This book, first published in French in 1978, has been translated into English to reach a wider audience. The authors summarize their vast experience at the Hôpital de Bicêtre, Université Paris Sud in pediatric hepatology. It is one of the first two English language textbooks devoted to this rapidly developing field. The book is handsomely prepared with numerous fine tables, diagrams, and photomicrographs.
The initial chapter is a brief review of the examination of the child with known or suspected hepatic dysfunction. Although the available tests and procedures are well described, little help is given to the clinician in choosing between the increasingly vast array of tests of liver function that are now available.
Chapters are devoted to both common and rare hepatic disorders of childhood, eg, neonatal cholestasis, acute liver failure, Reye's syndrome, viral hepatitis, toxic liver disease, inborn errors of metabolism, cirrhosis, portal hypertension, and the liver in