Volunteers in Research and Testing

to pertinent information by means of the alphabetical arrangement, a good index and an effective system of cross references. Entries are not in standard format but most contain a definition, a description of usage, an explication of the medico-moral issues involved and a discussion of the practical implications. References to published work are scanty but the dictionary is not intended as a bibliographic source. Some of the entries are masterpieces of succinct readable prose, and most are more than adequate but a few depart from the "noble gravity" which Dr Johnson required from a lexicographer. For the purpose of this review I looked particularly at the handling of topics that have become highly profiled in recent years. I also took the stance of the Duchess in Alice in Wonderland: "Tut, tut,child! Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it". Firstly, "reproduction": the fundamental biology is precisely described and includes this sentence: "Reproduction in eutherian mammals also involves internal fertilisation and development (viviparity), the development of a chorio-allantoic placentation system, and the production of milk post-natally". Exactly so, and clear enough but associated ethical issues, as for instance; (i) the fetomaternal conflict produced by transplacental exposure to alcohol, heroin, and tobacco; (ii) placental insufficiency as major factor in coercive obstetric interference; (iii) the placenta as source of material for genetic diagnosis and for transplantation; (iv) ethics of breastfeeding and of the marketing of breastmilk substitutes, and (v) justification for the use of eutherian mammals in medical research,