Reviews and Notes: Endocrinology: The Physiology of Reproduction

The Physiology of Reproduction

Second edition. Ernst Knobil, Jimmy D. Neill, Gilbert S. Greenwald, Clement L. Markert, and Donald W. Pfaff; eds. 3302 pages. New York: Raven Press; 1993. $360.00.

Technologic advances such as new instruments and techniques are responsible for the recent advances in knowledge occurring between this edition and the last one 6 years ago. In the words of the editors, readers will find "scholarly comprehensive examinations of the principal issues in reproductive physiology that will remain useful for a decade at least." They also state that "research on reproduction is flourishing and ... the taboos are gone." A tidbit: There are approximately 4000 species of mammals now in existence, resulting in a "staggeringly large number of unique strategies for regulating the annual breeding effort." In view of the price, one certainly hopes that the valuable shelf life of these two volumes will be a long one.