Environmental Physiology of Animals ed. by L. Bligh, J. L. Cloudsley-Thompson, and A. G. MacDonald (review)

medicine includes his proof that heat is weightless. Lavoisier's writings on direct and indirect calorimetry are presented, and demonstrate that metabolic production of heat aids homeostasis. To further this concept, Claude Bernard's work on the "Milieu intérieur" is given. Seebeck's writing on the discovery of the thermometer and Lord Kelvin's description of the absolute temperature scale are embraced as important landmarks , as well as the description of the routine use of the thermometer in the hospital by Wunderlich and a plea by Ségrun for its use in the home. The above material relates to volume 1 . The second volume deals with location and proof of function of the heat centers and the mechanisms involved in maintenance of homeostasis. The communication from Aronsohn and Sachs, 1885, demonstrated the position of a heat center in the preoptic area of the hypothalamus. Isenschmid and Krehl, 1912, found the second heat center definitely posterior to the first one, near the mammillary bodies. Several articles dealing with methods and showing considerable ingenuity are reproduced which deal with the location, function, and interrelations of these centers. Ablation of the second center could produce Poikilothermie animals. A section is given to clinical use of hypothermia in human subjects. Smith and Fay, 1940, cooled patients that suffered from malignant growths. Although their interpretation of effects on malignancies was incorrect, they did observe that pain was relieved by hypothermia. Descriptions by Bigelow of use of hypothermia for cessation of blood flow through the heart of dogs during cardiac surgery, and by Swan with human subjects, are found here. Precise work with modern methods is presented. Severinghaus's results with measurement of temperatures at different parts of the body are produced. Maria Benzinger's introduction of tympanic thermometry is referred to, although her original article is not reproduced. The newer methods indicate that heat regulation is controlled at two centers; that there are skin receptors; that there are heat receptor neurons and weaker cold receptor neurons; that the two centers may send out neurotransmitters (serotonin and norepinephrine); that pyrogens and aspirin have predictable effects; and that a flux of calcium and sodium ions is involved. It is quite unusual to find in a book which reviews a field material that is more current than information that is taught in many physiology courses. This volume does just that. The last paper by R. D. Myers provides a summary of 1976 concepts. Robert W. Virtue 727 Birch Street Denver, Colorado 80220 Environmental Physiology of Animals. Edited by L. Bligh, J. L. CloudsleyThompson , and A. G. MacDonald. New York: Halsted Press, John Wiley & Sons, 1976. Pp. viii+456. $42.50 (cloth); $19.95 (paper). Content of any discourse varies greatly according to the limits envisioned by those involved. A frequently used example of this is the answer to the question Perspectives in Biology and Medicine ¦ Autumn 1977 | 159 "What are you doing?" put to a man moving earth, where answers range from "I'm digging a hole" to "I'm building a cathedral." The present editors and authors are building the cathedral, for "environment" is taken to include a time period of approximately 3 billion years, and "physiology" is considered to include evolution during that period. Much, much material is inserted and correlated with present knowledge of physics and chemistry. Nearly half the book concerns itself with adaptations that came about through natural selections prior to written history, which actually enfolds all but a small fraction of our earth's existence. A second portion with respect to time takes up the periodic adaptations to changes that come about primarily because of movements of the solar system. The third emphasis on time, which is the shortest, is involved with rapid responses to change in the immediate environment. One obtains the impression that physiology and life itself are actually part of the environment, and that all functions change together. The thesis is also presented that behavior and physiology are not separate disciplines, but that behavior is a physiological response to stimulation from the environment. Each chapter gives basic information on some field of development as related to the environment, and in some the details are remarkably succinct. Obviously the field...