Page 9 - Textbook of Pathology, 6th Edition

Preface
Preface
Preface ix
Preface
Preface

The overwhelming success and all-round acceptance of the last edition of the textbook was very encouraging and quite Preface
stimulating but at the same time put an onerous responsibility and expectation to do better in the new edition than the best
of last edition. In preparing 6th revised edition of my Textbook of Pathology, I pursued this goal with profound enthusiasm
and passionate zeal. I am, thus, pleased to present to users a wholly transformed appearance and updated contents in the
revised edition. While full colour printing had been introduced in the last edition 5 years back maturing the book into an
international edition, the present redesigned and revised edition has utlilised the contemporary technological advances in its
full form in illustrations, lay-out and in printing. The revised edition has almost thrice the number of illustrations of large
number of common diseases placed along with the text, and it is hoped that it will enhance understanding and learning of the
subject readily, besides being a visual treat.
In recent times, advances in genetics, immunology and molecular biology have heightened our understanding of the
mechanisms of diseases. As a result, mention of ‘idiopathic’ in etiology and pathogenesis of most diseases in the literature is
slowly disappearing. Surely, the students of current times need to be enlightened on these modern advances in diseases;
these aspects have been dealt in the revised edition with a simple and lucid approach.
Some of the Key Features of the Sixth Edition are as follows:

Thorough Textual Revision and Updating: All the chapters and topics have undergone thorough revision and updating of
various aspects, including contemporary diagnostic modalities. While most of the newer information has been inserted
between the lines, a few topics have been rewritten, e.g. current concepts on cell injury, immunopathology, carcinogenesis,
newer infectious diseases, lymphomas-leukaemias, hypertension, interstitial lung diseases, etc. to name a few. In doing so,
the basic accepted style of the book —simple, easy-to-understand and reproduce the subject matter, and emphasis on clarity
and accuracy, has not been disturbed. Past experience has shown that the readers find tables on contrasting features and
listing of salient features as a very useful medium for quick learning; considering their utility 15 new tables have been added
in different chapters in the revised edition.

Reorganisation of the Book: In a departure from the conventional division of study of the subject into General and
Systemic Pathology, the revised edition has been reorganised into 3 major sections—General Pathology and Basic Techniques
(Chapters 1 to 11), Haematology and Lymphoreticular Tissues (Chapters 12 to 14) and Systemic Pathology (Chapters 15 to
30), followed by Appendix (containing Normal Values), Further Readings for references and Index. In my considered
judgement, a separate section on haematology and lymphoid tissues and redistribution of their subtopics was necessitated
for two reasons—firstly, reclassification of leukaemias-lymphomas by the WHO as an integrated topic, making the segregation
of study of diseases of ‘circulating’ and ‘tissue’ leucocytes superfluous; and secondly, due to advances in haematology,
transfusion medicine and diseases of lymphoreticular tissues, these subspecialties of pathology have developed a lot in
recent times, requiring the students to focus on them separately for learning and they are evaluated too on these topics by
separate experts. Similarly, in the revised edition, two chapters on laboratory techniques—Techniques for the Study of
Pathology (Chapter 2) and Basic Diagnostic Cytology (Chapter 11) have been included in Section-I in view of technological
advances in pathology which have gone beyond remaining confined as research tool but have increasingly become part of
diagnostic work-up.
Profusely Illustrated: Majority of illustrations in the revised Edition are new additions while a few old ones have been done
again. All the line-drawing and schematic cartoons have been updated and improved in content as well as their presentation
by preparing them again on CorelDraw in soft colours, eliminating the shortcomings noticed in them in previous edition. All
free-hand labelled sketches of gross specimens and line-drawings of microscopic features of an entity have been placed
alongside the corresponding specimen photograph and the photomicrograph respectively, enhancing the understanding of
the subject for the beginner students in pathology. In doing so, the number of figures has gone up by about three-folds in the
present edition, some incorporated as an inset with focus on a close-up microscopic view.
Truly User-friendly: Rational use of various levels of headings and subheadings in different colours, bold face and in italics
has been done in the text in order to highlight key points. All the citations of figures and tables in the text have been shown
in colour now to make the related text vividly visible and to help user locate the same quickly on a page. It is hoped that these
features will enable the user with rapid revision at the end of a topic, making the book truly user-friendly.
Much More Content but Unaltered Volume: While the new edition has a lot more updated textual material, more tables and
a marked increase in the number of figures than the previous edition, a meticulous and rational page management has
helped in retaining almost the same girth of the book as before.