The Book of Cells: A Breviary of Cytopathology

Every single cytotechnologist and cytopathologist I know has this in their personal library. It is the single best bench/scope companion you can have! The pictures are detailed, though often recycled from his previous published works. It is up to date on terms, contains fun little tid bits/humor to lighten the read, is concise, contains bulleted key points for quick reference, a few good tables/charts, and is just plain gorgeous as another review stated. It is what textbooks should strive to be like!

I am not a cytopathologist. In fact, I always felt that cytopath was a bit mystical. But nonetheless, I was asked to give my thoughts on this curiously-named new book by Richard Mac DeMay, The Book of Cells: A Breviary of Cytopathology. Even looking at the cover of the book confirmed my suspicions...cytopath is indeed an elusive and arcane branch of magic. This tome looks like it came straight from the Hogwarts library. Opening the book and fearing that I might be stricken by some ancient curse, I was pleasantly surprised to see each page richly styled with a medieval font that takes one straight to a Renaissance Fair. Also, there are pictures. SO many pictures. Amazing beautiful high quality images of all varieties of cytopathology findings, gorgeous enough to excite even a non-cytopathologist like me. But this is more than just an atlas. The text itself is not merely afterthought or filler. DeMay explains his practical approaches to cytopathology dilemmas with a conversational tone, clarity, and even a bit of humor. Numerous useful tables and lists are also included comparing and contrasting features between cytopathology mimics and listing entities that exhibit various cytologic findings. Clearly, this book was created by a highly skilled wizard. It is beautiful enough to sit on your coffee table but also practical enough to sit next to your microscope. I also award points to DeMay purely for elegance and style. It’s more than just the high quality pictures and the clever font. The cover of the book is partially made of cloth, has gold embossed lettering, and is artistically arranged. The pages are made of heavier stock and have a matte finish…they feel as good as they look. Maybe these things seem minor, but in an age when cheaply made textbooks abound, the quality here instantly stands out. More pathology textbooks should look and feel like this one. Authors and publishers take note...THIS is how it's done. Had I read this book as a first year pathology resident, it is quite possible that my career would have followed a very different course. As it is, I ended up as a non-cytopathologist. I realized that this book would do more good for the world if it were owned by a cytopathologist rather than by me, so I decided to give it to our cytopath fellow as a graduation gift. But I have to admit that I truly feel a twinge of regret to let go of this book. It has cast a strange spell on me…

The Book of Cells is a triumph from Dr. DeMay! Smaller than his two larger tomes, this concise manual provides beautiful illustrations of thousands of cells from normal to abnormal with excellent brief summaries of the relevant pathological points. The book is organized by specimen type for the major cytology groups and includes a fascinating section called "Building Blocks" which is ideal to set the stage for complex cytological cases. I think this book is excellent for the beginning cytology trainee or the career cytopathologist and is a welcome addition to the field!