No. 35 March 1999Book reviewTissue Engineering Methods and Protocols Edited by J. R. Morgan and M. L. Yarmush, Humana Press, Totowa, New Jersey, USA, 1998, ISBN 0-89603-516-6, 629 pages, $99.50. The title of the book immediately draws interest, Tissue Engineering being of such obvious current interest to materials and biological science alike. The term however is much used and banded around in general terms and its definition depends on one's perspective. This has made me cautious of books proclaiming a tissue engineering theme where in the contents of the book do not deliver what the title suggests. I am delighted to say this is certainly not the case with this book and its title exactly matches its contents. The interdisciplinary nature of the subject is beyond debate and the main aim of the book is to bring together some of the underlying principles and techniques from different fields to form connections between different disciplines. It is not intended for the general reader who is looking for background and information on tissue engineering. It is aimed specifically at those who have a further need to derive something from tissue engineering and will only be of real use to those wishing to derive something experimentally in tissue engineering. The reader should expect that one average length book is not going to be all encompassing and the definitive word on the subject for the new millennium, however the selected areas covered are presented in useful detail. The book is split into three sections; materials production and evaluation followed by isolation, culture and analysis of cells and then finally, quantitative methods to investigate performance and function. The editors have tackled their aim by focusing on current key areas and specific tissues including bone, blood vessels, muscle, cartilage, liver, pancreas and nerves. Introductions and rationales for techniques are thankfully brief, however they contain enough information to lead the reader to the technique. The nub of each chapter is a breakdown in detail of a technique. These are presented in usable detail and a technique is presented in each chapter where one feels all the technical information has been presented. However, that is not where the real value of this book lies. To the editors credit each chapter contains a notes section, in some chapters a very extensive section, something which many published research papers could use, wherein the authors comment on points that make the protocol work or make it more efficient and easier to perform. These are invaluable and really make this book a useful reference and research tool. Alternatives to each technique are not discussed in detail but they have not been ignored. The chapters clearly state alternatives where applicable and give the reader useful references to pursue these alternatives. This is to say for its size the book is necessarily biased but in the interest of imparting something useful in a small space. The terrible decision to select important topics has been made for the reader but they are not forced onto the reader as the only option. The style of the book presents a well balanced and open feel. To derive a technique, one is given the impression that the authors do genuinely want the reader to be successful with these techniques. A final objective of the editors was that this book would become an indispensable resource not only for undergraduate and graduate students but for also for basic and clinical researchers in every area of the field. This is a good and fair attempt to achieve this by addressing in detail some key aspects of an exciting and rapidly developing area, that is diverse in every aspect. The topics covered are relevant and of interest now, but who knows for how long. John Hunt | ||