Horace W. Davenport. 414 pages. New York: Oxford University Press; 1992. $75.00.

A detailed, thorough, valuable history by one of the fathers of contemporary gastroenterologic physiology covering the late 18th century to the middle of our half-century: the genesis, development, and experimental study of concepts concerned with gastric acid formation and neural and chemical control of secretion, pepsin and pepsinogen, mucus, cell turnover, gastric blood flow, and gastric digestion and absorption. Generous use of illustrations and quotations from classic sources and ample crediting in the text of investigators by name with dates. Carefully documented with an extensive bibliography. Name and subject indexes. Highly recommended for collections covering gastroenterology, physiology, and medical history.