This book endeavors to provide "comprehensive and detailed coverage of the pathology of the immature, developing nervous system." It succeeds admirably in this effort. The book is organized in a very orderly manner, discussing in 46 succinct chapters virtually all that is known about fetal, neonatal, and pediatric neuropathology. It is suggested to be supplementary to standard texts of neuropathology, which rarely treat the perinatal period adequately.
The author begins with a section on normal development of the brain in which tables and graphs provide sufficient quantitative data; he then proceeds to the three major sections: acquired lesions in newborns and infants, malformations, and metabolic diseases. Each chapter begins with a definition of the principal disorders and, usually, provides a historical sketch of the development of thought concerning the entity. This is followed by a precise description and a brief review of pertinent literature and is usually accompanied by clear