Edited by Louis R. Wasserman, Paul D. Berk, and Nathaniel I. Berlin. 361 pp., illustrated. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders, 1995. $100. ISBN 0-7216-4213-6.
Overproduction of red cells resulting in erythrocytosis hasbeen recognized by clinicians for more than 100 years, sincethe initial descriptions by Louis Henri Vaquez and then by WilliamOsler. As pointed out in the preface to this book, physiciansand medical scientists have been fascinated by polycythemia— not because of its public health consequences, but becauseof the interesting clinical and physiologic implications ofthis group of diseases. Studies of polycythemia have contributeddirectly to many advances in our understanding of hematopoiesisand the regulation of red-cell production, including the roleof erythropoietin. Furthermore, confirmation of the clonal . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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