The incredible advances in the technique of computerised tomography that have occurred since Hounsfield first introduced the idea are amply illustrated in this small book, which is a collection of papers delivered at a symposium held in Graz in 1978. The principles and clinical applications of the technique are described, and there are sections on neuroradiology and computer tomography of the chest and abdomen. For the ophthalmologist the chapters on intracranial diagnosis will be valuable and

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... erve to demonstrate what impact this investigation has on neurophthalmology and what advantages it has over many of the alternative methods of diagnosis. The management of cataracts has a never failing interest for ophthalmologists, and this excellently edited volume gives a very clear picture of the state of cataract management and particularly surgery in the western world in 1978. The congress was well planned in order to cover every aspect of the problems involvedsocial, medical, surgical, and optical and the papers are divided into 7 sessions ranging between 6 and 15 papers each. The first session deals with the social aspects of cataract and the broad principles of modern management. Of particular interest in this session was an article on the biochemistry of cataract by A. J. Bron and another broad survey of anaesthesia in cataract surgery by Ariano and Salvoni. The second session deals with cataract in the adult and covers all the technical advances which have occurred around the world, including well tried techniques with which most of us are familiar as well as phacoemulsification and ultrasonic fragmentation. In this session there are 2 particularly interesting papers, that of J. Barraquer on intracapsular lens extraction, and the other by A. E. Maumanee summing up the role of phacoemulsification. The next three sessions deal with congenital cataracts and cataracts of the young, incisions and sutures, wound healing, and surgical complications. Most of these papers are short and to the point, but again the paper by Barraquer was particularly well presented and very neatly illustrated. The last 2 sessions are concerned with the optics of aphakia and with intraocular implants. The organisers of the congress have clearly been at pains not to allow this particularly controversial part of the programme to dominate the proceedings, and the views expressed are varied and well balanced. Most British ophthalmologists will find nothing specially new in this volume, but there are many excellently written articles which are well worth reading. It is clear from the wide array of techniques described that there is still no clear indication of what is and what is not correct surgery for cataracts, and the widely differing views fail to show in which way cataract surgery is likely to progress over the next 20 years. There is evidently ample room for improvement and innovation.