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Paxinos G., and Watson C. (eds.). The Rat Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates, 5th ed. 209 pp. Elsevier Academic Press, Burlington, MA, 2005. $79.95 (including CD). ISBN 0-12-088472-0 (book) and 0-12-088572-7 (CD-ROM).

The fifth edition of the rat brain atlas is an economical reference for pathologists who occasionally need to define the location of changes in coronal sections of rat brain and spinal cord or who need a readily transportable reference for consultations.

For pathologists evaluating brains, a species-specific brain atlas is an indispensable tool not only to help identify the neuroanatomical site of readily identifiable inflammatory, degenerative, and neoplastic changes, but also to focus on structures that may have been lost due to earlier damage. This is the fifth edition in a series of continually enhanced and widely referenced rat brain atlases. Three of the four previous editions include extensively annotated drawings of coronal, sagittal, and horizontal sections of rat brain. Like the third edition, the fifth is limited to the coronal plane of section, the most commonly used in toxicological and diagnostic pathology. Extensively indexed neuroanatomical sites are based on abundantly referenced literature reviews and on original research by the authors. Although any of the previous four editions of this book are good neuroanatomical references, the distance between plates and slightly irregular spacing of the figures requires modest interpolation by the user. The fifth edition is based on rat brain sections at more consistent and narrower intervals (120 µ) than for earlier editions. In contrast to the larger format in the first, second, and fourth editions, the 8.5 x 11-inch wire-bound format is easily stored and lies nicely on a desktop. Although the new use of color in the keys provided with each pair of figures improves visual separation of abbreviations and names of neuroanatomical sites, the small font size and less intense blue color increase the difficulty of reading individual structure names. The contrast between blue used for the drawings and black used to label structures, as well as shading used to outline selected structures, increases ease of identifying specific sites. Although functional pathways and interconnections are not provided, this is a useful companion book and CD for available functional pathways literature.

The user-friendly CD supplied with the book will likely be of more use to the less experienced pathologist because of the addition of photomicrographs of histologic slides from a single rat representing each of the figures. Although most pathologists would find photomicrographs of hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections to be more useful, the contrast provided by the alternating cresyl violet and acetylcholinesterase histochemical stained sections can be readily extrapolated to the sections most commonly evaluated by pathologists. A click of the mouse allows the operator to conveniently switch between figures (drawings) and plates (photomicrographs); however, photomicrographs were missing for three plates in the CD evaluated. The CD also contains both labeled and unlabeled drawings that can readily be exported (with permission) and modified for reports, presentations, and publications.

Pathologists who must spend significant amounts of time consulting the atlas may find the larger format fourth edition, or potentially the upcoming sixth edition, of this atlas more useful because of the ease of concurrently viewing both the photomicrographs and the labeled drawings. The larger format editions are also necessary for evaluation of sagittal and horizontal planes of section. The current fifth edition book and CD provide a convenient and detailed neuroanatomy reference for coronally sectioned rat brain and spinal cord.

Dr W. H. Jordan

Lilly Research Laboratories
Greenfield, IN

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