内容简介

Journal of American Medical Association : It has been said that dermatology is the most inclusive specialty because it deals not only with the skin but also with everything that the skin contains and touches. There's some truth to that. For instance, where else can you find the editors of a medical textbook, as in Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine, waxing proudly in the preface about including fresh material on anthrax, smallpox, and Botox? In other words, the field considers its domain to range from the war on terrorism to our narcissistic culture. Happily, the Botox chapter does not include tips on how to throw a "Botox party."
　　There is also a new chapter on "Evidence-Based Dermatology." I must admit that when I first heard of the evidence-based approach, I wasn't much impressed with its novelty, seeming to remember at least one old-timer who made a comment about experiment being treacherous and judgment difficult (Hippocrates). But the author does a good job of defending the system, and in an honest self-referential bit of criticism of textbooks, he points out that most tend to "reflect the biases and shortcomings of the experts who write them," are about 2 years out of date by publication, and are "narrative reviews that do not consider the quality of the evidence reported." Evidence itself, of course, is as indisputably wholesome as apple pie—it's how you interpret the evidence that matters.
　　This edition remains heavily invested in basic science, which is becoming daily more of a misnomer as skin biology reveals an ever increasing complexity. The first part, almost 15%, is given over to anatomy, physiology, immunology, molecular biology, and so forth, and there's much more interspersed throughout the clinical chapters. These chapters have shown the most profound changes over time, with progressive improvement at each turn. Whereas the first edition relegated color clinical photographs to a relatively thin "atlas" section, this edition features them on seemingly every page. Color abounds, and the quality of the illustrations is excellent. Indeed, the difference between the first and latest edition is so great that you'd never guess at the lineage if you did not look at the titles.