From Neuron to Brain

This is a splendid book which is essential reading for any clinician or experimentalist dealing with disorders of the hypothalamus and pituitary. Clearly written and beautifully illustrated, it deals with the normal anatomy of the pituitary and the related parts of the hypothalamus in man and some animals (particularly monkey, goat, sheep, and rat) and also with the anatomical and histological changes which accompany pituitary stalk section and hypophysectomy. The best parts are those describing the detailed arrangement of the larger pituitary vessels and the portal capillaries of the hypophyseal stalk, which are illustrated diagrammatically, histologically, and in superb casts. The distribution of the hypothalamic nuclei and their relationships with the third ventricle, chiasma, and pituitary stalk are also well demonstrated. Interpretation of air encephalograms will never be as difficult again. The least satisfactory sections are those referring to the control of the pituitary by the hypothalamus and the physiological aspects of pituitary function, but this field has developed enormously and rapidly. Indeed, it is this rapid expansion of physiological knowledge of the identity and actions of the hypothalamic regulatory hormones which makes the availability of this primarily anatomical book so timely, for we can now revise our functional anatomy. The studies comparing the human with the other species add interest, and the authors have also given the details of the experimental and histological techniques used in their studies of pituitary extirpation and stalk section. The book is a summary of the authors' research over nearly 25 years and is a tribute to them. It is an added pleasure to find such a valuable book at such a bargain price.