47. 



W. A. HEMMINGS, ed. 1976. MATERNOFOETAL TRANSMISSION OF IMMUNOGLO- 

 BULINS 



Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, etc. Clinical and Experimental Immunoreproduction, 

 Vol. 2. XX, 461 pp., 147 figs., 57 tabs., subject index. £ 1 1.00 



This symposium was held in Bangor, North Wales some time in 1974. It brought 

 together a large group of specialists from Britain, the U.S.A. and various other countries. 

 The 32 reviews and research reports with the discussions following them (complete with 

 references) first lay the general physiological foundations and then cover the field 

 indicated by the title comprehensively and critically. 



We briefly enumerate the broad categories of subjects covered: the factors involved in 

 the passage of antibodies and similar molecules across the placenta to the foetus; their 

 passage across the intestine of the suckUng rodent or ruminant; and the effects of such 

 antibodies upon the young. The volume is very fittingly dedicated to the memory of 

 F. W. Rogers Brambell, of whom a brief biography is included. 



The book is well produced and illustrated. 



REPRODUCTION, SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT, GAMETOGENESIS, FERTILIZATION 



(see also 36,1 13) 



Treatises 



48. 



A. C. GIESE and J. S. PEARSE, eds. 1975. REPRODUCTION OF MARINE INVERTE- 

 BRATES. Vol. Ill: Annelids and echiurans 



Academic Press, New York, etc. XIV, 343 pp., 71 figs., 23 tabs., author, subject, and 

 taxonomic indexes. $ 36.50 



This is the third volume of a 7-volume treatise first announced in Gen. Embryol. 

 Inform. Serv. vol. 16, part 1, 1976, to which the reader is referred. 



Ch.l on Polychaetes takes up two thirds of the book. The two other chapters deal 

 with Clitellata and Echiura (with emphasis on Urechis caupo). The section on develop- 

 ment in ch.l occupies 61 pages, those in the other two chapters are much shorter. This 

 volume again contains a wealth of useful information. 



Monographs 



49. 



B. BACCETTI and B. A. AFZELIUS. 1976. THE BIOLOGY OF THE SPERM CELL 

 Karger, Basel, etc. Monographs in Developmental Biology, vol. 10. VI, 254 pp., 19 figs., 

 26 pis., 1 tab. S.fr. 127.00, DM 127.00, $ ca. 49.00 (paper) 



This monograph by two eminent specialists draws together the main findings in 

 comparative spermatology as they have emerged during the last 15 years. The emphasis is 

 very much on sperm structure (including its chemical aspects). Sperm metaboUsm is not 

 considered separately, although many data on enzymes and their substrates are given 

 along with the structural details. Other aspects that were intentionally left out are 

 spermiogenesis and the immunological and genetic aspects of sperm biology. 



The first three quarters of the book are mainly devoted to a systematic discussion of 

 the cell surface and all the various sperm organeUes (7 chapters). Then follow chapters on 

 aflagellate spermatozoa, on sperm movement (10 pp.), and on the spermatozoon m 

 fertiUsation (10 pp.). 



The book is illustrated with a profusion of excellent Une drawings and liglit and 

 electron micrographs. An appendix lists references on electron microscope studies of 

 sperm in about 1,000 animal species. The bibUography contains close to 1,500 titles and 

 is very up to date. The absence of indexes is a definite drawback. 



193 



