Abstract: Edited by Robert B. Colvin Amirsys 2011 1000 pp, hardcover and electronic, US$299 ISBN 9781931884532 The art of medical book writing has evolved from the first known text in medicine, the Edwin Smith Papyrus, traced back to about 1600 bc in Egypt.1.Breasted J.H. The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus: Published in Facsimile and Hieroglyphic Transliteration with Translation and Commentary in Two Volumes.vol. 3–4. University of Chicago Press, Chicago1991: 636Google Scholar A more modern view of medicine was provided by the Babylonian Diagnostic Handbook (1069–1046 bc), which introduced the concept that through the examination of the symptoms it is possible to determine the patient’s disease and its etiology and prognosis.2.Horstmanshoff H.F.J. Stol M. Tilburg C. Magic and Rationality in Ancient Near Eastern and Graeco-Roman Medicine. Brill Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands2004: 407Google Scholar The tradition of medical book writing was carried on by the Greeks, with the first anatomical book, by Alcmaeon (~500 bc), and the Hippocratic Corpus (460–370 bc), in which illnesses began to be classified as acute, chronic, endemic, and epidemic. In ∼ad 200, Galen, first to recognize the kidney’s role in urine formation, introduced the concept of experimental and evidence-based medicine, contributing to the understanding of anatomy, physiology, and pathology. The Galenic knowledge of medicine was compiled by the Persian Avicenna in The Canon of Medicine (ad 1025), which remained the most authoritative text on anatomy in European medical education until the sixteenth century,3.Dear P. Revolutionizing the Sciences: European Knowledge and Its Ambitions, 1500–1700. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ2001: 365Google Scholar translated and reproduced in multiple languages thanks to the meticulous work of monks. It was in 1491 that the Fasiculo de Medicina, the first illustrated medical work of the era of printing, was published, although the world’s first known printed anatomy book containing detailed illustration of the genitourinary tract is De Humani Corporis Fabrica, by Andreas Vesalius (1543). In the modern era, the rapid evolution of science and medicine demands more frequent editions of the same volume to provide updated information. Diagnostic Pathology: Kidney Diseases, edited by Robert Colvin (Amirsys), has taken the mechanism of fast update one step further. The volume can be accessed in a conventional paper format as well as an electronic format, which can be continuously updated. Although digital textbooks have been on the market for a few years now, this is the first nephropathology book with such a format, with high-quality images and up-to-date references. The knowledge base in renal pathology and nephrology is growing exponentially, along with the development of new classification systems of diseases and algorithms based on morphology, etiology, pathogenesis, and progress in genetics and molecular medicine. Morphologic classifications generated in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s no longer reflect the current knowledge of glomerular and tubulointerstitial diseases. New discoveries in the pathogenesis of glomerular injury have generated the need to change how we report and manage renal diseases. Moreover, the large body of molecular data that has accumulated during the past decade or so calls for a more dynamic way of collecting and disseminating relevant information in a cogent form as a textbook. Diagnostic Pathology: Kidney Diseases has the ability to accommodate such a continuous process of capturing new information and keep abreast of current thinking and trends in modern medicine. The digital format not only allows continuous updates of content within chapters, but also allows the introduction of new chapters, newly described diseases, or significant images that may help the reader, whether in training or fully trained, to quickly update his or her knowledge about existing diseases or new entities. The bulleted text, easy-to-read tables, and vivid images in the book are easily accessible in the digital format as well as in the conventional paper copy. The organization of the book is also in line with the current need to introduce additional ancillary studies in the learning process that are specific for each disease or are necessary to narrow the range of differential diagnosis. The wide distribution of updated information in a book format may successfully stimulate the use of certain diagnostic tests not only in specialized centers, but also among pathologists and nephrologists in non-university hospitals and community practices, to improve patient care. The practical nature of this book and its value to pathologists in training, as well as to those fully trained, are immediately apparent from the very first chapter. This chapter begins with a concise yet complete overview of the renal pathology laboratory, including the processing of tissue, a systematic approach to the examination and interpretation of renal biopsy, and practical suggestions for reporting results. An understanding of the mechanisms of the processing, interpreting, and reporting of renal biopsies is obviously critical to nephrologists as well. This first chapter covers topics often taught by senior nephropathologists to trainees and reflects knowledge based on experience rather than what is generally acquired from a textbook. The chapter is also populated by excellent light microscopy, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy images reflecting all possible scenarios in renal pathology. The drawings of molecular anatomy and embryonic kidney development are also superb and are simple enough to understand. Again, the concise and schematic approach of this section is inviting to readers seeking to get acquainted with the developmental stages of the upper urinary tract, which is not often emphasized by nephropathologists because it lacks immediate relevance to daily clinical practice. The book continues with sections on glomerular, vascular, tubulointerstitial, infectious, and developmental diseases and disorders of the collecting system. Of particular interest, and unique in its organization, is the part dedicated to inherited glomerulopathies. The collection of images representing these rare diseases is outstanding, and all possible morphologic variations of any given disorder are illustrated. The novelty of this part is that glomerulopathies are classified on the basis of etiology rather than purely morphologic features. The eighth and last section is dedicated to transplant pathology, and once again it includes a concise but complete practical chapter where evaluation of donor and allograft kidneys is discussed. Each chapter is generously illustrated with high-quality pictures (painstakingly collected from a large resource pool of renal pathologists around the world) covering many morphologic variations of a given disease, facilitating the work of even a novice renal pathologist in search of a comparable feature to the one he or she is dealing with at the microscope, and aiding in the interpretation of findings and diagnosis formulation. This will help pathologists practicing in a low-volume service, where some diseases are rarely encountered. Well-trained and expert pathologists can benefit from such a nearly complete collection of images as well. However, both pathologists and nephrologists could benefit from a more complete and expanded section on infectious and tropical diseases, which are often difficult to diagnose, being rare events, especially in developed countries. Unique to this book is that, in each chapter, a diagnostic checklist is presented for every disease entity, including a host of differential diagnoses with differentiating points. A very useful index of antibodies that may have a diagnostic application in renal pathology appears as well. The rather brief bullet-format text may not completely fulfill all needs, and certainly in-depth reading will sometimes be necessary. However, to those practicing or learning renal pathology who need quick yet complete access to practical information, this volume is of great value. The book was released to the public in May 2011; the first users were students of the International Summer School of Renal Pathology, held in Bari, Italy (www.issrp.com), an intensive two-week course entirely based on digital pathology. Given the concise and practical structure and the digital accessibility of the text, compatible with the virtual microscopy-based structure of the school, the ISSRP has adopted Diagnostic Pathology: Kidney Diseases as its official textbook and syllabus. A survey about the book was conducted among the students, an international group of pathologists and nephrologists in training or fully trained; the results are shown in Table 1. The average score given to the book was 4.25 on a scale from 0 to 5.Table 1Questionnaire for users and readers of Diagnostic Pathology: Kidney DiseasesDisagreeNot sureAgreeStrongly agreeThe text was comprehensive611The illustrations were clear314The bullet text made it easy to find information188The text was up to date314The book is useful for deciding on a diagnosis in daily clinical practice89The book is helpful for independent review of cases during training98The book is useful for trainees98The book is useful for already trained pathologists710I will use the book for teaching purposes710I will use the book for self-training purposes710I will use the book for clinical practice710The paper version was user friendly611The electronic version was user friendly548I will use more frequently the paper version over the electronic version21122I will use more frequently the electronic version over the paper version21122 Open table in a new tab Diagnostic Pathology: Kidney Diseases in its conventional hard-copy format is visually beautiful and well organized; the illustrations are outstanding and extremely useful, representing the diseases discussed in each chapter and their various nuances. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then access to these images is invaluable. The tables complement the text well and are extremely practical. The electronic format may require some additional practice to access, but it is user friendly. Although sections on very rare diseases could benefit from additional pictures or chapters, the book is quite comprehensive. Indeed, Diagnostic Pathology: Kidney Diseases, with its updated and updatable content, reflects the evolution of nephropathology, as well as the evolution of current technology, allowing us to carry large volumes in very small electronic equipment, enabling ‘anytime, anywhere’ access to information. Finally, the chapters are authored by accomplished renal pathologists (A. Chang, A.B. Farris, N. Kambham, L. Cornell, S.M. Meehan, H. Liapis, J. Gaut, S. Bonsib, S.V. Seshan, A. Vasilyev, and S. Jain), and editor Robert Colvin should be congratulated for successfully orchestrating the work of his colleagues and executing this project to near perfection.