Vascular Morphogenesis: In Vivo, In Vitro, In Mente. Little, Charles A., Vladimir Mironov, and E. Helen Sage, Eds. 1998. ISBN 0-8176-3920-9 (cloth US$89.95) 265 pp. Birkhauser, Boston, 675 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139.
This book is part of a series of volumes that is intended to describe current research in mesoderm development and blood vessel morphogenesis in mammals. The focus of the book, a collection of about a dozen papers, is thus almost exclusively within the context of mammalian systems (with some text devoted to avian systems as well). Experimental work on genetic controls and chemical gradients that activate and inhibit angiogenesis is described. Of the three parts of this book, the "in mente" section, which discusses theoretical approaches and model systems in vascular morphogenesis might hold some interest for botanical readers. Some useful topics in this section include ideas about the formation of net-like structures, spatial flow distributions, and biophysical restraints in growth systems. The mathematical models that are presented might be useful for workers in various aspects of theoretical botany. Still, this book is probably not appropriate for botany libraries--it should be available to interested readers who have access to a medical library.
- Samuel Hammer, College of General Studies, Boston University.
