LiVolsi VA and Asa SL:

Endocrine Pathology, 640 pp, London, Churchill Livingstone, 2002 ($150.00).

Endocrine Pathology is edited by the two best-known contemporary endocrine pathologists, Drs. V.A. LiVolsi and S.L. Asa with 21 other expert contributors for each organ pathology. There are 14 chapters, including organ pathology of pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal cortex and medulla, endocrine pancreas, and GI tract. Additional chapters include laboratory medicine, dispersed neuroendocrine cells, neuroendocrine lung, Merkel cell carcinoma, neuroendocrine tumors of ovary and testis, and placenta. There are several books already published on the same subject, but the current book is unique and shines in covering embryogenesis, microscopic anatomy, physiology, endocrine cells in non-endocrine diseases, and, most importantly, endocrine tumors. Endocrine tumors are covered in-depth, including histopathology, differential diagnosis, immunohistochemistry, assessment of malignancy, and treatment. For the several chapters, molecular biology and genetics are added. Among the 14 chapters, several chapters are of exceptionally high quality, including pituitary gland, adrenal medulla, endocrine pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, neuroendocrine lung, and Merkel cell carcinoma. This book is not only useful for anatomic pathologists but provides in-depth understanding of endocrine tumors beyond diagnostic histopathology. In addition, this book provides practicing pathologists with extra-mileage of knowledge so that we are able to learn as quickly as possible by surveying the book. This book is well edited, in general, and is easy to read and contains numerous good color pictures of both gross and immunohistochemical microscopy. In summary, this book's strength is the most concise description of histopathology, immunohistochemistry, treatment, genetics, and molecular biology.