CAP Author Chat - Dr. Eric Glassy and the Expanded Color Atlas of Hematology

• Purchase Color Atlas of Hematology from the CAP Online Store

Julie McDowell:

Dr. Eric Glassy has just released a new volume of his popular Color Atlas of Hematology which delves into the morphology, physiology, and pathophysiology of bone marrow. Like the first volume, this publication offers not only the morphology, but also vital statistics, illustrations, discussions, and photo micrographs as Dr. Glassy explains in this CAPcast interview.

Dr. Glassy, congratulations on this new volume of the Color Atlas of Hematology. It's been several years since the first volume was published and it's apparent you've been really busy with this new volume. What features and content of this new volume are you most proud?

Dr. Eric Glassy:

Hey, thanks Julie for having me on the podcast. I appreciate it. I want to say that all the authors and senior editors are just delighted to be able to have this book finally published. What am I most proud of? I'd say the richness of the book. Its emphasis on imagery and morphology. To me, reading this atlas is an immersive experience. There are nearly a thousand photographs, 225 illustrations, 125 virtual smears that can be navigated using the CAP's digital scope software. And each of these has a QR code link in the book to allow you to access the images using a mobile device like a tablet or your computer screen. In addition, there's another unique feature. There are over 15 video vignettes of topics that the various authors were passionate about, so you can again, access those on videos hosted by the CAP using a QR code. There really isn't any atlas out there that has so much variety. I want to particularly emphasize the virtual smears. These show the various bone marrow elements in context, so virtual smears provide as close to a real life glass fueling experience and using an analog microscope as possible, and this keeps with the tenant, the basic tenant of proficiency testing, which treat all specimens as if they were from the patient.

Finally, besides just looking good, the atlas I think is a worker's book. It is full of diagnostic pearls, and it's designed to be what I like to call a guide at the side, allowing you to access it as you're viewing smears to help with your morphologic identification.

Julie McDowell:

And can you tell us a little bit about how the book is organized?

Dr. Eric Glassy:

Well, like its predecessors, Julie, the book is similar to the peripheral blood Color Atlas of Hematology. It's based on proficiency testing challenges, and that is its origin story volume one focused on peripheral blood, and now volume two is focused on cells and other features of the bone marrow. There is an introduction, which contains text and illustrations regarding bone marrow sampling, the contents of the marrow microenvironment. There are discussions of smear differentials, and finally, a section on artificial intelligence, which is an emerging field in hematology. There follows then the main chapters which deal with nucleated red blood cells, granulocytes and monocytes. There's a very nice chapter on megakaryocytes blasts, lymphocytes and plasma cells, and finally, a miscellaneous bone marrow cell chapter. Each of these cells and bone marrow features have associated vital statistics. There are also illustrations highlighting pertinent morphologic features and a discussion about the cells following that, our proficiency testing photo micrographs and the virtual smear links. The book is also peppered with a lot of sections called closer looks, and these provide a deeper dive into important concepts.

Julie McDowell:

Can you talk a bit about what sources of information you used for this book?

Dr. Eric Glassy:

Sure. The backbone of the book is proficiency testing. So the CAP started the virtual bone marrow proficiency testing program in I think 2010. Examples are included throughout the book, as I said, and also in the appendix. There are links to all the virtual bone marrow cases at the end of the book. In addition, each author provided their own cases to supplement the proficiency, testing images and whole slide data. In particular, I want to single out Dr. Patrick Ward. He is emeritus professor at the University of Minnesota in Duluth, and he was a mighty contributor. He is one of the world's best morphologists. He gave us access to a treasure trove of really superb marrow smear photographs. He has, I think, probably one of the finest collection of hematology and urine photo micrographs in the world and was very generous in allowing us to use those.

Julie McDowell:

Now as senior editor, you certainly played a leading role in developing this publication, but can you talk a little bit more about the associate editors who you worked with?

Dr. Eric Glassy:

My two fellow editors, once again, need special recognition doctors, Katherine Galagan and David Blomberg. We have worked together on five atlases for the CAP over the years. Each brings their unique skills in creating this atlas. And besides just being subject matter experts, they're also really good at understanding the publishing business and what it takes to make a really good atlas. They share senior editorship with me and we're always available for inspiration, and this book never would've been published without their unflagging assistance. I'm also proud of the contributors to this book, the 18 authors who are members or were members of the Hematology and Clinical Microscopy Committee. All were really great to work with.

Julie McDowell:

Well, thanks again for discussing this new volume on this podcast. Any concluding thoughts you'd like to share?

Dr. Eric Glassy:

Yeah. Well, personally, I think I'd just say this has been a great experience. The CAP has been terrific to work with and supporting this entire process. They've given me a lot of latitude in terms of how the book is laid out, and I very much appreciate that. Also, one of the more gratifying feelings any author has is that their book is actually being used. It's not just decoration on the bookshelf. And I've had a number of folks over the years say that the CAP atlases are their go-to books in the laboratory. And when you do lab inspections, it's always gratifying to see the atlases in a prominent place in the laboratory. And finally, we're all used to Zoom calls and it's really great to see one or two of the atlases in the background of my pathology colleagues' offices. So the fact that they're being used that this new book's going to be out in the wild in another couple of weeks, it's all very gratifying and it's just a terrific opportunity for me to share my vision of what an atlas should be within the pathology community.

Julie McDowell:

Well, thank you again, Dr. Glassy, and congratulations on the release of this publication.

Dr. Eric Glassy:

Yes, thank you very much for having me on the podcast, Julie. I appreciate it.

Julie McDowell:

To purchase Dr. Glassy's new volume of his popular Color Atlas of Hematology, please visit estore.cap.org and search for the publication under the book's title. Thank you for listening to this CAPcast. To listen to other episodes, find us on the MyCAP app, available for CAP members as well as SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, and Amazon Music to search for CAPcast from the College of American Pathologists on these apps. Once you find our podcast, be sure to click the subscribe button so you don't miss any new CAPcast episodes.

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