The Neurochemistry of Nucleotides and Amino Acids

This is a lively presentation of material which is a must for those working in research on glaucoma. It presents a picture of the frontier of the work by the pioneers who are exploring it. Attention is drawn to the difficulties of fixation of eyes, the variations in interpretation of normal eyes, and how a decision is reached as to what is normal and what is artefact. Against this background, the pathology of the human glaucomatous eye is discussed. The main feature of this conference is that a new approach to the etiology of glaucoma seems to be evolving, based on research work done by Smelser and Pappas. The implications of this work were really not discussed as the concept of a ciliary epithelium which functions for absorption as well as secretion of aqueous is new, even to conference members. The reviewer finds the give and take of the conference excellent for calling attention to important aspects of the discussion and differences of opinion, as the material is presented. There is relatively little time wasted on semantics, and digressions from the subject are relatively infrequent and of only brief duration. The pictures alone show the tremendous advances made, in both light and electron microscopy, in the last decade or so, in the study of the ciliary body and trabeculum. The captions under many of the illustrations contain terms which show that an entirely new nomenclature has had to be developed to describe what is found by these new and improved methods. The technical nature of the material presented makes this book of limited interest to the clinical ophthalmologist, as there is nothing in it to help him decide how to handle this or that particular case. It is, however, a relatively easy to read presentation of research data for those who are trying to keep abreast of the changing picture of glaucoma.