The Brain Stem of the Cat: A Cytoarchitectonic Atlas With Stereotaxic Coordinates.

This superb atlas of the brain stem of the cat is not simply another series of moderately adequate photomicrographs with a superimposed grid pattern of stereotaxic coordinates. It provides a much needed extension of stereotaxic cartography to the lower brain stem; it is also a genuine work of art bearing all the marks of a labor of love. Surprisingly, however, the author makes no mention of Verhaart's (1964) work on the brain stem and spinal cord, which it supplements rather than replaces. The 80 plates of the atlas consist of a series of 30 frontal sections from the pyramidal decussation to the rostral midbrain (A 7.5), 25 sagittal sections, and 25 horizontal ones. Rather than reproduce plates at the invariant intervals of a decimal grid, the author selected sections at irregular intervals so as to reveal most advantageously the cellular composition of the structures. Consequently, the density of intervals between