Neurobiology Neurobiology: 2 ed. Ed. by Gordon M. Shepherd. Pp. xiv + 689. Illustrared. R74,50. Oxford: Oxford Universiry Press. 1988.Medical physiology Textbook of Medical Physiology. Ed. by A. C. Guyton. Pp. xli + 1014. Illustrated. Kent: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich. 1991.Bilingual heart and stress booklets The Healthy HeartlDie Gesonde Hart. Ed. by G. Jackson. Coping with Stress/Oorwin Stres. Ed. by T. Trauer. pp. 77. Illustrated. RI9,95. Cape Town: Tafelberg. 1990

Belonje, P. C.

de Villiers, JC

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Frederick George FeinsteinM.B. Ch.B.• F.R.C.O.G.Or Martin Singer of Marina da Gama, Cape Town, wrires:Fred passed away on 14 November 1990 some months after acardiac rransplamation. He obtained his M.B. Ch.B. ar ucr in 1950,and after his house jobs and a spell in general practice he proceededrO the UK in 1954 for posrgraduare srudies. During his 4-year sraybe obrained his M.R.eO.G., with subsequem elecrion rof.R.CO.G.In 1958 Fred remmed from the UK ro practise in Southern Rhode-sia (Zimbabwe) as a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologisr. Hisquesr for knowledge, both medical and non-medical was insatiable.Thus ir was no surprise that he was granted a Fulbright and Damol'iRunyan Scholarship respectively, which enabled him ro spend a year(l9/;i1) srudying cytology in New York at Memorial Hospital. Hewas a pioneer in this field in Zimbabwe, where he remained until1976 when he rerumed to Cape Town, where he was in private prac-tice until just before his cardiac transplantation.Oavid Alexander EdingtonMA (Hons): M.B.. Ch.B .. F.R.C.P. (Edin)Professor Y. K. Seedar of rhe Universiry of Naral Medical Schoolwrires:David Edingron passed away on6 February 1991 ar rhe age of 72years. He was born in Howick,Naral. His academic qualificarionwas a M.A. degree from rhe Univer-siry of Cambridge, and a M.B.Ch.B. degree from the University ofCape Town in 1943. In 1951 he ob-rained membership of rhe RoyalCollege of Physicians (Edinburgh)and was elecr,ed a fellow of rhe sameCollege in 1968.Soon after qualifying as a medi-cal docror he worked as a house phy-sician and surgeon at AddingronHospiral, Durban, from 1943 ro1944. From 1944 ro 1946 he servedDavid Edingtqn in the South Mrican Medical Corpsand volunteered for service in theFar East. In 1945 he was awarde<;i the Royal Humane Society Awardfor rescuing a man overboard while ar sea on the hospital ship, Amra.After the Second World War David trained in postgraduate medi-cine in the Departrnem of Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital, CapeTO....'Il, from 1948 ro 1951. Thence he wem to England ro funherhis postgraduate training and worked as a registrar at the NationalHospiral for Nervous Diseases in 1951 and for periods ar rhe Posr-. graduare Medical School, rhe Narional Heart Hospiral and LondonHospital.David rerumed to South Africa in 1953 and emered private prac-tice as a specialist physician. He held a pan-time senior physi-dan/lecturer post at King Edward VIII Hospital and the Universityof Natal trom 1964 ro 1983, and was also senior consultant physi-cian at McCords Zulu Hospital, Durban, from 1962 to 1967. _Books/BoekeNeurobiologyNeurobiology: 2 ed. Ed. by Gordon M. Shepherd. Pp. xiv + 689.Illustrared. R74,50. Oxford: Oxford Universiry Press. 1988.I have looked ar this book for abour a year ro determine irs valueand, of course, ro updare my knowledge of neurophysiology,neuropathology and neurobiology. It is an ourstanding work and canbe advised as reading material for anyone who is inrerested in theneurosciences, no maner at whar level that interesr may be. Unfor-nmately there is no university course in this country geared ro thiskind of rext, which indicates the sad stare of affairs in which rheneurosciences exist here.This book should, however, be on the shelf of every pracrisingSAMJ VOL 79 6APR 1991 411Fred was among the first ro use the techniques of laparoscopy andhysreroscopy. Despite a very busy private practice he found the timero prepare numerous congress papers, and during all this time hefoughr ,\n uphill battle againsr chronic cardiac problems. He hadinfinire patience, compassion and encouragemem for his patiems,family and friends - his own problems had ro be pried from himwith grear difficulty. When the quality of life became unbearableeven after [Wo major cardiac operations, he accepred the onlyremaining option of a hean transplant with quier, true courage. Hewas so delighred with his 'new' life, as he pur ir, postoperarively,rhar 12 days before his sudden demise he informed me· with grearjoy thar he was assisring one of his colleagues with a hysterecromythat week.Fred was one of the very few truly grear men I have been privilegedro know and he will be sorely missed by all of us - his friends,patiems, his wife, Mireille, his two daughters, SharoH and Michelle,and their families, including four grandchildren.In our memories he will remain an incandescem beacon of hopeand kindness.David Edingron played a valuable and importanr role in variousmedical and social organisations in Durban. He was a member ofthe Branch Council of the Medical Association of South Africa(MASA) and was Presidem of the Natal Coastal Branch of the MASAin 1962. In 1977 he was given an award for ourstanding service ren-dered ro the MASA at branch level. He was a foundation member. of the Naral Medical Plan, and Director of thar body until 1970.Together with Ingrid, his dear wife, he worked for the CamphillSteiner Schools for mentally handicapped children and played a rolein establishing a school in Pietermaritzburg. He was a member ofthe Addingron Hospiral Advisory Board from 1978 ro 1990 and amember of the Board of Governors, Oifton Schools, from 1970 ro1980. He was made an honorary life member of the Durban ChildWelfare Society in 1974. He was a permanent trustee of the Saun-ders Langeveld Trusr from 1968 ro date, which body contriburedgenerously ro the local Branch Council of the MASA.I was privileged ro work for David Edingron as a medical regis-trar and then to work as fellow medical consultanr in a medical wardar King Edward VIII Hospital for a period of abour 20 years. Dur-ing this period I admired his humane approach to patients, nursingstaff and medical colleagues. In the 1950s and 19605 he providedthe care of patienrs when medicine was not rechnologically deve-loped, and was interested in patients .as fellow human beings.We musr remember thar patiems expect professional competencein medical science and technology, they want to be reasonably in-formed, and not be abandoned when death comes; and when no morecan be done for the patiem it is time to care for the family. It isthe caring role rather than the curing role of the physician that isso imponanr. The task of medicine is the promotion of health, theprevention of diseases and the treatment of the ill. Ir was in thissphere that David Edingron showed his true skill as a physician.Socially he was warm, friendly and.a great racomeur. He was astrong family man and a friend to most of those with whom he camein contacr. His laughter, the anecdotes that he loved ro relare in hisinimitable style will always be remembered by his close friends. Thelarge crowd thar anended his funeral service was a testimony of theregard the community had for him as a kind, humane person. Thespirir of the dead remains in the memory of the living. To his wifeIngrid, a medical docror, and his family, I offer my sincere sympathy.neurologist, neurosurgeon or neuroscientisr involved in reaching.It has a well-balanced rext with a grear deal of comparative neuro-anaromy and neurophysiology in a wide biological contexr. It makessense of information which could, for the novice, be confusing andrather awesome. Handling of the lirerature is exrensive and up rodate. Any srudenr dealing with any aspect of neurosciences, whethermedical srudent or srudem in the professions allied to medicine, willonly gain by consulting the appropriare chaprers, and will probablyend up by reading much more. Anyone qualified in any of thesehyperspecialities in the neurological sciences and has retained a basicinquisiriveness, will find ir a delight. Ar rhis price ir is a very goodbuy.J. C. de Villiers412 SAMJ VOL. 79 6 APR 1991Medical physiologyTextbook of Medical Physiology. Ed. by A. C. Guyton. Pp. xli+ 1014. Illustrated. Kent: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich. 1991.Some 3S years ago, the first edition of this textbook appeared andhas proved so popular that it has been repeatedly updated. Thiseighth edition has been suitably revised and, I am sure, will onceagain appear on the list of recommended textbooks in manydepartments of physiology throughout the world.As always, the contents section is quite exceptional since itclearly sets out the important subdivisions within each system.This allows the student to get a proper perspective and overview.of physiology. Similarly, the index appears exhaustive and thecross-referencing is most usefuLWithin the body of the text, the sections and subsections areclearly defmed, which makes studying easier. Also, the referencesat the end of each chapter allow the serious student to delve moredeeply into the subject.To those schooled in the metric system and SI units, the bookabounds in irritating inconsistencies and errors. For example, inFigs 73 - 6 and 73 - 11 body temperature is given in OF, while inFigs 73 - 7 and 73 - 8 head temperature is given in 0c. Plasmacalcium in Fig. 79 - 3 is given as mg/lOO ml, in Fig. 79 - 9 asmmol/I and Fig. 79 - 10 as mg/d!. In Fig. 83 - I length is given incentimeters while in Fig. 83 - 8 height is in inches. Electrolytesare given mainly as mmoVI, but mEq/1 is also used, while in theStrikes and health workerscase of non-electrolytes mg/dl appears. Also, the abbreviation gmis used instead of g. .All in all, though, this remains a most useful textbook that canbe recommended to both undergraduates and postgraduates alike.P. C. BelonjeBilingual heart and stress bookletsThe Healthy HeartlDie Gesonde Hart. Ed. by G. Jackson. Cop-ing with Stress/Oorwin Stres. Ed. by T. Trauer. pp. 77. Illustrated.RI9,95. Cape Town: Tafelberg. 1990.These small books are intended for the general public but were sowell written that I enjoyed reading them myself. They are part ofa series entitled A Family Guide 10 Healthy Living and are availablein English and Mrikaans at the reasonable price of R19,95 + GST.Not only do they deal wiLh the symptoms, signs' and treatmentof stress and heart disease, bur they enable readers to evaluate theirown level of risk and, more important, spell our how the risks canbe reduced.Doctors may confidently recommend these books to their patients,and, in view of the average doctor's lifestyle, would also benefit fromreading them themselves.A report from the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural RightsThis is a record of the United Nations' International LabourOrganisation (ILO) in the engaging in previously unscheduledlabour strikes by medical personnel and health workers at medi-cal institutions in the Phillipines, the UK, France and SourhMrica.It has repeatedly come to the attention of the ILO that thou-sands of medical 'staff and health workers in several countries,namely the Phillipines, the UK, France and South Mrica, have,during the years 1990 and 1991, conducted labour strikes directlyin violation of the ILO conventions ruling such strikes. The ILOappeals to the medical and health workers of these countries,especially in South Mrica where the greatest number of strikeswere recorded, to cease this practice, which is looked upon withabhorrence by this body and which is considered a gross viola-tion of the human being's right to medical and health care, andthus to the right to human survival.It must be pointed out - and very urgently since so many livesare at stake - that while all the world's workers are allowed tosubsequently engage in strike action ifall conciliation proceduresand establishment of failure-to-agree are exhausted, there are somestrikes under the ILO conventions that may be regarded as un-lawful. These may include the essential services, defmed restric-tively as those whose stoppage would jeopardise the life, healthand welfare of the population.While only one incident has been brought to our attention ineach of the Phillipines, the UK and France, the human rightsinfringements towards patients by South Mrican health workerswarranted our specific attention during the committee dis-cussions.Clause: the strikes by South Mrican health workersIt must be pointed out that in the instances pertaining to thestrikes in South Mrica that were examined, the specific strikeswere always seen as endangering the lives, health and welfare of~ the population, and no proper measures were taken to preventthe infringement of human rights towards patients by health wor-kers and medical personnel.Under the ILO regulations, medical personnel must in all casesinsist on reaching an arbitration agreement that will be satIsfac-tory to everyone. Under no circumstances must medical person-nel be allowed to engage in unexpected strikes and thus endanger;the lives of patients.If medical personnel insist on striking, the onus is on themand the labour unionsupponing the strike action to pay for andbring in other sufficiently trained medical personnel well in ad-vance of the intended strike to provide all the health care ser-vices to every patient in the care of the specific medical facilityagainst which the strike is to be directed. This replacement medi-cal staff must also meet the specific approval and educati(,'1alrequirements of the management of the medical facility agaiJ.1stwhich the strike is directed.Strike action by nurses, health workers and doctors in SmithMrican hospitals and clinics, both publicly and privately funded,were thoroughly investigated by the Economic and Social Coun-cil in' December 1990, and again in February 1991, when newinformation was provided. Their repons were summarised andpublished during the 36th and 37th meetings at. ~he Palais desNations, Geneva: ,Mr Martenson, the Under Secretary-General for Human Rights,has approved that a clause be inserted about strikes among healthworkers in South Mrica, and that this clause clearly state the ob-jections of this committee to these strikes as a clear infringementof human rights, which under no circumstances may be condonedby the United Nations. In this regard, the health wdrkers .of SouthMrica are asked to closely consult the formulations drawn upby the Centre for Human Rights. When any striking workersviolate the human rights of other human beings, the UnitedNations' ILO and the Centre for Human Rights cannot suppontheir strike action. On the contrary, they instead urgently requestthat they cease infringing the human rights of their patients.This concludes the observations on the initial repons submit-ted to the committees, which sat in December 1990 and Febru-ary 1991. The official records may be obtained from the OfficialRecords Section, Room E 4108, Palais des Nationes, Geneva.

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