Catalog of Causes

Reviews the book, Medical Aspects of Mental Retardation by Charles H. Carter (Ed.) (1965). This weighty volume is a medical handbook of diseases associated with mental retardation (MR). Chapter 1 is concerned with diagnosis and here the author advocates that the practicing physician acquire psychological test skills in order to detect MR in the preschool years. Chapters 5, 6, and 7 relate nutritional, epilepsy and EEG, and genetic factors to MR, respectively. These papers are little more than summaries. Chapter 8 is long, providing a more thorough treatment of the neuroanatomical effects of birth injury. The material is illustrated with many pictures of pathological materials Chapters 9 through 12 deal with physical injury to the nervous system of one sort or another. Chapter 15 deals with various infectious diseases of the nervous system. The remainder of the book runs the gamut of diseases and conditions associated with mental retardation, both the extremely rare as well as the more common conditions. This volume will fulfill one of the purposes set-forth by the author, i.e, to aid the general practitioner in diagnosing various conditions associated with MR. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)