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A LIGATURE INTRODUCER
318 be applied for children and babies. In contrast, the be used to detect changes in trunk volume, which may be related to gas exchange and blood-flow to and from the trunk, during breath-holding and controlled apnoea. When the jerkin is used in conjunction with a recording pneumotachograph, the change in volume detected by the jerkin can be compared with the flow of gas in and out of the lungs. Further, if the output of the pneumotachograph is integrated, the actual volume of gas breathed can be compared with the changes in trunk volume. The instantaneous values of these volume changes can be continuously compared by displaying the two measures along perpendicular axes on a cathode-ray oscilloscope. This gives a volume-volume " loop corresponding to each respiratory cycle 3; a normal loop is shown in fig. 3a. Qualitative changes in the shape of this loop may be obtained from patients with respiratory disease (fig. 3b). The usefulness of the technique is further shown by the loop in fig. 3c, obtained after the same patient had inhaled isoprenaline. The value of the jerkin plethysmograph in clinical investigation cannot be assessed until large-scale studies of patients have been made. Work is also in progress on the use of doublewalled flexible garments for investigating blood-flow in the limbs and other parts of the body.
Reviews of Books
ment can
jerkin
can
"
We wish to acknowledge the help and encouragement of Dr. C. F. Bareford, managing director of Vickers Research, Ltd., and to thank the directors of Vickers Research, Ltd., for permission to publish this account.
University College Hospital, London, W.C.1
P. J. D. HEAF M.D.
Lond.,
M.R.C.P.
P. SCOTT M.SC.
Manc.
W. D. A. SMITH O.B.E., M.B.
Lond., D.A.
K. G. WILLIAMS Vickers Research, Ltd., Sunninghill, Berks
M.A.
Cantab., M.R.C.S.,
ASSOC.I.MECH.E.,
Clinical
Pharmacology
LAURENCE, M.D., M.R.C.P., senior lecturer in applied pharmacology, department of pharmacology, University College, and medical unit, University College Medical School, London, R. MOULTON, M.D., lately research assistant, medical unit, University College Hospital Medical School, London. London: J. & A. Churchill. 1960. Pp. 460. 32s. D. R.
AUTHORS of books on applied pharmacology are in danger being considered too academic by clinicians or too empirical or superficial by pharmacologists; and in fact it is impossible to write a textbook for medical students on this subject without some compromise. Dr. Laurence and Dr. Moulton have succeeded admirably in maintaining a balance between the pharmacology of drugs and their use in treatment; and they have also written a book which is a pleasure to read. The layout of the book is orthodox, drugs being generally grouped on the basis of their actions. The space given to various drugs is proportional to their importance to the doctor and there is a useful chapter on general pharmacology and on the unwanted effects of drugs. Scattered through the text are some useful tables, and the authors have made a point of including direct quotations from original sources, which add variety to the style. Each chapter has some key references from the literature on the drugs discussed. The chapters on hypotensive and vasodilator drugs and on digitalis are particularly good. The section on hypnotics is rather short considering the importance of this group of drugs and might reasonably be expanded in future editions. This is an excellent book, quite one of the better texts on applied pharmacology. It should be read by every medical student and would be useful and entertaining reading for the of
practising physician.
A.F.R.AE.S.
Anaerobic A LIGATURE INTRODUCER THIS instrument, made of brass, consists of a drum closed with a screw cap and containing a spool running on a spindle, the whole screw-mounted at right angles on a thin tube with its end turned to fit standard Luer needles. Thread carried on the spool is led down the tube and out through the hollow needle, the end of which is bent into a J with the bevel cut off (see figure).
Designed for work on small animals, the instrument may be used to pass a ligature round any structure in a confined operational field. Its advantages over an needle are: (a) the thread is preaneurysm sented at the extreme tip of the introducer; (b) the thread, being completely enclosed, cannot foul any projection in the field; (c) the hollow needle passes through an aperture smaller than will take an aneurysm needle; and (d) it may be used to create its own tunnel. A disadvantage of the instrument is that it is tiresome to reload; but the reel will carry 30 m. of no. 0 braided silk. When loading, the thread is waxed at the end and passed through the unbent needle from the tip. If the thread breaks, the broken end may be passed through the needle on a piece of fuse wire bent on itself. The ligature introducer. Drum: diameter 15 cm., length 3 cm. Handle:
diameter 0-6 cm., length 15 cm. Needle: no. 14
(gauge 23). 3.
N. F. ANDERSON M.B. Edin. Department of Surgical Science, University of Edinburgh
Williams, K. G. Proceedings of the Third International Conference Medical Electronics. London, 1960. In the press.
on
Bacteriology
in Clinical Medicine
A. TREVOR WILLIS, PH.D., M.B., lecturer in bacteriology, University of Leeds. London :Butterworth. 1960. Pp. 176. 30s.
MEDICAL bacteriologists, especially those who do the routine work for hospitals, generally have too much work to do in too little space with too little technical help. Probably for these reasons, the pathogenic anaerobes have not had the attention they deserve in routine hospital practice. These microorganisms, until the past ten years or so, were almost a special province for enthusiasts and experts only because of certain difficulties in their cultivation, isolation in pure culture, and identification. Working with Professor Oakley, Dr. Willis not surprisingly became both an enthusiast and an expert in this field of work. He concluded that the difficulties had been overrated, and set himself the worthwhile task of writing a book on methods, which would help others to undertake work that was worth doing and was increasingly being recognised as important. Gradually, non-technical issues kept pushing their way in to Dr. Willis’s book and the completed work deals excellently not only with technique but also with the essential minima necessary to form a fair picture of the properties and significance of the clinically important anaerobic bacteria. The result is a book of great value and accuracy and of commendable clarity and brevity. It does not claim to include everything, but it certainly contains enough to transform the approach which most medical bacteriologists now make to the pathogenic anaerobes. The book may be unreservedly commended.
diagnostic
Lectures
on
the Scientific Basis of Medicine
Vol. vni, 1958-59. Postgraduate Medical Federation, University of London. The Athlone Press. 1960. Pp. 467. 45s.
BOTANISTS, biologists, virologists, are allied with pathologists and physicians in contributing this new volume in the wellknown series. Here the keen doctor can read the revelations of the latest refinements of modern electron microscopy and can contemplate the deeper problems of gamma-globulins, in chapters which require concentration but which repay the effort.
Reviews of Books
ment can
jerkin
can
"
We wish to acknowledge the help and encouragement of Dr. C. F. Bareford, managing director of Vickers Research, Ltd., and to thank the directors of Vickers Research, Ltd., for permission to publish this account.
University College Hospital, London, W.C.1
P. J. D. HEAF M.D.
Lond.,
M.R.C.P.
P. SCOTT M.SC.
Manc.
W. D. A. SMITH O.B.E., M.B.
Lond., D.A.
K. G. WILLIAMS Vickers Research, Ltd., Sunninghill, Berks
M.A.
Cantab., M.R.C.S.,
ASSOC.I.MECH.E.,
Clinical
Pharmacology
LAURENCE, M.D., M.R.C.P., senior lecturer in applied pharmacology, department of pharmacology, University College, and medical unit, University College Medical School, London, R. MOULTON, M.D., lately research assistant, medical unit, University College Hospital Medical School, London. London: J. & A. Churchill. 1960. Pp. 460. 32s. D. R.
AUTHORS of books on applied pharmacology are in danger being considered too academic by clinicians or too empirical or superficial by pharmacologists; and in fact it is impossible to write a textbook for medical students on this subject without some compromise. Dr. Laurence and Dr. Moulton have succeeded admirably in maintaining a balance between the pharmacology of drugs and their use in treatment; and they have also written a book which is a pleasure to read. The layout of the book is orthodox, drugs being generally grouped on the basis of their actions. The space given to various drugs is proportional to their importance to the doctor and there is a useful chapter on general pharmacology and on the unwanted effects of drugs. Scattered through the text are some useful tables, and the authors have made a point of including direct quotations from original sources, which add variety to the style. Each chapter has some key references from the literature on the drugs discussed. The chapters on hypotensive and vasodilator drugs and on digitalis are particularly good. The section on hypnotics is rather short considering the importance of this group of drugs and might reasonably be expanded in future editions. This is an excellent book, quite one of the better texts on applied pharmacology. It should be read by every medical student and would be useful and entertaining reading for the of
practising physician.
A.F.R.AE.S.
Anaerobic A LIGATURE INTRODUCER THIS instrument, made of brass, consists of a drum closed with a screw cap and containing a spool running on a spindle, the whole screw-mounted at right angles on a thin tube with its end turned to fit standard Luer needles. Thread carried on the spool is led down the tube and out through the hollow needle, the end of which is bent into a J with the bevel cut off (see figure).
Designed for work on small animals, the instrument may be used to pass a ligature round any structure in a confined operational field. Its advantages over an needle are: (a) the thread is preaneurysm sented at the extreme tip of the introducer; (b) the thread, being completely enclosed, cannot foul any projection in the field; (c) the hollow needle passes through an aperture smaller than will take an aneurysm needle; and (d) it may be used to create its own tunnel. A disadvantage of the instrument is that it is tiresome to reload; but the reel will carry 30 m. of no. 0 braided silk. When loading, the thread is waxed at the end and passed through the unbent needle from the tip. If the thread breaks, the broken end may be passed through the needle on a piece of fuse wire bent on itself. The ligature introducer. Drum: diameter 15 cm., length 3 cm. Handle:
diameter 0-6 cm., length 15 cm. Needle: no. 14
(gauge 23). 3.
N. F. ANDERSON M.B. Edin. Department of Surgical Science, University of Edinburgh
Williams, K. G. Proceedings of the Third International Conference Medical Electronics. London, 1960. In the press.
on
Bacteriology
in Clinical Medicine
A. TREVOR WILLIS, PH.D., M.B., lecturer in bacteriology, University of Leeds. London :Butterworth. 1960. Pp. 176. 30s.
MEDICAL bacteriologists, especially those who do the routine work for hospitals, generally have too much work to do in too little space with too little technical help. Probably for these reasons, the pathogenic anaerobes have not had the attention they deserve in routine hospital practice. These microorganisms, until the past ten years or so, were almost a special province for enthusiasts and experts only because of certain difficulties in their cultivation, isolation in pure culture, and identification. Working with Professor Oakley, Dr. Willis not surprisingly became both an enthusiast and an expert in this field of work. He concluded that the difficulties had been overrated, and set himself the worthwhile task of writing a book on methods, which would help others to undertake work that was worth doing and was increasingly being recognised as important. Gradually, non-technical issues kept pushing their way in to Dr. Willis’s book and the completed work deals excellently not only with technique but also with the essential minima necessary to form a fair picture of the properties and significance of the clinically important anaerobic bacteria. The result is a book of great value and accuracy and of commendable clarity and brevity. It does not claim to include everything, but it certainly contains enough to transform the approach which most medical bacteriologists now make to the pathogenic anaerobes. The book may be unreservedly commended.
diagnostic
Lectures
on
the Scientific Basis of Medicine
Vol. vni, 1958-59. Postgraduate Medical Federation, University of London. The Athlone Press. 1960. Pp. 467. 45s.
BOTANISTS, biologists, virologists, are allied with pathologists and physicians in contributing this new volume in the wellknown series. Here the keen doctor can read the revelations of the latest refinements of modern electron microscopy and can contemplate the deeper problems of gamma-globulins, in chapters which require concentration but which repay the effort.