gosity determination is still based on "a mixture of conjecture, false assumption 

 and contrasting evidence". 



While delving into the earlier literature, they in a sense rediscovered the 

 important contributions made by the German physician F. Schatz (1841 — 1920), 

 and consequently much attention is given to his work, many passages are quoted 

 in English translation, and many of his illustrations are reproduced. 



The book starts with an historical review of the problem, and then proceeds to 

 discuss developmental aspects, the frequency and nature of the possible vascular 

 communications between the placentae, and the influence that these abnormalities 

 may have on the course of the intrauterine and extrauterine life of the twins. 

 The book is closed by a brief chapter entitled "The future of twin studies". 



The book is remarkably well-produced and the numerous illustrations, inclu- 

 ding many coloured plates, are of high quality (unfortunately the numbering of 

 fig. 6.4 has dropped out altogether). It is a pity that the name Stalpart van der 

 Wiel, correctly spelled in the bibliography, is misspelled in the text and the 

 captions of figs. 1.2 and 1.3. 



The bibliography comprises 674 titles. There is a subject index, as well as a 

 separate index to references not cited in the text, but which may be of interest 

 to the readers. 



(See also review no. 19 above) 



30 STUDIES OF THE DEVELOPMENT 



AND DECAY OF THE HUMAN FRAME 

 1968 



By J. Trueta William Heinemann Medical Books Ltd. 



399 pp., 503 figs. London 



Price: 126 s. 



The author of this book is Nuffield Professor Emeritus of Orthopaedic Sur- 

 gery, University of Oxford. The book is of particular interest to members of 

 the medical profession, but will be read with profit by those interested in the 

 development of cartilage and bone as tissues in higher vertebrates. 



The book is based for the greater part on the results of clinical and laboratory 

 research carried out over a long period by the author and several investigators 

 associated with him at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. The viewpoints present- 

 ed often have a strong personal flavour; perhaps the most prominent original 

 contribution, and one which pervades the whole book, is the idea that bone is a 

 tissue of vascular origin, and that consequently the vascular system is the major 

 factor in bone development. 



Of the four parts of which the book consists, the second, entitled "From 

 conception to manhood", is ondoubtedly the one that is of most immediate interest 

 to embryologists interested in skeletal development. It covers 122 pages and 

 describes various aspects of skeleton and joint development in the foetus and the 

 child, and their correlation with vascular development. Part one contains chapters 

 on osteogenesis and the role of blood vessels, on calcification, on mechanical 

 forces and bone shape, on bone resorption, and on the role of endocrine glands 

 and vitamins. Parts three and four deal with skeletal pathology and regeneration, 

 and with bone changes in old age. 



The book is printed in two columns on a format that is somewhat too large 



29 



