14 PRACTICAL EMBRYOLOGY 



1969 

 by C. H. Barnett Pitman Medical Publ. Comp. Ltd. 



124 pp., 62 figs. London 



(paper-bound) SBN 272 I'^Z'il X 



Price: 15 s. 



This is a practical manual intended for use in conjunction with laboratory 

 classes dealing with the structure of the early mammalian embryo. It has been 

 planned so that it can serve as a substitute for the study of actual microscopic 

 sections, if aided by adequate demonstrations. The text is concise. 



The book is largely based on the 8 mm pig embryo. It consists of the 

 following sections: 1. the chorionic sac and the placenta (4 drawings); 2. the 

 external form of the 8 mm pig embryo (1 drawing); 3. selected sagittal sections 

 (4 drawings); 4. correlation of external form with transverse sections (16 figs, 

 partly "exploded" in toto photographs, partly photographs and corresponding 

 drawings of sections); 5. selected transverse sections (31 drawings); 6. a brief 

 section illustrating the principle of graphic reconstruction (2 drawings); some 

 features of older embryos (18 mm pig) (8 drawings). The book ends with 

 suggestions for a brief practical course, consisting of six sessions of two hours 

 each, based on the material in this book. 



The drawings are simple sketches, such as the student himself might make. 

 The photographs are not very satisfactory. Most are too dark and show little 

 detail. This is a drawback particularly if the student is expected to do without 

 actual slides, as the author suggests. It is also awkward that the figures are 

 referred to by number only on the text pages. Several figure numbers have 

 dropped out altogether. There are some mistakes in the references to figures. 

 The book is concluded by and index to structures. 



15 BIOLOGIA DEL DESARROLLO 



Fundamentos de Embriologia 



1969 



by J. M. Genis Galvez Editorial Espaxs 



406 pp., 394 figs. Barcelona 



The author of this textbook of embryology is Professor of Anatomy in the 

 University of Granada. The book is primarily meant for medical students, but 

 the word "biology" in the title is intentional. It has been the author's aim to 

 integrate the facts of human development with the results of modern research 

 in developmental biology. 



At first sight the organization of the book appears conventional. However, 

 the first thing that attracts attention is the inclusion of a chapter entitled 

 "Molecular bases of development", which discusses such subjects as the 

 genetic code, transcription and translation, regulation of gene activity, and 

 differential protein synthesis during development. Moreover, throughout the 

 book ample attention is devoted to experimental-embryological, biochemical, 

 and ultrastructural findings, sometimes very recent ones. This makes the book 

 very stimulating to read. It is regrettable, therefore, that no literature referen- 

 ces whatsoever are provided for further reading. (It is also a pity that rather 

 many misspellings occur in the names of the numerous foreign authors cited 

 in the text.) 



The emphasis throughout the book is of course on human development, 

 but frequently other data are also adduced, particularly to illustrate experi- 

 mental findings. A chapter following that on fertilization briefly describes 

 the early development of Amphioxus, the frog, and the chick. Later another 

 brief chapter is devoted to primary induction. A separate chapter on the 

 development of the heart was contributed by Prof. Orts Llorca of Madrid. 



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