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This is a decidedly unusual book—not all good and not all bad. This reviewer, as well as others, finds fault with the arrangement. All the figures are in the back of the book, necessitating frequent reference to varied diagrams with consequent loss in continuity of thought. The separation of form and function in the parts dealing with “anatomy” and “anatomy and physiology” makes for much repetition.
The author is obviously a good teacher and a good anatomist of the Weigert school, who is familiar with both domestic and foreign neurologic literature. His work, however, bespeaks loss of contact with current—day thought in organic neurology. Otherwise, he would devote far more space than he does to the extrapyramidal disorders, to decerebrate rigidity, etc. The aphasia classification of Henry Head has evidently upset him, with the result that he has not digested the material for this section but devotes space both to this conception and to the “diagram—makers'” conception with no connection but juxtaposition. Emotionally, he belongs with, the diagram—makers.
Certain statements are open to criticism, such as that the trigeminal nerve carries muscle sense for the face and tongue muscles; that the nucleus of the fasciculus solitarius is concerned with taste; that the function of the mesencephalic root of the trigeminus is unknown; that motor aphasia is an apraxia. The illustrations on the whole are poor although certain ones indicating degenerations following focal lesions are well chosen. Many of the illustrations will be recognized by anybody familiar with Dejerine, but the pen and ink copies by the author are rather crude.
In the third part, on applied neurology, there is a summing up of what has gone before but it is so voluminous that much repetition is unavoidable. It cannot be denied, however, that' the author has chosen his cases from the literature with constant regard for their significance in presenting clearly the anatomy and physiology of the parts affected.
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