80. 



W.E.KNOX. 1972. ENZYME PATTERNS IN FETAL, ADULT AND NEOPLASTIC 



RAT TISSUES 



Karger, Basel, etc. XII, 354 pp., 32 figs., 36 tabs., combined 



author and subject index. Sfr. 93.00, $ 22.30 



This monograph deals with a comparatively new approach in bio- 

 chemistry, that based on chemical patterns of tissues. The au- 

 thor calls it "chemical anatomy" and shows that it may develop 

 into a tool at least as effective as histology and cellular 

 pathology. It is based not on individual tissue constituents but 

 on the differential patterns of concentration or activity of the 

 same constituents in different tissues. Pioneer work in this 

 area was done by J . P.Greenstein a quarter of a century ago. 



The author's main concern is with enzyme activities in tissue 

 extracts (not with chromatography, electrophoresis, etc.) with 

 emphasis on fetal, adult, and regenerating rat liver and various 

 rat tumours. He shows that meaningful comparisons can be achieved 

 by using a common tissue base (1 g of fresh tissue) and by ex- 

 pressing all activities in "liver units" (the unit being the ac- 

 tivity in adult rat liver). The resulting patterns are then sub- 

 jected to correlation analysis and principal component analysis. 

 The methodology is set out with clarity. 



The book is based on original results and on numerous re-eval- 

 uated data of others. It considers 160 components in 17 differ- 

 ent rat tissues, compiled in tabular form and in the form of 

 histograms and graphs. The book is essentially an inventory and 

 analysis of crude data, and no attempt is made to explain under- 

 lying regulatory phenomena. The results of most interest to de- 

 velopmental biologists are the consistent differences in enzyme 

 patterns between fetal and adult tissues; the similarity in pat- 

 terns among various tumours and between tumours and fetal tis- 

 sues; and the correlations between growth rate and tissue pat- 

 tern, which are different for fetal and neoplastic tissues. 



81. 



A.NOBIN and A.BJORKLUND. 1973. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE MONOAMINE 



NEURON SYSTEMS IN THE HUMAN BRAIN AS REVEALED IN FETUSES 



Scand. Physiol. Soc, Stockholm. Acta Physiol. Scand. suppl.388. 



40 pp. , 14 figs. 



Fluorescence histochemical study using freeze-dried brain 

 tissue and pituitary and pineal glands from fetuses (for tech- 

 nical reasons rather than for their embryological interest); 

 fetuses of 10-15 cm CRL; photomontages and clear summarizing 

 diagrams . 



82. 



P.F.PARAKKAL and N.J.ALEXANDER. 1972. KERATINIZATION, a survey 

 of vertebrate epithelia 



Academic Press, New York, etc. IV, 59 pp., 58 figs., subject in- 

 dex. $ 7.50 (paper) 



This concise monograph presents a survey of a very special 

 type of cell differentiation, that of the epithelial cells of 

 vertebrate skin, from a structural and comparative viewpoint. 

 The introduction briefly discusses the main phases of the life 

 cycle of these cells: mitosis, differentiation, and exfoliation. 

 The five main chapters then deal with the salient features of 

 the epithelial portion of the skin and its appendages in the 

 five vertebrate classes, with emphasis on ultrastructure. The 

 chapter on avian epidermis consists of brief sections on skin 



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