Angiocardiography and cardiac catheterization have not banished the stethoscope as an antique, but rather have increased its value as an accurate, painless, diagnostic instrument, free of risk. To promote optimal use of the stethoscope, these three little books present highfidelity recordings of 64 examples of the commonly encountered auscultatory findings and provide an explanatory text.
The student can study these sounds at his convenience. The practicing physician, too, will profit from studying these sounds with the modern understanding of hemodynamics, better than was available when he was a student. The teacher of medicine can use the examples to introduce the most frequently encountered abnormalities at the optimal time in the teaching schedule rather than waiting for suitable patients.
Inadequate alternative explanation of several of the examples, inadequate discussion of the split second sound, and confused nomenclature (particularly of gallop rhythms and extra sounds) mar the presentation. The books make no