Reviews I Abstracts
Edited by
Reviews of new books
And the Poor Get Children-A Study Sponsored
by Planned Parenthood Federation of
America, Inc. By Lee Rainwater. 202
pages, not illustrated. Chicago, J 960,
Quadrangle Books.
Although the title of this book leaves unwritten
the beginning of the adage "the rich get richer
and the poor get children," the unwritten part
with all the bitterness implied remains present-
whispered only, but present-so that befor~ the
book is even opened one feels somewhat un-
comfortable-and for reasons that have nothing
whatever to do with the contents of the book.
A psychosocial study of contraception, and the
problems related to contraception as they arc
found among "the poor" is at best a very difficult
task. Unfortunately, little of the task was per-
formed in this study. The book proves nothing
new, gives no new information, and, unfortu-
nately, treats the psychological problems in a
very superficial manner.
Textbook of Human Embryology. By R. G.
Harrison. 244 pages, 144 figures, 1
table. Springfield, Ill., 1959, Charles C
Thomas, Publisher. $10.50.
In order to produce a textbook of embryology
for the medical student that will not only pro-
vide a knowledge of developmental anatomy but
which would also provide some insight into the
clinical manifestations of the field of embryology,
Professor Harrison has begun with the chicken
instead of the egg, and starts by reviewing the
anatomy and physiology of the adult male and
female reproductive systems. Following in a
logical manner, he proceeds through fertiliza-
tion, nidation, and early embryo growth. By
limiting the number of photomicrographs and
by utilizing simplified line drawings he presents
a complete summary of the early developmental
823
LOUIS M. HELLMAN, M.D.
phases. There is an excellent chapter on the de-
velopment of the placenta with mention of its
role in such clinical entities as placenta previa
and Rh sensitization and a short summary of its
hormone functions and relationships. As soon
as the embryo has reached the somite and limb
bud stage, the organism as a whole is abandoned,
and each organ system is taken up individually
and is followed through its development with
clinical relationships brought out whenever
possible. The details of much of the cellular
morphology is left out in favor of emphasis on
functional development. Accordingly, there is
little or no mention of the complex and techni-
cal dcvclopments of chemical embryology which
belongs more properly in the texts designed for
specialized workers in this field.
There are times when the reader feels the
lleed for more correlation between the develop-
mental stage of one organ system with that of
another organ system or even with that of the
embryo as a whole. Once you have completed
the development of each of the systems and
organs, you are left to yourself to bring all the
parts together and come up with a unified and
functioning fetus. The book is well enough
written and so well thought out that one feels
entirely capable of assembling the parts without
much difficulty and the reader is left with a
better understanding of the embryo's functional
development.
Over de Behandeling van Zwangeren met een
Gestoorde Bloedsuikercurve en de Re.
sultaten Ten Aanzien van de Fetal
Loss. By R. J. J. Omers. 128 pages, I
figure, 42 tables. Heerlen, 1960, N. V.
Uitgeverij Winants.
This report describes the study of 383 patients
who had 1,364 pregnancies and on whom glucose