Form and Function in the Human Lung

FORM AND FUNCTION IN THE HUMAN LUNG. Edited by G. Cumming and L. B. Hunt. (Pp. xi+260; illustrated, 45s.). Edinburgh & London: E. & S. Livingstone, 1968. THE Department of Medicine at Birmingham has always had a major research interest in pulmonary disease and lung function and a number of contemporary workers in this field were readily persuaded to visit Birmingham for this Symposium. They heard of the recent studies of the inhomogeneity of ventilation made by Dr. Gordon Cumming and his colleagues and of the work on the pulmonary vasculature by Donald Heath. And the visitors contributed a number of exciting and interesting communications. I myself thought that Giles Filley of Denver gave the most outstanding paper of the Symposium a very thoughtful analysis of the use of models and concepts in the analysis of pulmonary function. This small well produced rather expensive book is a 'must' for anyone whose major research interest is bronchitis, emphysema, pulmonary hypertension or pulmonary function tests. But I also commend it to all physiologists, clinicians and pathologists. They should browse through this. Even if their research interests are in different fields, the attitude of this group of workers in the field of respiratory disease and their readiness to approach their problem through many different scientific disciplines is an example that needs to be followed in many other fields of modern medicine. O.L.W.