book review raeburn d, giembycz ma.downloads.hindawi.com/journals/mi/1995/528646.pdf · bookreview...

Book review

Mediators of Inflammation 4, 456 (1995)

Book review

Raeburn D, Giembycz MA. Airwayssmooth muscle: Structure, Innervationand Neurotransmission. BirkhiuserVerlag, Basel, 1994.

This book is the first of a new series on respiratorypharmacology and pharmacotherapy, and is part of asubseries of monographs on airway smooth musclewhich will comprise three volumes: part two willcover development and regulation of contractility, andpart three will cover biochemical control of contrac-tion and relaxation.The present 328 page volume offers a comprehen-

sive overview of airway smooth muscle structure andneural regulation. It contains 12 chapters on anatomyand on the role of the different components of theautonomic innervation. All contributions come fromrecognized experts and most of these have succeededin presenting their topic in a clear, concise way and ina pleasant style. All chapters have an extensive refer-ence list, often up-to-date until 1993, sometimes even1994.The anatomy is covered in three chapters, an over-

view by Gabella, a chapter on immunocytochemistryof peptidergic nerves by Springall and Polak and achapter on neural elements by the Laitinens. The sym-pathetic nervous system is discussed by Ind, and theparasympathetic system by Canning and Undem. Notsurprisingly, a lot of space is devoted to non-adrenergic, noncholinergic innervation with chapterson excitatory peptides (Karlsson), inhibitory peptides(Uddman et al.) and nitric oxide (Belvisi and Bai). Achapter by Barnes summarizes factors that modulateneurotransmitter release in health and disease. Widdi-combe and Wells critically describe the role of vagalreflexes.There is often overlap between different chapters.

Most authors include a description of the ultra-structure of ’their’ part of the innervation, which canalso be found in chapters on structure. For obscurereasons the chapter on anatomy of neural elementsconcludes the book, while it would have fitted nicelyafter the chapter on smooth muscle anatomy andultrastructure, preceding the chapters on functionalaspects. In the chapter on muscle structure, there aresix pages on neural elements which are clearly redun-dant. It may be confusing that data from animals andman are mixed up in most chapters. Sometimes, bitsof information are grouped according to the species

in which they were obtained, e.g. in the chapter onNO, but more often the species are mixed underheadings that refer to function or structure. Thenotion that animals may be entirely different fromeach other and from humans with respect to theirautonomic regulation of airway smooth muscle is notalways evident; this is where a chapter on differencesbetween species would have been useful.Another point of criticism is the quality of the

picture illustrations. Most micrographs require con-siderable effort to distinguish the important detailsand marking letters are often almost impossible todiscern. Glossy paper would have done better for EMpictures and in a book of this price light micrographsshould have been printed in full colour.

Apart from all abundant and generally excellentinformation, the book misses a general perspective. Itstarts without a preface and, after 321 pages, leavesthe reader with this final sentence: ’However, a densenetwork of VIP-immunoreactive nerve fibers has beenfound to be scattered around the nerve cell bodies ofthese microganglia.’ This may not be disturbing forinsiders who just wish a reference guide, but will dis-appoint the interested chest physician or beginningscientist who may have some difficulty in puttingthings together. An introductory chapter brieflyreviewing the relevant issues, their coherence andtheir historical background is missing. Nowhere in thebook is it stated that two more volumes will follow tocover other aspects of airway smooth muscle.

In summary, this book offers a lot of high-qualityinformation in a comprehensive format, and is anexcellent reference guide to recent literature. It canbe recommended for those who want to startresearch on airway smooth muscle, for the interestedclinician and for those already working in the fieldwho will appreciate a summary of recent research.The relatively high price will probably be an obstaclefor buying a personal copy, but university librariesshould acquire this promising first part of what couldbecome a valuable state-of-the-art series on a topicthat is of utmost importance for human respiratoryhealth and disease.

REVIEWER

Johan C. de Jongste MD, PhD,Erasmus University and University Hospital/SophiaChildren’s Hospital Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

456 Mediators of Inflammation Vol 4- 1995 (C) 1995 Rapid Science Publishers

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