Reviews

This revised, updated and expanded edition of Christine Hawkey’s A Colour Atlas of Comparative Veterinary Haematology is a must-have reference for any avian and exotic practice, zoological institution and research facility. This is an excellent reference book for clinicians, in both general practice and referral centres, for veterinary nurses and veterinary students, with high-quality images to understand and interpret blood cells and haemoparasites covering a vast range of species. The Atlas is produced by Jaime Samour and Mike Hart, both world-renowned, with a wealth of experience and knowledge in their field together with contributors in diverse disciplines from around the globe.

This Atlas uses impressive images that originated from blood samples obtained from animals seen in clinical practice from at least 15 countries, from animals housed in zoological collections and from animals in their natural environment. The images cover morphological variation in mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates, followed by detailed images of morphology associated with different disease processes. This text is an excellent resource for understanding haemoresponses to pathological insults and disease.

The general introduction is invaluable, describing best practice to collect blood samples (or haemolymph in invertebrates) from the various taxa and the authors provide clear, detailed, pictures with a concise description on how to achieve successful sampling techniques. Detailed blood collection images are extensive and show pictures of sampling from the more familiar species seen in general practice such as rabbits and rodents, plus wildlife and zoological specimens such as the European beaver, Asian short-clawed otter, tiger, elephant and zebra. There are high-quality photographs accompanied by concise, but detailed, text describing sample collection from marsupials, cetaceans, and pinnipeds. The general introduction also gives in detail practical advice on blood collection from various avian species, to include the different sampling sites such as the medial metatarsal vein, the ulnar or basilic vein and the right jugular vein. Similarly, it clearly describes and demonstrates various sampling sites for diverse reptile and amphibian taxa. The closing of the introduction covers sample collection from fish, and it was very encouraging, in view of growing interest in the subject and the work of the Veterinary Invertebrate Society (VIS) to see "animals without backbones" invertebrates featured in the book, with two detailed images depicting sample collection from theraphosid spiders.

Section A covers haematology in wild and exotic animals, relating haematopoiesis, normal and abnormal red blood cells, normal and abnormal white blood cells and normal and abnormal platelets and thrombocytes across the taxa. Section B is the actual atlas of wild and exotic animal haematology, encompassing lots of full-colour photographs and illustrations that highlight normal and abnormal blood cells across the taxa. The book is easy to understand with the descriptions interpreting the haematological changes seen within the images. Section C consists of photographs and detailed descriptions on haemoparasites observed across the taxa. Section D provides a comprehensive range of normal haematology reference values for selected exotic and wild animals; this will be of great value to the clinician.

In summary, this is a great book and an essential reference guide for any practice that sees exotics, especially if in-house laboratory testing is performed. The Atlas provides the reader with an insight into the variation in blood cell morphology encountered in normal free-living species and in animals seen in zoological collections and clinical practice. All the photographs and images highlight key concepts; the introduction is an invaluable aid to gold-standard sampling techniques and it also offers practical advice in addition to demonstrating both normal and pathological changes. The Atlas has a logical organisation, with clear sections throughout, which makes it easy to gather information required in the field or clinic. A Colour Atlas of Comparative Veterinary Haematology will remain current for many years and is well- worth purchasing.

Sarah Pellett BSc(Hons) MA VetMB CertAVP (ZM) DZooMed (Reptilian) MRCVS, RCVS Recognised Specialist in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine