Book excerpt: Elements of Hygiene and Public Health: For the Use of Medical Students and Practitioners, Second Edition explores India's hygiene and public health status. This book is composed of 24 chapters. The first four chapters deal with the elements of hygiene, including water, air, ventilation, heating, and cooling. The subsequent chapters discuss industrial hygiene, occupational diseases, offensive trades, hospitals, school hygiene, and some infectious diseases. These topics are followed by surveys of other elements of hygiene and public health, such as food, refuse disposal, and personal hygiene. The remaining chapters tackle the issue of village sanitation, sanitary arrangements for fairs, the chief cause of the spread of cholera in Northern India, and the measures recommended for famine and segregation. This book will prove useful to medical practitioners, sanitary inspectors, health personnel, and medical students.