274 Editoriais [March, 



The BiocHEMicAL Bulletin promptly acknowledges here the receipt of pub- 



lications presented to it. Reviews are matter-of-fact Statements of the nature 



ry , . j and Contents of the publications referred to, and are 



Books received • . j j » » . j . .7 . , , . , 



mtended solely to guide possible purchasers ; the wishes 



er expectations of publishers er donors of volumes will be disregarded, if they 



are incompatible with our convictions regarding the interests of our colleagues. 



The sises of the printed pages are indicated, in inches, in the appended notices. 



Edema and nephritis: A critical, experimental and clinical study of the 

 physiology and pathology of water absorption in the living organism. 2d ed. 

 By Martin H. Fischer, Eichberg prof. of physiol., Univ. of Cincinnati. Pp. 

 695 — 4x6^ ; $5.00. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1915. " These pages give 

 in combined form the contents of the 1909 Hatfield prize essay of the Coli, of 

 Phys., of Phila., and of the 191 1 Cartwright prize essay of the Alumni Assoc. 

 of the Coli, of Phys. and Surg., Columbia Univ., previously published as separate 

 volumes bearing the titles ' Edema ' and ' Nephritis.' The close association be- 

 tween the two made their appearance in combined form seem advisable. The 

 Chief changes which time has rendered necessary consist of additions to the 

 general text embodying the results of later experimental and clinical observa- 

 tions in good part not readily accessible to English readers — the main argument 

 remains as hefore." 



Among the changes in the treatment of these subjects is an added section 

 on the relation of syneresis to the accumulation of fluid in body cavities in edema 

 (pp. 240-2). Special attention is also given to the possible influences of enzymes 

 as factors in the causation of edema (p. 220). Ref erring specifically to the röle 

 of acid, Fischer says : " I have never held an acid production and accumulation 

 to constitute, of necessity, the only factor responsible for the increased hydration 

 which characterizes edema" (p. 220). " My constantly reiterated claim that 

 certain changes in tissues are due to an 'increased acid content' cannot at will 

 he made to read an 'increased (hydrogen ton) acidity.' The latter may under 

 otherwise constant conditions become evidence of the former, but the reverse 

 need not f ollow " (p. 633). Recent criticisms by Henderson and collaborators 

 are considered on pages 633-4. This book deserves to be studied by every inves- 

 tigator of Problems involving the biological relationships of water, for it pre- 

 sents effectively, and in a stimulating and interesting manner, from many points 

 of view, the gist of our knowledge, theories, doubts and errors on this important 

 general subjecL 



A review of the literature of phosphorus Compounds in animal metabo- 

 lism. By E. B. Forbes and M. Helen Keith, Wooster, Ohio. Pp. 74&— 4Hx7J4. 

 Ohio Agric. Exp. Sta'n Technical Series, Bull. No. 5. This comprehensive re- 

 view is recommended unreservedly as the best work of reference on phosphorus 

 in its relation to normal animal nutrition. The parts (pp. 13-588) are (i), 

 Chem. of organic Compounds of P; (2) P of f oods ; (3) P of animal bodies and 

 products; (4) normal P metab. ; (5) P metab. in disease. An unusually com- 

 plete bibliography is appended (pp. 589-709), including the title of each paper 

 mentioned; and a complete and detailed index is included (pp. 711-48). The 

 spirit in which this splendid achievement was conceived and executed is indicated 

 by the following Quotation from the introduction (p. 11) : 



