often give the impression of being three-dimensional. 



Textbook and atlas have been combined in order to facilitate the study of 

 text and figures together. The figures corresponding to the text are unavoid- 

 ably spread over several preceding and following pages. In a separate atlas 

 they might have been more easily grouped together. The sequence of the in- 

 dividual chapters and subdivisions seems at some points somewhat subjective; 

 the teeth might, in our opinion, better be discussed together with the skeleton. 



This anatomical textbook and atlas surely belongs to the best works on 

 human anatomy, and is published with very great care and technical skill. It 

 can therefore be warmly recommended to all medical students and physicians 

 sufficiently acquainted with the German language. After the recent death of 

 the author, this new edition forms a lively expression and memory of his great 

 scholarship. 



P. D. NIEUWKOOP 



"EMBRYOLOGIE, 



ein Lehrbuch auf allgemein biologischer Grundlage" 



1955 



by D. Starck Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart 



688 pp. with 502 figs, partly in colour. Price: 78. — D.M. 



and a tabular appendix 



This extensive textbook on embryology, in which the author has tried to 

 make a synthesis of comparative and experimental embryology, has not only 

 been written for students, but also for scientific workers in the field of medicine 

 and biology. 



In the first, general part of this textbook, attention has been paid to the 

 development and structure of the germ cells, the processes of meiosis and ferti- 

 lization and their genetical aspects, after which cleavage, gastrulation and 

 early development have been described. After a short description of the early 

 development of some groups of meroblastic Vertebrates, the early development 

 and placentation of the mammalian embryo has been treated extensively. In this 

 general part of the book some principal results of experimental analysis have 

 been given. Some small chapters on functional adaptation during development 

 and on the various types of ontogenesis and their evolutionary significance 

 conclude this part of the book. 



The second part of the book deals with the organ development of the mam- 

 malian embryo, particularly of man, while malformations and their morpho- 

 genetic origin are extensively discussed. Finally a more theoretical chapter has 

 been devoted to the organisation of the vertebrate body and in particular to the 

 head problem. 



We appreciate it very much that the human embryology is placed in the 

 wider field of the general mammalian development by showing the many-sided 

 comparative embryological aspects of human development. We must however 

 confess that we are less enthusiastic about the synthesis of experimental and 

 comparative embryology. Although we appreciate the initiative of the author, 

 and believe that it will certainly stimulate further work in this direction, we feel 

 that the author has given himself too heavy a task. Since he is himself a des- 

 criptive and comparative embryologist, the results of experimental embryology 

 are given second place. The data given form in many cases a subjective choice 

 out of the still controversial literature. The chapters on experimental embryol- 



191 



