Abstract
Flynn's Parasites of Laboratory Animals, 2nd ed. (2007) is a reworking of the 1973 volume Pathology of Laboratory Animals by R. J. Flynn. The new volume is larger in its dimensions, though it is roughly similar in length (previously 884 pages; now 840 pages). The paper, however, seems less substantial than before and is a flat white; the photos also have a “printed” digital appearance. That said, in the process of reviewing this second edition, I left the book in my clinical laboratory for 1 month and asked my technicians to consult it whenever they consulted the earlier book. (We use the earlier work fairly frequently, as it covers a wide variety of animals seen in the laboratory setting, including wildlife.) At the end of the month, my technicians felt the reorganization of the content in the new volume made it “much clearer and easier to use and understand.” They also appreciated the addition of the chapter on “Collection, Preservation and Diagnostic Methods.” We all agreed that the index is far less confusing than before. This is not surprising because the index shrunk from 103 pages to 25 pages—a substantial decrease (even though the pages were enlarged from 7 × 9.75 in. to 8.5 × 11 in.). Whereas before we had pages and pages of entries such as “Acanthocephalans” listed “in cecum,” “in ileum,” “in intestine,” “in large intestine,” “in liver,” etc., we now have “Acanthocephala” with 2 lines of page numbers.). Specific species can be found either under their own name or under the name of the species they infect. In the older edition, it was often extremely difficult to determine where you actually were in the index from the entries on a page. (A previous technician felt impelled to write the letters covered at the top of each index page.) In the text, additional material has been added and the topics have been rearranged. In addition to the chapter on “Collection, Preservation and Diagnostic Methods,” the reorganized content now includes the biology of the various groups of parasites (e.g., protozoa, trematodes, cestodes) and chapters on the parasites of specific animals (e.g., gerbil, guinea pig) or groups of animals (e.g., nonhuman primates, fish). The terminology and names have been updated, when needed, though each parasite is still described as to “Parasite Morphology,” “Hosts and Life Cycle,” “Pathological Effects and Clinical Disease,” “Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention,” and “Public Health Considerations.” The Appendix is no longer a list of common names of species, but a glossary of terms used in parasite description and an index of drugs and their dosages as used in treatment for various organisms. A large number of the illustrations (particularly of organisms) are taken from the earlier volume, but new photos of gross and histologic pathology, as well as a number of electron micrographs, have been added. In comparing a dozen or so specific parasites, I found that there were additions that were helpful and omissions with which I might argue. Photographs that are no longer present include a photomicrograph of the tumor caused by Nochtia nochti infection in the stomach of a monkey and high-powered photomicrographs of Encephalitozoon cuniculi infection and its pseudocysts in the brain of a rabbit. The importance of the loss of these can be debated, but the loss of others is regrettable. In my opinion, the elimination of the section on Epistylis sp. infection in fish is such a loss. This can be a rather serious problem with laboratory tadpoles, and we found this section in the old text helpful in its diagnosis. The addition of Pseudoloma neurophilia, however, is to be welcomed, as it can be a significant problem in laboratory zebrafish colonies.
Although the paper and illustrations do not appear to be of the same quality as other ACLAM publications, the new organization of this text has produced a book that is more “user friendly” and can provide the academic laboratory animal pathologist/technician with a useful reference. I would recommend, however, that those who own the older volume hang on to it as well, as it provides additional, helpful information that is not in the new text.