Basic Human Neuroanatomy: An Introductory Atlas, 5th ed.

Watson C. New York, NY, Little Brown and Co, 1995, paperback, 236 pp, illus, $29.95.

The 1980s were pronounced the "decade of the brain," and there are now a large number of atlases covering neuroanatomy available to instructors and students in the neurosciences. The difficulty lies not in finding an atlas that will provide the desired information, but in deciding among the wealth of offerings available. The prospective buyer can use several criteria besides cost and availability in making a selection.

One criterion is the general content. A neuroanatomy atlas should not be considered complete without at least the following: photographs of standard myelin-stained sections of the spinal cord, brainstem, and cerebral hemispheres; surface views of the components of the central nervous system (CNS); standard visualizations of the vascular supply of the CNS; and diagrams of functional pathways within the CNS. In addition, many readers will also wish to see the following: standard clinical visualizations of magnetic resonance or computed tomographic images; nonstandard visualizations of neuron cell-body or neurotransmitter locations; examples of visualizations functional activity, such as positron emission tomographic images; and examples of pathology. In addition to these visual basics, readers may also desire a minimum amount of descriptive text and references to additional sources.

Watson's atlas contains all of the essential contents and some of the secondary material. It is organized into the following four sections: a brief introduction to the structural organization of the CNS; a discussion of functional systems within the CNS; an atlas atlas the vascular supply of the CNS; and an atlas of spinal cord, brainstem, and hemispheric sections. A brief resource list of additional texts and articles is also included.

The first two sections of the text are predominately in outline format, making the information easily available for review purposes. Cellular structure and function are not addressed. The material is clearly organized using the standard visceral and somatic afferent and efferent system. The diagrams accompanying discussion of the various functional systems are black and white with a minimum of halftone shading. In most cases, only one pathway is presented on a given diagram; however, when more than one pathway is given, they are differentiated either by line width or interrupted lines. The presentation of pathways is thorough, covering both the spinal tracts and the internal brainstem and cortical systems.

There are several brief but negotiable lights in these first two sections. There is a very clear discussion of the difference between the older autonomic-somatic system distinctions and the more comprehensive visceral-somatic system organizational scheme. There is also a good discussion of the clinical versus the anatomical meaning of the terms "upper" and "lower motor neuron." There is minimal discussion of neurotransmitter differentiation of structural components, but in cases where this information is now standard, it is included in both the diagrams and the text.

The remaining two atlas sections provide good standard visualizations all components of the central nervous system. The vascular supply is illustrated using both standard angiograms and black-and-white diagrams. Supply patterns for internal regions of the brainstem and hemispheres are provided in gray-shaded diagrams. Minimal textual description is used to introduce this section.

The final section contains an atlas of the brain and spinal cord. It includes photographs of the external and midsagittal sectioned brain and coronal and angled horizontal sections of the hemispheres, brainstem, and spinal cord. The coronal and horizontal sections are correlated on facing pages, with both standard magnetic resonance and computed tomographic images. Labeling is applied only to the myelin-stained sections. The images and the labels are clear and sufficiently large. Only one cell-body-stained image is provided, but this is a particularly good visualization of the hippocampal region accompanied by a diagram of the functional pathways that have been identified.

The detail in both the vascular and cross-sectional atlases compares favorably to other popular neuroanatomy atlases currently available. The absence of parasagittal sections is a disappointment. Such visualizations are not in common clinical use, and this plane is often omitted from atlases, but its inclusion can be of great assistance in helping the student develop a good three-dimensional understanding of the material. For the same reason, the absence of three-dimensional images of various components such as the limbic system is also unfortunate.

The references at the end of the text are limited but well presented. The texts listed are standard. The review article and monograph references are current and include mainly material from the past decade and no historical sources.

In general, Watson's atlas compares favorably to other atlases of the CNS currently available. The organization and presentation of information is clear and concise and sufficiently thorough to meet the needs of introductory level courses for clinical students.

Elizabeth H Little, PhD, PT Albuquerque, NM

Dr Littell provides consultation to physical therapy education programs. She has authored a basic neuroscience text for physical therapists.