This text is most appropriate for the current education and training climate in perioperative practice. Though apparently primarily designed for NVQ trainees, the book has much to offer student nurses and qualified staff working in operating departments. The opening chapters give an interesting overview of the basic principles of practice, including a clear explanation of the legal aspects of practice and the implications of this. Chapter 6-14 provide a very thorough grounding in all aspects of anaesthesia, while chapters 16 onwards cover surgery and recovery, with related anatomy and physiology included. Each chapter includes recommended further reading. Diagrams and charts are well used to clarify complex physiology and other relationships described in the text. The expanding complexity of perioperative practice is reflected in the inclusion of a chapter on endoscopy, laser and radiography equipment. Included in this is an explanation of the scientific principles of these diagnostic and therapeutic tools. The contributors offer a balance of medical, nursing and vocational backgrounds, and the text is comprehensively indexed for ease and convenience of use. As a Senior Lecturer teaching ENB 183 Anaesthetic and Operating Theatre Nursing, I shall certainly be recommending this text to my students. This book has been well conceived, planned and presented. The breadth of its coverage surpasses that of the current 'Bible' for ODP training (Understanding Anaesthesia by Carrie, Simpson and Popat) and it breaks new ground in terms of the material that is presented. This is in keeping with the diversity of its intended readership ('the generic theatre worker, be they nurse or anaesthetic assistant'). The sections about which I do know something as an anaesthetist (physiology, scientific principles of equipment and instrumentation, anaesthetic practice, emergency medicine) are clearly and concisely described in more than adequate depth and detail. I was considerably educated by the sections about which I know less than perhaps I should (ethics, the law, infection control, dressings and suture materials). I lent it to two experienced ODPs who are both involved in training and teaching, and retrieved it (with some difficulty) along with their comments. They both enthused, both commenting that they would use it as a reference work to consolidate their own training as a standard text. I shall include it in my suggestions for further reading for those undergraduate medical students who wish to widen their knowledge of operating department practice.
