Blaustein's Pathology of the Female Genital Tract

5th ed, edited by Robert J. Kurman, 1391 pp, with illus, New York, NY, Springer-Verlag, 2002.I personally awaited the new edition of Blaustein's Pathology of the Female Genital Tract with much anticipation and was not disappointed. A quick look at the table of contents would be misleading, as both the new and old editions have the same titles (some authors have changed or the order of authors has changed). This is where the similarity ends. Two chapters from the old edition have been eliminated from the second part of the book and have been more than appropriately incorporated into other chapters in the new edition. Specifically, the chapter previously titled “Cytopathology” is included in the new edition as part of the “Precancerous Lesions of the Cervix” chapter, which has been expanded with not only a very good discussion on both squamous and glandular precancerous lesions, but also with a well-written segment on human papillomavirus, the liquid-based technologies, and a discussion of The Bethesda System 2001. This chapter is well illustrated and includes good examples.Each chapter in the new edition has been updated, including classification and diagnostic techniques. Just a few examples include expanded classification of Paget disease of the vulva, precancerous lesions of the endometrium (with good illustrations), and mesenchymal tumors of the uterus. The chapter on surface epithelial tumors of the ovary is excellent, and the chapter on immunohistochemistry is reorganized and rewritten.Overall, I found this to be an excellent book; it is well written and very readable. One drawback to some readers could be that there are no color photographs, but the black-and-white photographs are very good in my opinion and provide very sharp, crisp images. Additional photographs have been added, and older photographs have been redone and enhanced. The typeface is also new, making for easier reading, and the bibliography is updated and current.There are other gynecological pathology books available (I have them all), but this book is well worth the money. It is as complete and comprehensive a book on gynecological pathology that one can find. I highly recommend it.