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Origins
THE MIGHTY GENE
Ethical Issues in Human Genetics Ed. Bruce Hilton et al. Plenum Press, (New York, 1973; 443 pp., index, $1 7.50) Scientists whose discoveries modify what is known about the material world are generally the first to discuss among themselves the consequences of their discoveries. But sometimes-as when the discovery of nuclear fission by Hahn and Meitner opened the possibility and indeed the inevitability of construction of the atomic bomb-a wider involvement is demanded. This volume, the result of a symposium sponsored by the John Fogarty International Centre for Advanced Studies in the Health Sciences at Warrenton, Virginia, contains twenty-six papers discussing the right to life, the ethical issues involved in the use of genetic knowledge, and the social and scientific priorities in the application of that knowledge. Deliberately the symposium involved a range of some eighty participants-doctors, lawyers, theologians, and social scientists. The resulting discussions are coloured in part by the American climate of opinion; they discuss, for example, such cases as Gleitman v. Cosgrove, the American case of the mother who being pregnant and suffering from a n attack of Rubella consulted a doctor who wrongly assured her that this would have no effect on her unborn child; and the Zapeda case in which a bastard child unsuccessfully sued his parents for damages arising from his illegitimate birth. One of the most interesting chapters is that containing the views of Lord Kilbrandon (now of the House of Lords) on the comparative law of genetic counselling, and his belief that in general the existing law should suffice to cope with such new situations. This book though on the fringes of forensic science contains none of the answers, but points many of the questions concerning the control of genetic knowledge, the privacy of genetic counselling and the genetic criteria for the right to life which are topical, compelling and in the eyes of some, positively menacin~. No one would suggest that these problems can be solved by forensic scientists. They are far too serious for that. But forensic scientists may well be in a peculiarly favourable position to guide public opinion in the formulation of the community's answers to their challenge. Alistair R. Brownlie 0
ORIGINS
International Symposium on Society, Medicine and Law Ed. H. Karplus (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1973; 204 pp., $10.90) This collection of twenty edited papers delivered at a symposium convened at Jerusalem in order to generate co-operation amongst scholars interested in the historical development of medico-legal thought in different cultures, contains many interesting passages setting out new material on early attitudes to medical experts, on the beginnings of forensic medicine, and on various aspects of social medicine. There are several papers on abortion in different communities and a final discussion in which the possibility of fostering international co-operation in this field of the social history of medicine is discussed. The book is invaluable for libraries which claim to stock a reference collection on the history of law and medicine, and it is not to be assumed that because it treats of the past it is irrelevant to modern problems. One of the most intriguing chapters describes the thirteenth century statutes
of Bologna concerning forensic medicine. As an example one of these rules may be summarised thus: "No more persons may be accused than there are mortal wounds". This is a specialist volume for the medico-legal historian. Alistair R. Brownlie COCKING T H E I R MEDICAL EYES
Law of Doctor and Patient S. R. Speller (H. K. Lewis & Co. Ltd., London, 1973; 193fp., index, jC;5.00) This statement of the law affecting doctor and patient (including the position of the surgeon and the dentist) by the respected author of "Law Relating to Hospitals and Kindred Institutions" sets out in a clear authoritative text the fundamental framework within which the practitioner in both private and National Health Service practice works. The author deals also with such topics as consent to treatment, injuries to patients, limitation of actions, mentally disabled patients, registration of births and deaths, professional confidence and ownership of medical records. On a spot check the reviewer failed to find any errors in the statements set out in the text but it is perhaps a criticism that while medical practice extends throughout the United Kingdom and beyond, the book contains no reservation or caution (save for a hint or two in Chapter IX) that the law differs in different parts of the United Kingdom. The reorganisation of the National Health Service now in progress has of course brought changes to the administrative arrangements but scarcely diminishes the value of this book to the doctor caught in a n emergency and particularly to those solicitors and others who may have to advise both doctors and patients upon their rights and obligations. Beautifully printed and produced, this book is a worthy successor to the author's first volume. A. R. Brownlie T H E DETAIL OF DEATH
Homicide: Investigative Techniques Daniel J. Hughes (C. C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois; 1974; 350 pp., $16.75) The author of this book from Charles l'homas was a practising detective in Pittsburgh and an instructor of Criminal Investigation in Allegheny County Community Centre. The British reader, being ignorant of the type of student attending that College, must be excused for wondering for which group of specialists it is intended. It is written in an easy, discursive style and any one concerned with unnatural death (it is not confined to cases of homicide) will learn something from its pages, but the title is likely to lead to some misunderstandings. The British serologist, for instance, would search in vain for detail of laboratory technique in a book where Blood Grouping is illustrated only by a photograph of a microscope. The words "Investigative Techniques" must be read to mean an appraisal of investigative methods in their broadest sense. No more than this would be possible in a book which covers subjects as varied as battered babies and the interrogation of prisoners, deaths by drugs and the routine to be followed in an exhumation. The writer's special interests lead him to go more fully into detail than is 346
Ethical Issues in Human Genetics Ed. Bruce Hilton et al. Plenum Press, (New York, 1973; 443 pp., index, $1 7.50) Scientists whose discoveries modify what is known about the material world are generally the first to discuss among themselves the consequences of their discoveries. But sometimes-as when the discovery of nuclear fission by Hahn and Meitner opened the possibility and indeed the inevitability of construction of the atomic bomb-a wider involvement is demanded. This volume, the result of a symposium sponsored by the John Fogarty International Centre for Advanced Studies in the Health Sciences at Warrenton, Virginia, contains twenty-six papers discussing the right to life, the ethical issues involved in the use of genetic knowledge, and the social and scientific priorities in the application of that knowledge. Deliberately the symposium involved a range of some eighty participants-doctors, lawyers, theologians, and social scientists. The resulting discussions are coloured in part by the American climate of opinion; they discuss, for example, such cases as Gleitman v. Cosgrove, the American case of the mother who being pregnant and suffering from a n attack of Rubella consulted a doctor who wrongly assured her that this would have no effect on her unborn child; and the Zapeda case in which a bastard child unsuccessfully sued his parents for damages arising from his illegitimate birth. One of the most interesting chapters is that containing the views of Lord Kilbrandon (now of the House of Lords) on the comparative law of genetic counselling, and his belief that in general the existing law should suffice to cope with such new situations. This book though on the fringes of forensic science contains none of the answers, but points many of the questions concerning the control of genetic knowledge, the privacy of genetic counselling and the genetic criteria for the right to life which are topical, compelling and in the eyes of some, positively menacin~. No one would suggest that these problems can be solved by forensic scientists. They are far too serious for that. But forensic scientists may well be in a peculiarly favourable position to guide public opinion in the formulation of the community's answers to their challenge. Alistair R. Brownlie 0
ORIGINS
International Symposium on Society, Medicine and Law Ed. H. Karplus (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1973; 204 pp., $10.90) This collection of twenty edited papers delivered at a symposium convened at Jerusalem in order to generate co-operation amongst scholars interested in the historical development of medico-legal thought in different cultures, contains many interesting passages setting out new material on early attitudes to medical experts, on the beginnings of forensic medicine, and on various aspects of social medicine. There are several papers on abortion in different communities and a final discussion in which the possibility of fostering international co-operation in this field of the social history of medicine is discussed. The book is invaluable for libraries which claim to stock a reference collection on the history of law and medicine, and it is not to be assumed that because it treats of the past it is irrelevant to modern problems. One of the most intriguing chapters describes the thirteenth century statutes
of Bologna concerning forensic medicine. As an example one of these rules may be summarised thus: "No more persons may be accused than there are mortal wounds". This is a specialist volume for the medico-legal historian. Alistair R. Brownlie COCKING T H E I R MEDICAL EYES
Law of Doctor and Patient S. R. Speller (H. K. Lewis & Co. Ltd., London, 1973; 193fp., index, jC;5.00) This statement of the law affecting doctor and patient (including the position of the surgeon and the dentist) by the respected author of "Law Relating to Hospitals and Kindred Institutions" sets out in a clear authoritative text the fundamental framework within which the practitioner in both private and National Health Service practice works. The author deals also with such topics as consent to treatment, injuries to patients, limitation of actions, mentally disabled patients, registration of births and deaths, professional confidence and ownership of medical records. On a spot check the reviewer failed to find any errors in the statements set out in the text but it is perhaps a criticism that while medical practice extends throughout the United Kingdom and beyond, the book contains no reservation or caution (save for a hint or two in Chapter IX) that the law differs in different parts of the United Kingdom. The reorganisation of the National Health Service now in progress has of course brought changes to the administrative arrangements but scarcely diminishes the value of this book to the doctor caught in a n emergency and particularly to those solicitors and others who may have to advise both doctors and patients upon their rights and obligations. Beautifully printed and produced, this book is a worthy successor to the author's first volume. A. R. Brownlie T H E DETAIL OF DEATH
Homicide: Investigative Techniques Daniel J. Hughes (C. C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois; 1974; 350 pp., $16.75) The author of this book from Charles l'homas was a practising detective in Pittsburgh and an instructor of Criminal Investigation in Allegheny County Community Centre. The British reader, being ignorant of the type of student attending that College, must be excused for wondering for which group of specialists it is intended. It is written in an easy, discursive style and any one concerned with unnatural death (it is not confined to cases of homicide) will learn something from its pages, but the title is likely to lead to some misunderstandings. The British serologist, for instance, would search in vain for detail of laboratory technique in a book where Blood Grouping is illustrated only by a photograph of a microscope. The words "Investigative Techniques" must be read to mean an appraisal of investigative methods in their broadest sense. No more than this would be possible in a book which covers subjects as varied as battered babies and the interrogation of prisoners, deaths by drugs and the routine to be followed in an exhumation. The writer's special interests lead him to go more fully into detail than is 346