Legal Medicine has been published yearly since 1969, always under the editorship of Cyril H. Wecht, MD, JD, a recognized authority in medicolegal affairs. As usual, Dr Wecht has selected a group of topics that he believes will be suited to those interested in legal medicine and a group of authors he knows to have expertise in their fields.
The subject matter includes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), the Bhopal tragedy, implantable cardiovascular devices, thermography, interventional radiology, lasers, chronometric causes for obstetric malpractice, surrogate motherhood, deprivation of hospital staff privileges, quality of life in terminally ill patients, and alternative systems for the provision of health care. An unusual chapter is devoted merely to the listing of drug and chemical blood levels. In the absence of any medicolegal discussion, the chapter seems to be hanging, with no direction or purpose other than as a reference.
All the other chapters are well