When considering this book, the first question to ask is why review an ‘entry level’ title when most of this journal's audience are seeking reviews of more specialised texts. The answer is that, during this time of perpetual change in ENT training, it is more critical than ever that you are in a position to advise juniors (who may be making the briefest of stops within the ENT specialty) on a suitable text.
This book is the latest in the noble tradition of the Lecture Notes series. I read an earlier edition as a medical student. If I had to summarise the book in two words, they would be ‘succinct’ and ‘quality’. I read the book from cover to cover in about two and a half hours. A reader with no previous knowledge of the subject would take longer, but the whole text should still be readable in a couple of nights. This is one of the key reasons why it can be recommended to medical students, foundation doctors and those in the preliminary stages of specialty training. The book should also appeal to general practitioners as a quick reference text. Each sentence within the text is well weighted and confers essential information, but the book is still remarkably readable.
The text is set out in a logical way, with otology, rhinology, laryngology and head and neck in sequence. There is a good approach to each section, with the key anatomy and physiology being reviewed, followed by examination techniques. It is nice to see so many practical tips incorporated within the examination techniques discussed. These include clinical hearing assessment and nasal examination in children. The chapters then discuss pathology, diagnosis and treatment. The mention of biofilms, in the context of adenoids and glue ear, indicates the contemporary nature of the text. The use of national evidence-based guidelines, in the form of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network tonsillectomy guidelines, is to be welcomed. The chapters on facial nerve paralysis, airway obstruction in children and salivary glands are particularly good and well illustrated. The book finishes with self-test multiple choice questions, a useful way to test knowledge retention after reading the text.
Are there any downsides to the book? A few minor points could be improved. Some diagrams, such as one showing every cutaneous branch of the trigeminal nerve, are probably too complicated for this text. A diagram of the upper aerodigestive tract pre- and post-laryngectomy would probably have illustrated the head and neck chapter better. A picture in the tonsil chapter illustrates the appearance of a post-operative tonsillectomy, but a picture of a quinsy is lacking. In the nasal polyps chapter, the polyp pictured is a haemorrhagic polyp prolapsed through the nasal vestibule; showing the more common type of inflammatory polyp viewed during nasal examination may have been more useful. In the otherwise thorough chapter on tinnitus, the importance of unilateral tinnitus is not mentioned. However, these are minor gripes and do not detract from a high quality text which is overall very well illustrated.
I would recommend this text wholeheartedly to medical students and general practitioners, and particularly to junior doctors during their first attachment in ENT. This should be a key acquisition for your departmental library.
