Doody's Core Titles 2023 - The Essential Collection Development Tool for Health Sciences Libraries

Reviewer:	Fang Fan, MD, PhD (University of Kansas Medical Center)

Description
The long-anticipated second edition of DeMay's *The Art and Science of Cytopathology* finally arrived at my desk. It is an absolutely beautiful four-volume set, doubling the size of the first edition published in 1996.

Purpose
Like the first edition, this multivolume book was prepared for general pathologists, cytopathologists, and pathology residents and fellows. There is no doubt that it "will continue to be a practical storehouse of information for everyday problems that is also a pleasure to use, and that it will enhance the art and science of your ongoing cytologic practice." Dr. DeMay, one of the world's most well-known masters of the art and science of cytopathology, has certainly fulfilled his goal with flying colors.

Audience
I grew up with the first edition, reading it during my pathology residency and cytopathology fellowship. It did, indeed serve as a spoonful of sugar that sweetened the study of cytopathology. I am still addicted to such an effect and have become permanently attached to cytopathology. There is no doubt that this new edition will continue having such a powerful effect on cytotechnology students, pathology residents, cytopathology fellows, and surely practicing pathologists.

Features
The four volumes are arranged by general topics. Volume 1 covers exfoliative cytopathology, volumes 2 and 3 cover, respectively, superficial and deep fine needle aspirations, and volume 4 (the most extraordinary one) contains the references for all chapters and a master comprehensive index that complements the volume-specific indexes at the end of the other three volumes. This edition has kept all the elements I liked in the first edition, including well-written text, succinct bullet points for each diagnostic entity, high-yield tables for differential diagnoses, and top-quality microscopic images with excellent descriptive legends. This edition has been updated and enriched with the most current knowledge and classification systems (as Dr. DeMay points out, "Only the names have changed; the lesion remains the same."). My favorite feature, the synoptic atlas following the text of each chapter, is kept in this new edition, but with significantly more images. For example, the Pap test chapter now contains 252 images compared to 156 images in the previous edition. I am only curious about what made Dr. DeMay (or the publisher) switch from the signature round images in the first edition to the square images in this edition. All the images are well chosen and illustrate the most important diagnostic features of each lesion. As such, they represent an enormous learning resource. The author also has added new sections and chapters such as "Odds and Ends" in the Pap test chapter in volume 1 and chapter 27 (on molecular cytopathology) and chapter 28 (on the laboratory) in volume 3. Dr. DeMay's book stands out from other cytology books, including some excellent ones, not only due to the comprehensive and meticulous nature of the text and the high-quality images, but also owing to the book's unique personal touch. Dr. DeMay's wit and humor shine through, making the book a true delight to read. Those interested in examples should check out the little paragraph on "The Emperor's New Thyroid Cancer" on page 936 of volume 2 and the "Final Thoughts on FNA Biopsy of the Thyroid" on page 941. Readers also will appreciate little pearls like: "more and bigger cells...in more and bigger clusters" for cytodiagnosis of mesothelioma (page 317). I believe many readers will smile at a sentence or a quote like I did when reading through this serious text of cytopathology. Lastly, I have to comment on an added feature to this edition. The front pages of volumes 1, 2, and 3 contain a picture of Dr. DeMay's original cytology image combined with a Chinese brush painting, a true combination of art and science. I was fortunate to be one of the visiting pathologists from the United States when Dr. DeMay visited Dr. Henry Li's cytopathology laboratory in Kingmed at GuangZhou, China. These exact same images were displayed in frames on the wall in the cytopathology area. Dr. DeMay immediately recognized those familiar cytology images and was impressed by the art work that was added to each image and the fact that people from the other side of the globe were learning from his book. However, since Dr. DeMay was staring at these images in silence, Dr. Li hesitated and said he would apologize if there was any copyright issue in using these original cytology images from the book in such a display. Dr. DeMay replied, "Oh no, that's not a problem. I would like to use them in the new edition of my book." That's how these images were included in this edition.

Assessment
This is without a doubt a masterpiece of cytopathology. I cannot imagine the time and effort Dr. DeMay has spent on these four volumes. If there is a perfect book for cytology, this is it. It provides the most comprehensive review of cytopathology in all organ systems. It can be used by practicing pathologists in daily practice, and by residents and fellows learning cytopathology and in preparation for pathology boards and cytopathology subspecialty boards.