Of easily readable size and presenting its material in an attractive format, this work is oriented toward the medical student. It covers the subject under major headings of splanchnic circulation, motor mechanisms, secretion, digestion, and absorption. The bibliography is brief, and controversial points generally are passed over. Although opinions differ over what the medical student should be taught and how material should be presented, coverage certainly offers an adequate background in most areas of gastrointestinal physiology. Hepatic physiology, however, is incompletely examined, and the authors seem not to have decided how to approach this complicated subject. Perhaps hepatic physiology, now so extensive, can be covered adequately only in a separate volume.
Some of the material is presented and discussed in a confusing or inadequate manner, especially for a book designed as an introductory text for students. For example, the authors mention results obtained by using a Pavlov pouch, but they