Book Reviews 693

communication with electric organ discharges. The fish will react to signals played back to them; they react differently to an electrically active fish compared to a silent fish; the pulse patterns change during courtship, although the two fish may appear inactive side by side, they are busy sending out electric signals to each other. The different patterns of electrical activity are well described in this interesting book.

Peripheral Hearing Mechanisms in Reptiles and Birds-By G. A. MANLEY. 288 pp. 1990. Springer, Berlin. DM 224.

Reptiles and birds have good hearing ability. This book describes the phylogeny of the ear in reptiles and birds; hair cells and the origin of the hearing inner ear; the middle ear; inner ear and basilar papilla; techniques used in hearing research; turtles and snakes; alligator-lizards; monitor lizards; geckos; skink; Caiman crocodiles; peripheral hear- ing organ of birds; hearing range and frequency selection. The mechanics of sound transmission is well described together with the morphology and electrical activity of the inner ear. Reptiles hear lower frequencies well. Initially this was with the head on the ground. As the neck developed and the head became raised from the ground, the hearing mechanism had to be improved. This book describes how the systems evolved and functions.

Arterial Chemoreceptors-Edited by C. EYZAGUIRRE, S. J. FIDONE, R. S. FITZGERALD, S. LAHIRI and D. M. MCDONALD. 475 pp. 1990. Springer, New York. DM 138.

The 63 edited papers presented here are based on the symposium held in Utah in September 1988. The carotid and aortic bodies respond to decreases in oxygen, increases in carbon dioxide and hydrogen ions, changes in tonicity of the blood either after dehydration or water loading. The glomus ceils contain and release multiple transmitters (ACh, DA, NA. SHT, Substance P, tachykinins, enkephalins, adenosine) and also have autoreceptors for these same transmitters. There are several receptor subtypes so that one subtype can be insensitive to exogenously applied transmitters or blockers but the other subtypes will respond to endogenous transmitters. The reflexes originating from the peripheral chemoreceptors have been traced through the brain stem. These and other topics are discussed in the present volume and provide a good account of the research front.

Molecular Mechanisms of Hormone Action-Edited by U. GEHRING, E. HELMREICH and G. SCHULTZ. Mosbach Collo- qium. Vol. 40. 204 pp. 1989. Springer, Berlin. DM 112.

The topics reviewed in this volume are; mode of action of steroid hormones (action on DNA; receptors; transactiva- tion of MMTV; thyroid hormone; glucocorticoid receptor; oncogenes and peptide hormones; tyrosine kinase activation and casein kinase II); gene coding for G proteins; ras oncogene; G protein activation; transducin; P13 and the retina; hormonal regulation of phospholipases; regulation of ionic channels; muscle calcium channel; G proteins and calcium channels; multiple roles of G proteins; hormonal regulation of isoforms of guanylate cyclase; catecholamine receptors. The reviews are concise and informative.

Opioid Analgesia. Recent Advances in Systemic Adminis- tratior+Edited by C. BENEDETTI, C. R. CHAPMAN and G. GIRON. Advances in Pain Research and Therapy. Vol. 14. 466 pp. 1990. Raven Press, New York. $98.

This volume was organised to celebrate the 70th birthday of John J. Bonica. The chapters are on; a history of opium (0)

and its derivatives; 0 receptors and mechanism of action; multiple 0 receptors; functional plasticity of 0 peptides; O-monoamine interactions; drug disposition; pharmaco- kinetics and pharmacodynamics; tailored infusion of 0; oral morphine; sublingual 0; trandermal 0; transnasal 0; rectal 0; controlled release 0 tablets in chronic pain; patient controlled analgesia; prevention of postreanimation en- cephalopathy; acute pain; systemic 0 in cancer pain. The book is a good summary of the current clinical use of 0.

The Cerebral Cortex of the Rat-Edited by B. KOLB and R. C. TEES. 645 pp. 1990. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. Paperback $35.

Yes, most of it is here, and at a reasonable price too. The 25 chapters summarise what is known about the anatomy, development, neurochemistry, electrophysiology, motor sys- tem, sensory system, association cortex and plasticity of the rat neocortex. The 24 authors present their text in a readable manner, with full documentation. The system in the rat is related to what is known about the primate and human neocortex. The book will be very useful to all those working on the rat CNS and behaviour.

The Lung in Rheumatic Diseases-Edited by G. W. CANNON and G. A. ZIMMERMAN. 545 pp. 1990. Marcel Dekker, New York. $125 U.S.A. and Canada. $150 elsewhere.

Although the lung’s main function is gas exchange, it is an easily accessible tissue through lavage and biopsy and so the changes in the lung connective tissue can be fairly easily investigated. Alveolar macrophages, platelets, lymphocytes and epithelial cells are activated by infection and can give off fibronectins, leukotriene B4, growth factors PDGF and TGF, collagen fragments and complement components. The fibronectins attract fibroblasts which migrate to the source, attach, orientate, recruit and proliferate, forming a connec- tive tissue disorder. This volume discusses the interactions between lung and connective tissue disorders. The chapters deal with; pathogenesis of airways, alveolar and interstitial lesions; pleural effusions and lesions; functional evaluation of airways, lung, vessels and ventilating muscles; chest radiography and other imaging techniques; lung biopsy, lavage and gallium scanning; lung pathology; pulmonary infections; rheumatoid arthritis and pulmonary disease; systemic lupus erythematosus; systemic sclerosis; inflamma- tory muscle disease; systemic vasculitis; pulmonary manifes- tations of other rheumatic diseases; pulmonary reactions induced by antirheumatic drugs; cystic fibrosis; hyper- trophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy complex; sarcoidosis. It illustrates the way in which the different systems of the body are interlinked and interactive.

The Biochemistry and Uses of Pesticides; Structure, Metab- olism, Mode of Action and Use in Crop Protection-By K. A. HASSALL. 536 pp. 1990. Macmillan, London. Hardback f40. Paperback f19.99.

The first edition was published in 1982 under the title “The Chemistry of Pesticides”. This new edition has been com- pletely revised and brought up to date bringing in the increased information on the mode of action of the different compounds. The topics dealt with are; physico-chemical aspects of pesticide formulation and application; pesticide metabolism; organophosphorus insecticides; carbate insecti- cides; molluscicides and nematicides; organochlorine insecti- cides; natural and synthetic pyrethroids; acylureas, juvenile hormone; formamidine; rotenone and avermectins; resist- ance to insecticides; fungicides (non systemic and systemic); herbicides applied to foliage; herbicides applied to soil. It is