In recent years there has been a generally accepted trend toward a philosophy, in the teaching of pediatrics as well as in the clinical approach, of regarding the child as a complete entity. This is in distinction to earlier views, which considered him as to various divisions of his anatomy or in the light of the pathologcal effects of infectious diseases upon him. There remains little opposition to this modern view, and entirely broader horizons have been uncovered which have been to the advantage of the child patient, as well as of the viewer.
This book is written with this theme as its main concept. The child is considered in the background of his disability, whether it be physical, mental, or emotional. Fourteen of the common categories of handicapped states are discussed in as many chapters, each written by special authorities in their respective fields. The Normal Child is first