Methods (see also 35) 



Treatises 



98 



METHODS IN MAMMALIAN EMBRYOLOGY. 1971. Edited by J. C. DANIEL, Jr. 



Freeman, San Francisco. 550 pp., 187 figs., 34 tabs., subject index. ISBN 7167 0819 1. £ 10.70, 



$ 22.50 



The methods for observing and experimenting on mammalian embryos develop rapidly, and 

 are often published incompletely and in widely differing media. Therefore this book will be 

 most welcome to all those who work or are preparing to work in this field, including labora- 

 tory animal specialists and students. 



The book contains 34 chapters written by 43 carefully chosen specialists. The treatment is 

 usually much more detailed than is possible in ordinary publications. Moreover the chapter 

 bibliographies give all the important primary literature, including some of the most recent 

 references. The applications of each method to those species for which it is particularly well 

 suited are described, so that all laboratory mammals and several domestic mammals are 

 represented. 



About two thirds of the book are devoted to early stages of development and pregnancy 

 (up to and including blastocyst implantation), and to the procurement of egg cells and their 

 fertilization. In this area the book is very comprehensive. The treatment of the placenta, the 

 fetus, and the fetal membranes is much less complete. Organ culture is described only for the 

 mammary gland, the embryonic ovary and oviduct, and the postnatal testis. 



The following methodological areas, among others, are covered: experimental embryology, 

 egg transfer, embryo culture, in vivo observation techniques, electron microscopy, biochemistry, 

 and physiology. The book is extremely well produced and is illustrated with numerous beautiful 

 photographs and excellent drawings. 



Textbooks 

 99 



EMBRYOLOGISCHE UNTERSUCHUNGSMETHODEN FDR LABORATORIUMSSAUGETIERE. 1970. 



By G. H. M. GOTTSCHEWSKI and W. ZIMMERMANN 



Schaper, Hannover. 144 pp., 33 figs., 11 tabs., author index. ISBN 3 7944 0001 1. DM 45 — 



(paper) 



This little book can be described as a compendium for those who work experimentally with 

 laboratory mammals, particularly the rabbit. It contains a wealth of useful data, but at the 

 same time is so concise that the reader is frequently referred to the original literature for more 

 details. 



The first 20 pages present a brief survey of the main phases of mammalian development. 

 The next 20 pages give the essentials of the breeding, care and genetical manipulation of 

 rabbits. Next comes a section of about 40 pages dealing with all the current investigative 

 methods of a general nature, such as artificial insemination, narcosis, surgical techniques, the 

 procurement of developmental stages, ovum transplantation, and a variety of preparative, 

 histological, and biochemical (micro)methods suitable for application to embryonic material. 

 A ten-page section on in vitro methods is followed by a section of 25 pages on special inves- 

 tigative techniques to be applied to specific stages, as well as immunological techniques. The 

 last 10 pages are devoted to problems of developmental genetics. This section is almost entirely 

 theoretical in nature and largely reflects the first author's viewpoints. 



The book is well printed and well illustrated. It has a bibliography of 400 titles, followed 

 by an author index and a list of books. There is no subject index, but the detailed table of 

 contents makes up for this lack. The price of the book is excessive. 



100 



METHODS IN EXPERIMENTAL EMBRYOLOGY OF THE MOUSE. 1970. By K. A. RAFFERTY, Jr. 

 Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore. 105 pp., 35 figs., 1 tab., subject index. SBN 8018 1129 5. 

 $ 8.50, 81 s. 



This book is in the nature of a compendium and was written primarily with a view to 

 facilitating the organization of courses for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, but 



361 



