but I found this text to be a very good, concise reference formost primary care issues. For in-depth information for dif-ficult clinical decision making, a general obstetrician-gyne-cologist could not use much of this text. Rather, it is bestsuited for family practitioners, internal medicine physicianswho practice primary care for women, and obstetrician-gynecologists who have a very specialized practice andoccasionally need information on primary care. The textwould also be useful in a multidisciplinary clinical practicesetting in which different clinicians want access to a singleprimary care text.

Dale W. Stovall, M.D.Department of Obstetrics and GynecologyMedical College of VirginiaRichmond, Virginia

Muttukrishna S., and Ledger W., editors. Inhibin, Activin,and Follistatin in Human Reproductive Physiology.Singapore: World Scientific Publishing, 2001:1–340.$75.00.

Activin, inhibin, and follistatin have a role in diversefunctions, including morphogenesis, wound healing, and re-production. This monograph focuses on the basic and clini-cal aspects of these proteins in reproductive physiology withemphasis on human biology. The monograph consists of 11chapters.

Chapter 1 provides an overview and historical account ofthe field. In Chapter 2, Evans and Groome summarize thehistory of assay development for these proteins, and outlinethe approach they used to prepare monoclonal antibodies forthe sensitive and specific two-site ELISAs that are nowwidely used in basic and clinical research in the field. Chap-ter 3 provides an overview of how activin, follistatin, andinhibin selectively regulate FSH secretion. This chapter fo-cuses on the paracrine mechanisms for the regulation ofFSH-� mRNA. In Chapter 4, “Regulation of Production, andIntraovarian Roles of Inhibin, Activin and Follistatin,” theauthors discuss the expression of these proteins in the ovary,and their effects as ovarian regulators. Data from rats, pri-mates, and humans are presented. Chapter 5, “ Inhibin, Ac-tivin and Follistatin in Human Pregnancy,” discusses circu-lating hormone levels in pregnancy and the mechanisms fortheir production. Evidence that these proteins may have arole as diagnostic markers for early pregnancy loss, Downsyndrome, and gestational hypertension is summarized.

Chapter 6, “Follistatin: From Puberty to Menopause” byPhillips et al., is particularly well organized and informative.This chapter provides an overview of follistatin structure andfunction, and summarizes what has been learned by measur-ing follistatin in human plasma in pubertal, cycling, preg-nant, and menopausal women as well as in men. Chapter 7,“ Inhibin and Activin in the Male,” presents many thought-

provoking ideas but would have benefited from figures ortables to highlight important results and concepts. The authorconcludes that the current assays for inhibin-B do not addsignificantly to the evaluation of male infertility. Chapter 8,“Measurement of Inhibin and Activin: A Diagnostic Tool inFemale Reproductive Endocrinology?,” summarizes what isknown about plasma inhibin and activin levels in normallycycling women and in anovulatory conditions, during go-nadotropin induction of ovulation, and in the menopausaltransition. Evidence for the clinical usefulness of these pro-teins as biochemical markers for Down syndrome, pre-eclampsia, intrauterine growth restriction, and preterm laboris discussed.

Chapter 9 discusses the use of immunohistochemicaltechniques to identify inhibin/activin subunits in benign andmalignant conditions of the ovary and in other genital tracttissues. State-of-the-art color photographs would have en-hanced this chapter. Pierson and Matzuk summarize whathas been learned from the study of mice rendered deficient inthe subunits of inhibin/activin or in activin receptors, a lineof research that has been very informative. Several pages ofthis chapter, however, present background material alsofound in other chapters.

Overall, the chapters are readily understood, and mosthave informative figures and useful summary tables. Thechapters are extensively referenced. As noted above, there issome overlap in content among the chapters. The editors ofthe volume note that there has been substantial recentprogress in this field. In fact, MEDLINE lists 231 paperspublished in 2001 using the key words: “ inhibin,” activin,”or “ follistatin,” making this monograph timely. However,based on their reference lists, some chapters appear to havebeen written in 1998 or 1999, and additional importantcontributions have been made since that time.

Steven Winters, M.D.Professor of MedicineChief, Division of Endocrinology and MetabolismUniversity of LouisvilleLouisville, Kentucky

Allahbadia G., editor. The Manual of Ovulation Induction.Mumbai, India: Rotunda Medical Technologies, 2001:1–240. US $50.00.

The Manual of Ovulation Induction edited by GautamAllahbadia, M.D., is a collection of 29 topics contributed bya host of well-known international practitioners. The chap-ters are concise with most topics being covered in 7 to 10pages with minimal figures and/or illustrations. The empha-sis is upon practice and less upon theory; thus, its designa-tion as a “Manual” and its paperback binding are appropri-ate.

As the authors are from a variety of different countries(i.e., United States, Germany, The Netherlands, Israel, India,

244Vol. 79, No. 1, January 2003