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Illustrations form the substance of this significant book. The authors have executed skillfully their plan to study the human fetal circulation, the initiation of breathing by the human newborn, and the transitional circulation in the newborn.
Excellent reproductions of angiocardiograms emphasize, first, the characteristics of circulation in 12 to 25-week-old fetuses and, second, the adjustments of neonatal respiration and circulation. The closures of the ductus neosus, foramen ovale, and ductus arteriosus are well delineated. Biplanar, direct angiocardiographic techniques are favored for their detail and contrast. High speed cineroentgenograms are used only to illustrate functional closure of foramen ovale and changes of cardiac size at birth. The authors are well aware that these methods of study introduce unique factors. Although contrast materials impose special conditions, the major anatomical features and patterns of flow are probably accurate. Thus, visualized flows via the inferior vena cava and superior vena cava in the fetus