GENERAL DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY (see also 35,42,60,63) 

 Textbooks 



P.FIORONI. 1973. EINFDHRUNG IN DIE EMBRYOLOGIE 



BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, Miinchen, etc. Serie Moderne Biologie. 183 pp., 73 figs., 

 21 tabs., subject index. DM 25,- (paper) 



The author of this introductory text has set himself the ambitious task of treating all 

 the major aspects of metazoan development in a single short book. The result could be 

 very useful to the really keen student, but may make too difficult reading for the avarage 

 one. The text is extremely compact, packed with facts and concepts, but clearly 

 organized. An almost equal amount of information is condensed into the numerous tables 

 and the massive figure legends. It certainly is not an exciting book, but the amount of 

 knowledge amassed in such a short space is impressive. The treatment is of course 

 selective but scholarly and fairly up to date. 



The main emphasis is morphological and comparative. Much more attention than is 

 usual in such books is paid to invertebrates, particularly arthropods and molluscs. Two 

 short chapters deal, on the whole admirably, with morphogenetic and regulatory prin- 

 ciples, respectively. They are largely based on the classical literature of experimental 

 embryology. The next two chapters each occupy about 50 pages. The first treats 

 development from the egg to the adult (with emphasis on the establishment of the general 

 body plan, and with organogenesis restricted to the eye). The second deals extensively 

 with larval development, embryonic nutrition, and metamorphosis. A final short chapter 

 is concerned with the relationships between ontogeny and phylogeny. 



The illustrations consist of line drawings and photographic plates. The former are very 

 good, though sometimes on a rather small scale. Of the photographs, those of whole 

 mounts are very instructive; those of sections demand rather much histological experience 

 of the student. 



2. 



J. LASH and J.R.WHITTAKER, eds. 1974. CONCEPTS OF DEVELOPMENT 



Sinauer, Stamford. X,469 pp., 213 figs., 20 tabs., author and subject index. £ 7.60 



Contents: 1. Gametogenesis; 2. Fertilization; 3. Cleavage; 4. Molecular mechanisms of 

 cellular differentiation; 5. Molecular basis of embryogenesis; 6. Gastrulation and cell 

 interactions; 7. Erythroid cell differentiation; 8. Aspects of differentiation and deter- 

 mination in pigment cells; 9. Regulation of the cell cycle and myogenesis by cell- 

 medium interaction; 10. Tissue interactions and related subjects; 1 1. Morphogenesis of 

 vertebrate organs; 12. Time flow in differentiation and morphogenesis; 13. Develop- 

 ment of immunity; 14. Immunological tolerance and its possible role in development; 

 15. Developmental enzymology; 16. Developmental endocrinology; 17. Developmental 

 genetics; 18. Congenital malformations; 19. Cellular basis of regeneration; 20. Aging 



This multi-author text is a remarkable book. It is not a textbook in the conventional 

 sense but is perhaps best characterized as a selective advanced lecture course in book-form 

 on animal developmental biology. Its outstanding features are authority, topicality, and 

 clarity of presentation. Of the 22 authors 18 are American, two Canadian, one English, 

 and one Australian. Alle are recognized authorities in the field they cover. 



The chapters range in length from ca. 15 to ca. 30 pages (except ch. 1, which covers 

 45 pages). It will therefore be clear that the approach within each chapter is equally 

 selective as that of the book as a whole. However, this is more than made good by the 

 emphasis on unifying concepts in almost all chapters and the originality of approach in 

 several. Moreover, the treatment is surprisingly up to date. Thus every advanced student, 

 and indeed many researchers will be enriched and stimulated by its perusal. 



The book is exceedingly well printed and illustrated. Cross-referencing and indexing 

 are extensive. 



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