Smith's Recognizable Patterns of Human Malformation

Many pediatricians and pediatrics residents own Smith's Recognizable Patterns of Malformation. However, this text is not as widely used and discussed. It's a great addition to "...Patterns of Malformation". Mechanical deformation patterns often overlap with malformation sequences, and the text is careful to separate the two and focus on deformations secondary to fetal constraint, fetal position and presentation. Many issues pertinent to general and subspecialty pediatric practice are covered. On a newborn nursery rotation, I used the book repeatedly when encountering various deformations in newborns including: calcaneovalgus, metatarsus adductus, talipes equinovarus, DDH, polydactyly (pre-axial and post-axial). The pictures are color and of high quality. Each deformity is defined. Epidemiology, work-up, management and treatment strategies are discussed. A great addition to your library if you work in a pediatric field.

I am not a physician, nor a pediatrician, and the full explanation, the references, the completeness of the book, full of images, specific and general at the same time makes it one of the best books anyone interested in the subject can hope for. The explanations of the mechanisms are also concise and clear.

As a family practice physician this book was not part of the required reading for us. We had textbooks we were provided and the only time I ran across this text was when I rotated with a genetics specialist that counseled daily on children with syndroms and malformations. I ran across just enough situations like this in the 6 years of family medicine that I ordered one for me - not only is a great reference book, but humbling to read sections from - its not so amazing that there are such a dizzying number of malformations and syndromes that can go wrong in human development - it is amazing that it usually works perfectly. This book will keep a lot of perspective in view for docs like me that face barrages of complains about colds, zits, and back pains.

This is the best book about congenital malformations available for general pediatricians. It is highly accessible and fairly easy to use. It really helps one put together a differential diagnosis for children with dysmorphic features. The price makes it a bargain that should be in every general pediatric clinic. I do have one suggested improvement: This book is perfect for conversion into a searchable CD-ROM so that one could simply key in the list of features and get back a list of possible syndromes ranked by likelihood. UPDATE 2007: The latest edition continues the book's heritage of excellence.

This is a really outstanding clinical reference. It is of particular relevance to genetic counselors, pediatric specialists, dermatologists, and other clinicians who frequently encounter patients with congenital anomalies and uncommon syndromes. Although the clinical photos are in black and white (no color), they are well chosen to illustrate the features of the (many) syndromes discussed. I have seen several texts that cover roughly the same subject matter as Smith's Recognizable Patterns of Human Malformation; however, none are as comprehensive or nearly as easy to use. I expect this text will replace MEDLINE as my initial go-to reference when I need to get info regarding patients with uncommon congenital syndromes. This text would be a bargain at twice the price! I recommend it most highly