Reviews and Notes: Endocrinology: Pharmacology of the Contraceptive Steroids

Pharmacology of the Contraceptive Steroids

Joseph W. Goldzieher and Kenneth Fotherby; eds. 479 pages. New York: Raven Press; 1994. $99.00.

Includes the chemical history of "the pill," that is, the research resulting in oral contraceptives, "the greatest revolution that has ever occurred, or will ever occur, in family planning. It dissociated contraception from sexual intercourse (and is) virtually 100% effective and totally reversible." The senior editor is credited with the earliest research on "synthetic progestational compounds" and some of the earliest clinical trials. Seventeen sections include mechanisms of action as well as studies in laboratory animals and in humans. The longest section is on pharmacodynamics in humans. It is not surprising that many of the references are old, but this book should be useful as a survey of the "basic information of various aspects of hormonal contraception," and may "expedite future investigation"