Marcondes, C. B. 2001. Entomologia médica e veterinária. Atheneu; São Paulo, Brazil, xvi + 432 pp. Paperback, 21 × 28 cm (8.25 × 11 inches). ISBN 85-7379-319-8. Reais 78.00 (US $38.50 by mail from the publisher, Editora Atheneu: atheneu-sp@atheneu.com.br).
Reviews of three related books were published in Florida Entomologist in 2000 (volume 83). The books were by Goddard 2000, Infectious diseases and arthropods (83: 384), Méndez 1999, Insectos y otros artrópodos de importancia médica y veterinaria (83: 503-504), and Service 2000, Medical entomology for students (83: 384-386). This new book by Carlos Brisola Marcondes differs from the others in three main aspects. First, it is of larger format and also has more pages, so contains much more information. Second, its information is very nearly restricted to hematophagous (blood-sucking) arthropods, with exception only by inclusion of some non-biting flies and mites. Third, it is in Portuguese and focuses on Brazil, with relevance to other parts of South America.
The core chapters are 3, flebotomíneos-phlebotomine psychodids; 4, simulídeos—simuliids; 5, ceratopogonídeos—ceratopogonids; 6, culicídeos—culicids; 7, tabanídeos—tabanids; 8, moscas—Musca, Muscina, Stomoxys, Haematobia, Dermatobia, Oestrus, Cochliomyia, Gasterophilus, Wohlfahrtia, Hypoderma, and other flies; 9, pulgas—fleas; 10, piolhos—lice (mammalian- and avian-lice, Phthiraptera, formerly Anoplura and Mallophaga); 11, hemípteros—triatomine reduviids and cimicids; and 12, ácaros—ticks and mites. Each of these chapters includes information on classification, distribution, structure, behavior, life cycle, methods for rearing, trapping, and control, and brief information on the disease organisms transmitted to people and other vertebrates. Some chapters were written by contributing authors: 4 by Márcia Itiberê da Cunha, 6 by Ana Leuch Lozovei, 7 by Rosângela Bassi, 9 and 10 by Pedro Marcos Linardi, and 12 by Nicolau Maués Serra-Freire. The most remarkable chapters are 10 (lice, 56 pages) and 12 (ticks and mites, 53 pages) which expand the information presented to a much more detailed level than in the three books mentioned in the first paragraph above; each is longer than the chapter on mosquitoes.
The ancillary chapters are 1, a 6-page introduction to morphology and physiology of hematophagous arthropods; 2, a 6-page intro-duction to hematophagy; 13, a 10-page review of methods of collection and preparation; 14, a 16-page review of the principles of control of these arthropods; 15, a 16-page summary of species concepts, phylogenetics, and cytogenetic methods for distinguishing species; and 16, a 10-page account of remote sensing for monitoring populations of pest insects. Chapters 15 (by Jean-Pierre Dujardin) and 16 (by Raquel Gleiser) were translated into Portuguese from Spanish.
Most of the illustrations are black-and-white drawings. Some are black-and-white photographs. About a dozen of the photographs, mainly of objects shown in transmitted-light microscopy, such as fleas and lice and cimicids, are rendered in color, scattered on the text pages which are all of the same matte paper stock. Most of those photographs would have been clear enough in black-and-white. The chapters are followed by a 32-page combined bibliography, a 4-page glossary, and a 28-page combined index. The references in the text are numerical, so they waste no space in referring to the bibliography.
The principal author’s introduction (p. xiii-xiv) states that this is the first general book on arthropods of medical importance with especial reference to Brazil. The preface (p. xi) by David Pereira Neves states that it is especially important for students and health professionals. If it is designed for students, then its objective must be to present, at moderate cost, which it does, the information that Brazilian teachers of medical and veterinary entomology deem is most important for their students to learn. If it is designed for health professionals, then it may be more comprehensive, to serve as a reference for all aspects of medical and veterinary entomology, and may sell for a higher price. That it has much more information, perhaps twice as much, as do the earlier-reviewed books [paragraph 1 above, of which one (Service 2000) was designed expressly for students] but yet is not fully comprehensive suggests that objectives were not initially fully defined. It is not fully comprehensive because it does not deal with stinging and otherwise toxic non-hematophagous arthropods of medical and veterinary importance [compare with Méndez (1999) cited in paragraph 1 above]. It does not include medical and veterinary methods for diagnosis and treatment of diseases [compare with Goddard (1999) cited in paragraph 1 above], although such subjects fall outside the scope of entomology. Perhaps some adventurous publisher will see the need for companion books: (a) medical and veterinary entomology, (b) diagnosis and treatment of diseases caused or transmitted to vertebrate animals by arthropods, and (c) diagnosis and treatment of diseases caused or transmitted to humans by arthropods. This new book is a very worthy first entry, which should serve for many years into the future. It will be interesting to see what changes the author decides to make at its second edition.
