Pediatric and adolescent gynecology is an emerging subspecialty that draws from the knowledge of pediatrics, gynecology, urology, endocrinology, and surgery. Carpenter and Rock have attempted to cover the many facets of this field with a "multiauthor" text. Most of the 40 authors who have contributed to this text are from the fields of gynecology and surgery, with a few contributors from pediatrics and psychology.
Since each of the 29 chapters has a different author, the quality of the text varies from poor to excellent. Some authors have covered their topic in depth, whereas others have provided only a superficial overview. For example, the chapter on the genetics of sexual differentiation is almost 40 pages in length, while another chapter that covers the topic of precocious puberty is less than five pages. Five chapters are devoted to menstrual disorders, the most common gynecologic complaints of adolescents. This topic was divided into