10 



1 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AND EMBRYOLOGY 



1964 



by W. W. Ballard The Ronald Press Cy. 



626 pp., 434 figs. New York 



Price: $ 10.~ 



This book developed out of an effort to design an integrated course in 

 vertebrate morphology for college students. It thus combines both comparative 

 anatomy and embryology of the vertebrates in one continuous text. It is written 

 in a personal and captivating style. 



The organization of the subject matter is unconventional. The book is in six 

 parts, of which the first (38 pages) discusses in outline the classification of 

 vertebrates and the three key concepts: development, evolution, and homology. 

 Part II (40 pages) starts with a brief discussion of tissues and organs, and 

 then proceeds with what may be called the pivot of the whole book, a chapter 

 entitled "Anatomy of the vertebrate pharyngula". The "pharyngula" is an 

 abstraction defined as a postneurula stage characterized by the presence of 

 pharyngeal clefts. Since the pharyngula shows the basic pattern of vertebrate 

 anatomy in a relatively standardized form, it is taken as a point of departure 

 for the remainder of the book, and thus the conventional chronological treat- 

 ment is abandoned. 



Part III (124 pages) then deals with development up to the pharyngula 

 stage, whereas the remaining parts treat development and comparative 

 anatomy beyond the pharyngula stage. In these parts again the conventional 

 treatment (by organ system or by species) is abandoned. Instead, part IV 

 (164 pages) discusses the developmental anatomy of the head, and part V 

 (78 pages) that of the trunk, tail, and appendages. Finally, part VI (150 

 pages) deals with the visceral, reproductive, and regulative apparatus (the 

 latter comprising the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine glands). 



Much attention is devoted to functional and adaptive aspects throughout 

 the book. Also, relevant findings of experimental developmental morphology 

 are interwoven throughout the text. In part III an entire chapter (24 pages) is 

 devoted to the causal analysis of early development. 



The book is illustrated with a large number of original drawings. Most are 

 executed in simple techniques and are more or less schematized. Although not 

 intended to provide realistic pictures, they adeauately complement the text, and 

 are usually clearly labeled. 



Each of the 30 chapters is concluded by a short list of selected references. 

 The book is concluded by an extensive subject index. 



A notable feature of the book is uniformity of terminology. PNA terms are used throughout, 

 either in their Latin forms or, more frequently, in English translation, and eponyms have been 

 replaced by their PNA equivalents. 



The table of contents gives chapter headings only. The book's usability for purposes of 

 reference could have been increased by listing the section subheadings at the beginning of each 

 chapter. 



