The Pulmonary Circulation and Interstitial Space

Organization and Development of the Embryo is based on a series of Silliman Lectures at Yale University given by Ross G. Harrison in 1949 under the same title. Professor Harrison was unable to prepare these lectures for publication because of illness, but his assistant, Miss Sally Wilens, has assembled in this volume the notes and papers of Professor Harrison on which the content of the lectures was based. The five papers reprinted here concern cellular differentiation, tissue culture, development of the nervous system, symmetry in development, and heteroplastic grafting. A synopsis of the lectures and a summary by Professor Harrison aids in relating the papers to the lectures. In addition, new material is included in the form of excerpts from the Silliman Lecture notes interpolated in the papers by Miss Wilens, figures taken from slides used to illustrate the lectures, and a previously unpublished account of the embryonic development of the spotted salamander, Amblystoma punctatum. The papers themselves are primarily of historical interest and its does not seem significant how closely the volume conforms to the original organization of the lectures. Of greater importance is that this collection of writings records the general thoughts and concepts of Professor Harrison on embryonic organization and development. With the inclusion of a preface on Professor Harrison's life and a complete bibliography of his published papers, the volume emerges as a fitting tribute to the entire life and work of Ross Harrison. Since the field of developmental biology owes much to the contributions of Professor Harrison, this volume will be of interest and value to all those working in this area. THOMAS L. LENTZ