Pathology and Therapy of Rheumatic Fever.

This book arrives on the scene when rheumatic fever has become a public health problem of growing importance in both civil and military life. Dr. Lichtwitz dwells particularly on the pathology and therapy of the disease. He has made an exhaustive study of the literature, and the bibliography at the end of each chapter is extensive.

The author argues that rheumatic fever is a manifestation of allergy, and his thesis is summed up in the following quotation: "The pathologic basis of this disease is the allergic sensitization of certain mesenchymatous tissues." He contends that the disease is one of defense, not of invasion, and that it has its counterpart in serum sickness. Lack of defense is termed anergy and its excess hypergy. The mechanism of hypergy is dependent on the allergic sensitization of the person, which, in turn, is influenced by antigens of bacterial origin. The author recognizes the hemolytic