Web Review

http://www.asccp.org

Official Web site of the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology.

The official site of the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) is found at http://www.asccp.org. This free Web site is designed to encourage ongoing education in the field of lower genital-tract disease.

Overall, the site is easy to navigate; the home page has main headings on ASCCP information, educational materials, membership and educational forums. The home page requires a bit of navigating to access all of the information, which is located mainly on the right-hand side of the page. There is no search function, but the links are easily viewable. The site is current for Continuing Medical Education courses and for the vulvar and vaginal sections. A cervix section is under construction.

The vagina page includes discussions of vaginal colposcopy, vaginal anatomy and vaginal neoplasia. The vulvar section includes papers on anatomy and embryology, as well as information about specific disorders, such as lichen planus and benign and inflammatory conditions of the vulva. The ASCCP Management Guideline about appropriate follow-up of ASCUS (atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance), complete with references, is also available.

Many links take viewers to educational subsections that contain various colposcopic images of normal and abnormal findings. A “Colpo Challenge” periodically presents a brief clinical scenario along with colposcopic images and a question, with the last new case originating in May of 1998 (as of October, 2000). Answers are provided. Links to patient information sources are also included.

One particularly helpful set of links provides a table of topics (e.g., Questions and Answers about DES), the source (e.g., the National Cancer Institute), an ASCCP comment and the URL (if available) for the material recommended.

Key attractions of this site are sections on vulvar and vaginal disease, information on a colposcopic mentoring program and descriptions of excellent educational materials for colposcopy education that can be ordered through ASCCP (although not on line), including videos, CD-ROMs and slide sets.

The site is commercial-free; viewers are encouraged to become members of the ASCCP. The graphics are good and correspond well to the sections they represent, but at times loading these images was a slow process. The intended audience for this site is any health care provider who deals with lower genital-tract disease, especially those who do colposcopy.

Book Review

Men's Health

Edited by Roger Kirby, Michael Kirby and Riad Farah. Pp. 254. Price, $59.95. ISIS Medical Media, 59 St. Aldates, Oxford OX1 1 ST, UK, 1999. Phone: 0-186-520-2939. ISBN: 1-899-06692-6.

Much attention has recently been given to gender differences in medical situations, ranging from health promotion and disease prevention to manifestation of diseases and therapy. In recent years, a good part of this attention has focused on women's health. This book offers a valuable overview of topics related to men's health, which primary care physicians in a busy clinical practice can use for quick reviews.

The book begins with a historical perspective of “the gender gap” and suggestions for improving the health of men worldwide. Following is a quite thorough review of specific conditions that occur exclusively in men or that manifest differently between genders. Some topics include prostate disease, testicular cancer, hernias, premature death in men, heart disease, suicide, male sexual dysfunction, male menopause, risk-taking behavior and setting up a well-man clinic in primary care.

High-quality graphics and photographs accompany a generous number of tables. Although written in British English, the book is easy to read because it maintains a simple structure. All 20 chapters are brief overviews of medical issues relevant to men, with the topics organized in a nontraditional way. As commonly occurs with women's health books, the selection of topics is too extensive.

Although the book is written and edited by clinicians in the United Kingdom and the United States, the focus is mainly British. As such, most statistics and epidemiologic data apply to the United Kingdom and not to the United States. In addition, the book does not put much emphasis on ethnicity and culture as major contributors to disease. For instance, the health issues of gay men are only discussed as they relate to sexually transmitted diseases and anorectal pathology.

I was particularly impressed, however, with the final chapter, which deals with setting up a “well-man clinic” in primary care. In this discussion, the benefits of developing a well-man clinic are balanced with the difficulties that may be encountered in trying to establish such a clinic. Finally, there is a discussion about how to proceed with six essential steps in developing an efficient clinic.

This book is most useful when a quick answer is needed about a common problem in the field of men's health—it is not an exhaustive review of specific topics.

Also Received

A Clinician's Guide to Medical and Surgical Abortion

By Maureen Paul, M.D., M.P.H., E. Steve Lichtenberg, M.D., M.P.H., Lynn Borgatta, M.D., M.PH., et al. Pp. 370. Price, $95.00. W. B. Saunders Company, The Curtis Center, Independence Square; Philadelphia, PA 19106-3399, 1999. Phone: 215-238-7800. ISBN: 0-44-30-75298

Healing Moves

By Carol Krucoff and Mitchell Krucoff, M.D. Pp. 336. Price, $24.00. Crown Publishing, 201 East 50th St., New York City, NY 10022, 2000. Phone: 212-572-2537. ISBN: 0-609-60222-5.

Syndrome X: Overcoming the Silent Killer

By Gerald Reaven, Terry Kristen Strom and Barry Fox. Pp. 284. Price, $25.00. Simon and Schuster, Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, 2000. Phone: 800-223-2336. ISBN: 0-684-86862-8.

Thriving in the New Managed Care Environment: Selecting the Right Strategy for Your Practice

By Richard V. Stenson, M.H.A., M.B.A., F.A.C.M.P.E., F.A.C.H.E. Pp. 320. Price $ 49.95. Bookpartners, P.O. Box 922, Wilsonville, OR 97070, 1999. Phone: 503-682-9821. ISBN: 158151-030-6.