Alfons Staudach has been a long-time member of the Anatomic Institute of Karl Franzens University in Graz, where he has devoted particular atten tion to the deeper understanding, appreciation and visualizion of gross ana tomic details. In this work the author has achieved correspondence between sonograms and anatomic sections with a consistency and persuasiveness unequaled in all the previous literature on diagnostic ultrasound. The various planes of section andtheir characteristic features, and indeed the entire format of the text, are designed to provide even the less experienced sonographer with a valuable basis for conducting his examinations. The more experienced reader will find essential information on topographic relations and organ development that is not available in any other work dealing with fetal ana to y. I am certain that my high estimation of this volume will prove justified, and that it will provice its readers with a useful and stimulating resource. Univ. -Prof. Dr. Walter Thiel (Chairman of the Anatomic Institute of the University of Graz) Foreword Anyone setting this book down after an initial perusal must wonder why such a reference was not available ten years ago. The meticulous and fas cinating juxtaposition of gross anatomic sections with sonograms, together with explanatory drawings and many practical guidelines, should enable even the novice accurately to identify details and interpret sonographic findings with precision."

Within the field of general medicine, the last two decades have seen the curative procedures increasingly supplemented by func tions that can be summed up under the heading of "preventive health care." There is a close link between this development and the changing morbidity pattern. In highly developed countries the morbidity rate attributable to infectious diseases has been much reduced, while the various types of arteriosclerosis, some tumorous conditions, and so-called functional syndromes have attained massive incidence rates. Systematic epidemiologic studies have yielded the concept of risk factors, i. e., certain exogenous and endogenous factors whose elimination, ideally, would make it possible to avoid the manifestation of an illness or to ensure it did not become mani fest until later in life or in a milder form. The socioeconomic and sociomedical significance of these aspects is considerable, as can be seen from all the statistics on the reasons for incapacity and early retirement and on the relative contributions of different ill nesses to total mortality. Effective avoidance of illnesses by primary prophylaxis (elimi nation of the causes of disease) or early detection of the symp toms of disease (secondary prophylaxis) leading to early treat ment would be a particularly significant step forward, since in the case of most of the conditions mentioned above only pallia tive forms of treatment are available, and none that have any cu rative effect."

This monograph by Professor Alexandridis continues the proud tradition of German ophthalmology in its discussion of the pupil and its importance in the diagnosis of ocular, neurologic, and systemic diseases. The first encyclopedic work on the pupil was written by Wilbrand and Saenger at the end of the 19th century. This redoubtable pair of physicians collected, analyzed, and clas sified all the material available at that time, bringing order into the previous chaos. The second major work was the book by C. v. Behr shortly after World War 1. At that time, syphilis had been accurately diagnosed with the aid of serologic tests, and pharmacologic effects on the pupil had become well known. The third significant development was initiated before World War II by the neurologist Otto Lowenstein, whose work was later brilliantly continued by his pupil and niece Irene Lowenfeld. The introduction of their clinically useful pupillograph made quantitative analysis possible. There followed a number of important contributions to the knowledge of pupillary physiology and pathology, espe cially by Harms in Tiibingen and Thompson in Iowa City. But the next decisive contribution is this monograph by Alexandridis."