Pathology (1976), 8, pp.

267-73

BOOK REVIEWS

Bone Marrow in Hypoxia and Rebound, J. M. YOFFEY. 1974.

Charles C Thomas, Springfield, Illinois. 276 pp., illustrated.
US$12.50.

Readers of the earlier classic by J. M. Yoffey on lymphocytes will not need to be reminded of
his scholarly, lucid style or the wealth of factual information annotated. The present book
maintains his commendable standards. This book is an account of bone marrow haem-
opoietic populations, their origins and interrelationships, and the manner in which these
populations respond to experimental manipulation, particularly hypoxia.
While the book touches on changes in man and small laboratory rodents, in the main it
summarizes the extensive studies on the guinea-pig carried out by Yoffey and his former
Bristol colleagues. Perhaps the most important point emerging from this work is the
demonstration that many of the lymphocyte-like‘transitional’ cells of the marrow are in fact
haemopoietic stem and progenitor cells giving rise to the various families of haemopoietic
cells.
Many aspects of the interpretation of the data are arguable as the author himself is careful
to emphasize but this book constitutes a unique source of morphological and physiological
data on marrow populations.
For the experimental haematologist or his clinical counterpart, this book is a gold-mine
of useful and intriguing observations and will remain a valued reference source for many
years to come.

D. Metcalf

A Short Textbook of Medical Microbiology, eds D. C. TURK& I. A. PORTER.

1974.
The English Universities Press, London. 344 pp.
As5.70.

This book has been written for undergraduate medical students. The preface contains the
statement-‘other readers including qualified doctors have found this book helpful but we
have not consciously allowed this to influence our choice of material’. This curious attitude
pervades the text. Surely, the main object of a book of this type should be to provide a
concise introduction to the principles and practise of medical microbiology which is
essentially helpful to those concerned in the diagnosis, treatment and control of most
commonly encountered infectious diseases.
In general, the authors deal with the subject with the conventional systematic microbi-
268 BOOK REVIEWS Pathology (1976), 8, July

ology approach and include a considerable amount of technical detail of culture methods,
biochemical reactions, and so on which might be located more appropriately in a technical
manual.
Despite the authors’ introductory statement, a large amount of instructive and infor-
mative material including reviews of immunization procedures, collection and examination
of clinical specimens, food poisoning and special problems in hospitals is contained in the
text.
I hope this trend is continued in subsequent editions since it brings the subject alive for the
student in an age when study of infectious disease tends to be considered somewhat out of
date.
G . Charlton

Membrane Mediated Information, Volume 1 . Biochemical Functions;

Volunie 2. Structures, ed. P. KENT. 1973.
Medical & Technical Publishing Co., England. Vol. 1: 231 pp.,
Vol2: 170 pp.
AS14.80 each volume.

The study of the structure, function and biogenesis of biological membranes is currently one
of the most productive and exciting aspects ofcell biology, engaging the interest of workers
from many disciplines as diverse as surface chemistry, electron spin resonance, nuclear
magnetic resonance on the one hand and immunology, genetics and development on the
other hand. Hence during the last few years many reviews on the topic of biological
membranes have appeared.
The book under review contains twenty-four contributions in two separate volumes
representing the outcome of an interdisciplinary meeting held in Oxford during 1972.
The first volume sub-titled ‘Biochemical Functions’ is mainly concerned with the
carbohydrate moieties, glycoproteins, and glycolipids that are present on the outer surfaces
of plasma membranes and viral envelopes. It emphasizes the structure and biosynthesis of
the carbohydrate though frequent reference is made to the possible roles which they play in
cellular recognition, growth regulation and the binding of target molecules to receptor
proteins on the cell surface.
The second volume sub-titled ‘Structures’ gives an excellent introduction to the current
views on the macromolecular organization of biological membranes. Other subjects include
cell fusion and membrane plasticity, as well as more specialized topics such as the study of
artificial lipoprotein membranes and viral attachment systems as well as nuclear magnetic
resonance spectra of macromolecular systems.
Individual articles in both volumes are concise and well written. While some of the
chapters are more of interest to the aficionadd of a particular facet of membrane biology,
rather than to the general reader, there is little doubt that the non-specialist wanting to
obtain some insight into the advances made in membrane biology would be well served by
reading the first three chapters of the second volume which deal with the morphoiogy,
physical chemistry and the functional aspects of the fluid mosaic model of membrane
structure.

J. K.Pollak