Liebman's Neuroanatomy Made Easy and Understandable, 5th ed.

Gertz SD. Gaithersburg, MD 20878, Aspen Publishers Inc, 1996, paper-back, 190 pp, illus, $30.

Students are frequently overwhelmed by the large amount of detail covered in a neuroscience course. This book is designed to help them focus on the essential information about neuroanatomical structures and pathways. The text is a condensed yet comprehensive overview of the content typically covered in a neuroanatomy course. Each chapter is brief, consisting of only one to three pages of text and a page of illustrations, which utilize a second color for emphasis. Although designed for medical students, the level of detail is also suitable for professional (entry-level) physical therapist students.

Changes from the previous edition include the addition of a clinical neurological exam summary, a table of telencephalon and diencephalon function, a cranial nerve table, and unlabeled drawings for student self-testing. The section on pathological conditions of the central nervous system has also been updated.

The book contains 23 chapters and 13 appendixes. It covers everything from cellular structure to sensory and motor paths, to the vestibular system and the cerebellum, to the autonomic system and cranial nerves, to the reticular system, hypothalamus, and cerebral cortex. Blood supply, meninges, and ventricles are also included. Pathologies covered include vascular, infectious, traumatic, autoimmune, metabolic degenerative, neoplastic, congenital, and toxic conditions.

The appendixes provide drawings of brain and brain stem sections, cerebrospinal fluid laboratory values, dermatome maps, muscle nerve supply charts, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans, and sample exam questions. A glossary also provides definitions and helpful and interesting word derivations.

I found the text to be clear, with useful mnemonics for retention. Clinical relevance of the information was emphasized. My only quibble with the book was that figure captions did not describe the direction from which the structure was being viewed (eg, lateral, inferior). There was also a table formatting error in Appendix VII, which indicates the wrong functions for areas of the telencephalon.

As indicated by the title, neurophysiology (eg, action potentials, muscle receptor functions) is not covered. Due to this limitation and the lack of depth, this book would probably not stand alone as a course textbook. It would, however, serve as a useful review for therapists, as well as a guide for students in their introductory neuroscience course. The authors have succeeded in providing an excellent overview of this complex subject.

Majorie A Moore, PT, PhD

College of St Catherine

Minneapolis, Minn 55454

Dr Moore is Associate Professor in the Master of Physical Therapy Program, where she teaches neuroanatomy, gross anatomy, arthrology and embryology.