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Veterinary Comparative Hematopathology, written by Victor E. Valli DVM, was released in 2007 by Blackwell Publishing. Valli, with the guidance and support of many chapter reviewers and colleagues, has written an informative text on hematopoietic neoplasia in veterinary medicine, not simply a review of human hematopoietic disease as found in animals. This reference is intended to assist the veterinary pathologist and oncologist to more concretely categorize hematopathology using the WHO system of classifying tumors, thus enabling a more accurate diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis for the veterinary patient.
The text is organized into 10 chapters, the first of which provides a comprehensive review of normal and benign reactive hematopoietic tissues. Specific hematopoietic organs are described independently within the chapter with their associated developmental or degenerative pathology, such as the lymph nodes, spleen, thymus, and bone marrow. Excellent photographs of histological preparations enhance this chapter and throughout the text utilizing a variety of staining techniques. Although most general veterinary practitioners have some basic knowledge in reading blood and impression smears, he or she usually lacks the expertise and equipment to evaluate tissue and fluid samples, thereby relying heavily upon the pathologists and oncologists for precise diagnosis and staging of disease.
Subsequent chapters include detailed information concerning B-cell neoplasias, acute myeloid leukemias, myelodysplastic syndromes, and histiocytoses among others. The recognizable animal hematopoietic neoplasias are described in detail and compared to the human “equivalent” of the particular animal diseases. At present there exist some human hematopoietic diseases for which science has not discovered a corresponding animal disease type. Reference data is included for identification and diagnostic purposes for when and if those diseases are uncovered in domestic animals. Subtle differences in tumor type versus reactive tissue are defined and the photomicrographs are clearly labeled and described.