This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables.
Connective tissue and ground substances are vexing in their complexity, and with the vast array of newer techniques this no longer neglected medical area is increasingly confusing. Asboe-Hansen's book, contributed to by 23 investigators from different parts of the world, is an attempt to bring the subject up to date. The advent of powerful steroid hormones; advances in morphology, chemistry, and physiology; the introduction of the electron microscope; the newer enzymatic approaches—all are displayed against the clinical confusion of the amorphous conglomerate of "collagen diseases" and the speculative system of Selye and the "alarm reaction." In fact, the subject covers every medical specialty, touches every clinical problem, and concerns all organs and systems of the body.
The book is excellently made. The individual sections are very well written, although with some unevenness. A good deal of overlapping is necessary, since each section is an independent unit. The grave fault which