neuropathology are also included such as Alzheimer’s disease, striatonigral degeneration and gliomas. Also, there are interesting examples of neurobehavioural changes associated with neurological conditions included in this part.
All in all a wonderful atlas of neuroanatomy of great value to any student, of whatever level, of neuroanatomy and of course to clinical neurologists as well. But, it does have two aspects which, to my mind, confer an overt impression of a lack of contemporary thinking. First, the rather heavy, highlighted leader lines on many of the figures could have been replaced by a more subtle system of lettering or numbering as well as the black borders to the pages of illustrations. Secondly, the lack of CT and MRI images interspersed among the sectional images, similarly numbered for comparison, would have elevated the atlas into the realms of the perfect companion for the study of neuroanatomy for students and clinicians alike.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||