Monographs 

 57. 



B.K.HALL. 1978. DEVELOPMENTAL AND CELLULAR SKELETAL BIOLOGY 



Academic Press, New York, etc. X,304 pp., 32 figs., 23 tabs., author and sub- 

 ject indexes. $ 21.00, £ 13.65 



Contents: 1. Types of skeletal tissues, 2. The evolution of skeletal tis- 

 sues, 3. The origin of skeletal cell types, 4. Location of the skeleton 

 within the embryo, 5. Initiation of centres of skeletogenesis, 6. Progen- 

 itor cells and their differentiation, 7. Maintenance of the differentiated 

 state, 8. Polarity and morphogenesis, 9. Initiation of skeletal growth 



This monograph by a leading investigator in the field is a welcome overview 

 of what is known of the origin, differentiation and growth of the skeleton, 

 with special reference to the vertebrates. It is partly analytical and part- 

 ly compilatory in nature. The author's approach is very broad indeed and many 

 categories of readers will benefit from the book in various ways. Although 

 some subjects (such as limb development) are spread out over various chapters, 

 unity is maintained through cross referencing. 



Although amphibian limb regeneration is referred to in various places, the 

 subject of skeletal regeneration and repair as such is virtually absent: for 

 instance, there is no reference to the promising work on skull bone regenera- 

 tion in Russia. 



Much information is assembled in useful tables. Illustrations (mostly dia- 

 grams) are reduced to a minimum. The bibliography contains some 1,600 refer- 

 ences (unfortunately without full titles) and is up to date until the end of 

 1977. 



58. 



V. HAMBURGER. 1977. THE DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY OF THE MOTOR NEURON 



MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. Neurosciences Research Program Bull, vol.15, 



suppl. 37 pp., 23 figs. 



Well-illustrated survey based almost exclusively on work in the chick 

 embryo; bibliography of 68 titles, running into 1976. 



May be borrowed from the Central Embryological Library, Hubrecht Labora- 

 tory, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht (Netherlands) 



59. 



M.JACOBSON, ed. 1978. DEVELOPMENT OF SENSORY SYSTEMS 



Springer, Berlin, etc. Handbook of Sensory Physiology, vol.9. XII, 469 pp., 



231 figs., 9 tabs., author and subject indexes. DM 230.00, $ 115.00, £ 63.00 



Contents: 1. Development of sensory systems in arthropods (Bate); 2. Con- 

 tinuous nerve cell renewal in the olfactory system (Graziadei, Monti 

 Graziadei) ; 3. The interactions of periphery and center in the development 

 of dorsal root ganglia (Hughes, Carr) ; 4. Visual behaviour development in 

 nonmammalian vertebrates (Ingle); 5. Ontogeny of structure and function in 

 the vertebrate auditory system (Rubel) ; 6. The development of somatosensory 

 thalamus in mammals (Scheibel and Scheibel) ; 7. Functional modification of 

 the developing visual system (Hirsch and Leventhal) ; 8. Development of 

 cutaneous sensory receptors in birds (Saxod) ; 9. Cell death during develop- 

 ment of the nervous system (Silver) 



This is a collection of reviews of greatly varying length and scope and 

 with little internal cohesion. The only connecting thread is the editor's 

 introduction, which deals in a general way with the nature of hypotheses in 

 this field. No justification is provided for the choice of subjects. The 

 conspicuous absence of a chapter on the development of the retino-tectal 



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