In a three-day conference on head injury 48 investigators participated. Their backgrounds varied widely— neurosurgeons, neurologists, physicists, statisticians, pathologists, radiologists, and physiologists. Their 40 reports varied as widely in their subjects.
The introductory chapters excellently review the head injury problem in America as reflected in recent statistics, and current research in preventive measures, such as seat belts and helmets. The section on the understanding and management of cerebral trauma covers 152 pages. It gives an up-to-date view of the clinical problems and the current uses of diagnostic tools such as the electroencephalography, echoencephalography, auditory and vestibular tests, and radiologic procedures. Hollie McHugh's discussion of auditory and vestibular disorders with head injuries contains much information that is not widely appreciated. Outstanding are the chapters concerning metabolic aspects of head injuries by Robert McLaurin; the vascular factors in head injury and their contribution to brain swelling and intracranial hypertension, by Thomas Langford