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The appearance of Volume VII of the System of Ophthalmology ahead of Volumes III to VI has come as a welcome surprise to students of ophthalmology. The reason, as expressed by Sir Stewart Duke-Elder, is that "the greatest need is for re-writing the clinical sections of my textbooks which have long been out of print." It may be added that they are not out of demand, despite considerable outdated content.
The new volume is entitled, The Foundations of Ophthalmology, that is, the basis for understanding the origin, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. Logically, the first section contains heredity; this is a comprehensive, but relatively concise (113 pages), review of the history of heredity and genetics with applications to ophthalmology.
Section II, written by Norman Ashton and Duke-Elder, concerns pathology in the broad sense, that is, general pathology as applied to ophthalmology. The historical background and the correlation of ocular