In the preface to the first edition of this book, Alex P. Mowat, MD, directs the text to clinicians, including pediatricians, pediatric surgeons, and gastroenterologists. The second edition of Liver Disorders in Childhood is intended for a similar audience but contains updated information and references. With this book, Dr Mowat provides a valuable and readable resource for clinicians involved in the diagnosis and management of infants and children with liver disorders.
The initial two chapters provide a cogent review of basic anatomy and physiology. This review is adequate but not detailed. The next three chapters provide an overview of the causes of unconjugated and conjugated hyperbilirubinemia. The strong and necessary emphasis is on the presentation, evaluation, and differential diagnosis of the infant with cholestatic liver disease. In these early chapters, the reader begins to appreciate that the information provided is not only a compilation of objective data and published reports