The first edition of this volume appeared in 1929, and the third in 1936. The expanding knowledge of the past ten years required an entire rewriting of the book for this fourth edition. It is, however, more than a review of literature, since the subjects covered are summarized and evaluated in the simple, clear language characteristic of these commentators. The authors remark that "much is in the melting pot" and "what is new and what is an advance is often conjectural." The rapid developments in cardiology make it impossible for books of this sort to be completely up to the moment in their coverage, but the results in this volume justify the difficult screening demanded.
The subjects are first considered etiologically, then under the headings of disorders of function, heart failure, treatment, vascular diseases, peripheral circulatory failure and "new theories about cardiograms."
The discussion of congenital heart disease of necessity