A clear and succinct analysis of a rapidly developing field is a welcome relief from the deluge of primary data. In this eighth volume, Elmer Brown has brought together 12 reviews on subjects ranging from molecular hematology to direct clinical applications.
Among many scholarly chapters, those of most interest to me included the one on antiglobulin reagents in hemolytic anemias, in which Hugh Chaplin, Jr., gently dissects the intricacies and pitfalls of the Coomb test, particularly helping one to understand those cases with a negative reaction in the face of clinical evidence for autoimmune hemolysis. Wendell Rosse follows with an article on measurements of immune hemolysis, pursuing other aspects of hemolytic disease due to antibodies and complement. In the chapter on regulation of myelopoiesis, Fred Stohlman, Jr., describes the substantial progress in bone marrow cultures and the subsequent understanding of those factors that modify the growth and distribution of granulocytes.