Book Review 1Book Title: Physiological Function in Special EnvironmentsBook Author: Edited by Charles V. Paganelli &amp; Leon E. FarhiSatellite Symposium of the American Physiological Society Fall Meeting (1985). Springer:Verlag New York Inc.Book Review 2Book Title: Parasitic DiseasesBook Author: M. Katz, D.D. Despommier &amp; R. Gwadz Second edition, Springer-Veriag, 1988. 301 pages.Book Review 3Book Title: The Unheeded Cry - Animal Consciousness, Animal Pain, and ScienceBook Author: Bernard E. Rollin Published by the OUP. 308 pages

Appleton, C.C.

Hattingh, J

Mitchell, G

Naidu, S.G.

English

AJOL - African Journals Online

204 Book Reviews Physiological Function in Special EnvirGnments Edited by Charles V. Paganelli and Leon E. Farhi Satellite Symposium of the American Physiological Society Fall Meeting (1985) Springer:Verlag New York Inc. Price £45,50 This work is a compilation of papers delivered at the symposium on Environmental Physiology, held in honour of noted environmental physiologist Herman Rahn. Its publication is five years overdue, although references more recent than 1985 have been included in its update. The book is divided into four parts, with the first part devoted to physiology at altitude, the second part to diving and exposure to elevated pressure, the third to altered G-force, and the fourth to comparative physiology . In his banquet speech dedicated to Herman Rahn, Ewald Weibel displays a perfect mixture of art and science: from ostrich eggs being more economical to take than snialler hummingbird eggs, if one were to prepare for an expedition on a flying saucer, through the astoni-shing likeness of the distribution of the eyes on a pea-cock's tail fan to some of the curves derived with the OrC02 diagram, to the gill fan of the Indian air-breathing catfish Heteropneustes fossilis, whose design compares remarkably with Botticelli's scallOp. In Part I, Lahiri (Chapter 1) paints a convincing picture of carotid body m~nifesting structural, biochemical and functional responses to chronic hypoxia; responses, which affirm that carotid body is truly an oxygen-sensitive organ. While early work on the role of chemoreceptors in ventilatory acclimatization to hypoxia included sugges-tions of near-perfect regulation of the ionic composition of the ECF environment of the medullary chemorecep-tor, additive effects of peripheral and central chemore-ception on ventilatory output, and the view of alveolar ventilation as a single function of changes in chemore-ceptor ISF [H+], Dempsey & Smith present evidence in Chapter 2 which challenges some of these ideas. These authors contend that ventilatory acclimatization pro-ceeds either in spite of or indifferently to changes in cerebral fluid [H+]. Further, in these high altitude studies, Stenmark et al. (Chapter 3) demonstrate physiological and morphological similarities between the newborn calf at high altitude and the neonate with pulmonary hypertension, and provide a useful animal model for future investigations into the aetiology and treatment of neonatal pulmonary hypertension. In Chapter 4, Cerretelli et al. provide further experimental evidence that both aerobic and anaerobic energetic S.-Afr. Tydskr. Dierk. 1990,25(3) mechanisms, particularly those of the skeletal muscle, are affected negatively by prolonged exposure to high altitude. Van Liew starts Part II of this book with a computer simulation study and suggests that accelerative pressure does not constitute an important fraction of total pressure for breathing in a dense gas environment. Next, Ohta & Farhi (Chapter 6) provide experimental evi-dence for diffusion in the gas phase being a limiting factor in alveolar gas exchange at depth. In Chapter 7, Hong & Paganelli examine the physiology underlyieg the diuresis accompanying hyperbaric exposure (evident even in the complete absence of cold stress); Their fluid balance studies show that a significant reduction of insensible water loss in hyperbaria is primarily responsi-ble for the diuresis. Using certain assumptions, Yount & Hoffman (Chapter 8) determine that a reasonable set of diving tables can be computed from a bubble nucleation model. At the end of this section of the book, Zapol et al. show up to 60% increases in arterial haemoglobin values in the free-diving antarctic Weddel seal; with the spleen being suggested as the. source of the influx of oxygenated red blood cells. In Part III, Burton presents data which show that pilot fatigue is a limiting factor in tolerance to sustained low and high G as well as the simulated aerial combat man-oeuvre (SACM). And, Leach & Johnson (Chapter 11) review studies of fluid and electrolyte .balance conse-quential to weightlessness, specifically in space travel. In Part IV, Dejours (Chapter 12) presents such exciting excursions between the physiology of sea-dwellers and that of land inhabitants, that in addition to being informative, it forms an interesting backdrop to the earlier forays into such hinterlands as great altitude (Part I), many fathoms under the sea (Part II), or space (Part III). In examining the efficiency of gas-exchange organs, Piiper (Chapter 13) notes that enhanced effici-ency (marked by arterial P02 higher than expired P02 and/or arterial P CO2 lower than expired P C02), has been observed in both fish and birds. But in many cases, the expected high efficiency of the countercurrent (fish gills) and crosscurrent system (bad lungs) is apparently not utilized. Further, in the study of comparative physio-logy, Ar & Zachs (Chapter 14) determine the rate of O2 consumption, the rate of CO2 production, and ventila-tion of the African catfish Clariaq lazera in water and air at preferred temperature and in different oxygen pres-sures in the water. In Chapter 15, Hammel presents an interesting comparison between the time-dependent, thermoregulatory responses of a dog to thermal stress and the time-dependent responses of a Pekin duck to salt stress. He notes the phenomenon of homeostasis-embracing negative feedback in the two responses, and introduces another concept, viz. that such feedback may be enhanced and sustained by positive feedback in the Pekin duck. It is appropriate that Herman Rahn whom this sympo-sium honours, be allowed the final say in the closing chapter (Chapter 16). Here Rahn invokes Max Rubners' bold 1908 assertions that during the life-span of mammals (whatever their size), their total basal energy • I Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2010). .. I S.AJT.J.2JDol.1990,25(3) expenditure per kg body mass is similar. He notes that today's evidence still fits this model and can be extended to adult passerine birds; and further that energy expenditure per unit mass of developing avian eggs also fits Rubner's law. Although this work is specific, it is relevant and of value to researchers in the respective fields. While the editors make no claim to all-inclusiveness, notable in its absence is physiological function in high and low temperature environments; for these, too, form 'special environments' for which this work is titled. J. HATTINGH and S.G. NAIDU Department of General Physiology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Parasitic Diseases M. Katz, D.O. Despommier & R. Gwadz Second edition, Springer-Veriag, 1988 301 pages Price OM 128,00 This well-produced book is a revision of the first edition published in 1982 and is aimed at medical students and undergraduate students of human parasitology. It covers the spectrum of parasites associated with man in the different geographical regions of the world. There· are five chapters which are arranged not in the expected systematic order, but as fonows: Nematodes, Cestodes, Trematodes, Protozoa and Arthropods. Chapter 1 deals with the common nematode parasites of man (53 pp.) plus a further 12 pages on aberrant infections and those of minor importance. This format is repeated in the other chapters which comprise 29, 29, 81 and 52 pages respectively. There are three appendices, I on the exami-nation of clinical specimens (2 pages), II on drug dosages (4 pages) and III on laboratory diagnostic methods (7 pages + 14 more of black and white pbotographs of eggs, 18JVae, cysts and trophozoites that are likely to be found in samples of faeces, urine, sputum, blood etc.). These illustrations are particularly useful as they include a number of uncommon and spUrious infections. The whole book contains 301 pages. There are several other features which deserve men-tion: the life-cycle illustrations are skilful wash-drawings and are unusually explicit, the four plates of colour paintings of the erythrocytic stages of the four Plasmo-dium species are also of high quality, the useful inclusion of a section on Cryptosporidium because of its involve-ment in AIDS infections, discussions of the 'new' Lyme disease, chloroquine resistance in malaria and alterna-tive treatment. These are all pertinent to recent develop-ments in human parasitology in South Africa where AIDS and malaria are very real problems and Lyme disease has recently been detected. Reference lists are provided at the end of each chapter and have been 205 updated (from the first edition which I have not seen) so that 50% of citations are post-1975 and 23% post-1982, the year of publication of the first edition. Inaccuracies have, however, crept into the text. Examples from two sections, those on the schistosomes and mosquitoes, wiD suffice. The authors draw attention to the incorporation in many of the life-cycle diagrams of reservoir hosts but in some cases, such as the schisto-somes, this is misleading. Monkeys are shown as reser-voir hosts for both Schistosoma haematobium and S. mansoni. This indicates, fonowing my understanding of the term 'reservoir host', and those of Bailliere's Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary (1988) and the International Dictionary of Medicine and Biology (1986), that the human bilharzias of Africa are zoonoses or at least capable of maintaining a focus of infection in non-human primates and so facilitating transmission to man. In fact, S. haematobium has seldom been reported from any host other than man and, although S. mansoni does infect monkeys and baboons naturally, their ability to maintain foci of transmission is certainly not proven. Also, the snail intermediate host of S. haematobium is shown as having a dextral shell whereas it should have been sinistral. Cercarial penetration of human skin is not solely via hair follicles as both the text and drawings suggest. In the section on mosquitoes, the statement that egg morphology is characteristic for a given species does not apply within the Anopheles gambiae complex - a point of practical importance in Africa. The longevity of larval instars is given as up to three weeks but these may last up to six - similar inaccuracies appear in the paragraph on culicines. Few typographical and spelling mistakes were found but an erratum leaflet included with the book corrects eleven errors and omissions. The text is well written and the quality of the many black-and-white photographs is generally good. One irritating aspect of the authors' style is the apparently arbitrary use of italics for generic and specific names and capital letters for the former. Notwithstanding these criticisms, many of which are minor and even semantic, this book is a useful reference work and is in several ways a refreshing departure from the hitherto standard accounts of the subject. C.C. APPLETON Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Natal, Piete171Ulrilzburg References BLOOD, D.C. & STUDDERT, V.P. 1988. Bailliere's Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary. Bailliere Tindall, London. LANDAU, S.1. (Editor-in-chief) 1986. International Dictionary of Medicine and Biology. Vol. ill. John Wiley & Sons, New York. Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2010). 206 The Unheeded Cry - Animal Consciousness, Animal Pain, and Science Bernard E. Rollin Published by the OUP 308 pages Price: Rl08,95 This book fonns part of a series published by the OUP called 'Studies in Bioethics'. In general, books in this series (for example Kuhse and Singer's 'Should the baby live') have been well received. They represent the growing awareness in society of the moral dilemmas created by knowledge, especially growth of knowledge in the life sciences. Rollin's book is the first in the series to deal with the ethics surrounding animal experimentation and I must say that it is disappointing. This is not to say that the book is badly written, or that the philosophical discus-sions are superficial, or that he does not have extensive knowledge of the issue, or that he has not done enough research. On the contrary, all these aspects of the book are.impressive. What is not impressive is his approach to the subject. The over-riding impression I got was that Rollin had to create an argument on which to hang the book rather than use the book to highlight important deficits in our current thinking about animal experi-ments. It is quite simply an absurd notion to suppose that animals do not feel pain or have consciousness, and these ideas are certainly not central to a discussion about amnial ethics. Moreover, Rollin creates his argument using quite ~orgiveable techniques, namely the use of anecdotes, sweeping generalizations, 'gee whiz' comments and statements which are simply unbelievable, all compoun-ded by an irritating habit of quoting without referring. In addition the few identifiable references more often than not have nineteenth century dates attached to them. I can safely say that he presents no data whatsoever to support his claims. Consequently only uncritical readers will find solace in this book. These comments are of special importance for a book on animal experiments. Anecdotes more than any other single factor have brought animal research into the spotlight. His attempt to justify the use of anecdotes -which takes 18 pages of the book - is unconvincing. Moreover, making highly questionable statements as if they are the accepted, conventional wisdom is unlikely to impress the scientists who might have read this book: anti-vivisectionists will no doubt seize them eagerly. Examples are legion. Can' he really expect us to believe his anecdote that many American university S.-Afr. Tydskr. Dierk. 1990,25(3) students cannot understand why Australians don't fall off the earth, and if that is the case, therefore all American University students lack common sense (p.4). Another trick he uses is to quote always anonymous 'senior' academics. Thus we hear from a 'senior veterin-ary scientist' (p.7), a 'famous dairy scientist' (p.7) and a 'sophisticated senior scientist' (p.31), or hear about a 'famous incident' (p.126) all of which at least from the comments attributed to them, are none of these. For example can he really expect us to believe that a 'famous incident' in which a 'well-funded researcher' said, 'At what stage do white mice grow up to be rats,' is true, or if specifically true, is generally true of the state of knowledge of all other well-funded researchers? I think not. And can we possibly be expected to believe that a 'chief of veterinary surgery' is not aware that post-operative pain is a consequence of major surgery. If this is the case it is surely a dreadful indictment of the state of veterinary training in America rather than an indictment of animal use. His tactic of using sweeping generaliza-tions is even more ubiquitous. For example we are told that few biomedical scientists know or care much about the animals they use while auto-mechanics, construction workers and salesman know more (p.8). And 'Quite often I run across researchers and veterinarians who deny that animals feel pain'! And 'Toxicologists have no acquaintance with planaria'. And, he 'regularly finds lurid tales of senior researchers caught in acts of fraud'! I was also concerned to find several erroneous state-ments. For example he uses the words 'severity of tail flicks' for assessing pain in rats, (presumably to extract the maximum emotional response) when 'latency' is the actual measure used. Also, Descartes features promi-nently even though his notions of animal pain and behaviour are thoroughly discredited. And 'no amount of data forces the conclusion that a person or animal is healthy or sick'. If this is so then establishment of normal values for, say, physiological and biochemical variables or diagnostic tests, values recognized to be the basis of modem veterinary and human medicine, is a worthless exercise. He also says that glucose tolerance tests are used to assess hypoglycaemia when surely he means hyperglycaemia. He also says (p.154) that the presence of (opiate) receptors implies a function for them. This statement is plainly wrong: human males have oxytocin receptors, but no oxytocin! But enough. Disappointment is my residual emotion. Here, surely, was an opportunity missed. Here, surely, is a set-back for current efforts aimed at managing the moral dilemma posed by animal experimentation. Read the book for its prose, not its contents. G. MITCHELL Department of Physiology, Medical School, University of the Witw.atersrand, Johannesburg I Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2010). 

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