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Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have rightfully received a great deal of research and authorship in the past decade or so. The editors have approached sexually transmitted diseases as clinical syndromes, emphasizing differential diagnosis and giving less space to treatment. Thus, after appropriate introductory chapters on anatomy, physiology, and epidemiology, separate chapters are devoted to urethritis syndromes, cervicitis syndromes, vaginal syndromes, genital ulcer syndromes, the urethral syndrome, "gay bowel" syndrome, and pelvic inflammatory disease. Several chapters have algorithms, and tables are abundant. The microbial pathogens responsible for each syndrome are discussed in each chapter; thus there is some redundancy. Additional chapters cover epidemiology, a variety of nonsyndrome STDs, and final chapters cover outpatient approaches to STDs.
The text is well written and each chapter is extensively referenced. David Eschenbach's chapter on vaginal syndromes is particularly good. The volume is directed to primary care physicians and public health workers, but will appeal to other specialists as well.