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BOOKS RECEIVED
It consists of some 400 MCQs, mostly in the popular “five choice completion” format. It
has three major sections, the first on microbial biology and host defences, the second on
micro-organisms of medical importance, and the third on microbial diseases and clinical
microbiology. The short fourth section gives examples of other types of MCQ. The questions
appear to be sound and reasonable in range, and the answers mostly clearly correct. An
attractive feature is that the correct answer is accompanied by a brief paragraph of explanation
and immediately follows, overleaf, the question. This arrangement makes self-assessment
particularly easy, and the book is to be recommended as a revision aid for the student of medical
micro biology.
IANPHILLIPS
Antibiotic interactions
Edited by J. D. WILLIAMS.1979. Academic Press, London. Pp. xii and 183. E10.00.
This book records the proceedings of a meeting of 25 scientistsin London in September 1978.
There are 10 papers, each with a transcript of the discussion that followed their delivery.
The papers are generally good, providing summaries of present knowledge by well-known
experts from Britain and the United States of America. After an introduction by Sir Charles
Stuart-Harris, the main emphasis is on the in-vitro study of antibiotic combinations. There are
useful contributions on the fundamental scientific aspects of chemotherapy by Professor
Michael Brown (on the bacterial cell wall), Professor J. T. Smith (bacterial folate metabolism
and its inhibitors) and Dr M. Cole (inhibitors of antibiotic-inactivating enzymes). Two more,
by Professor J. D. Williams and Dr D. Greenwood, are concerned with laboratory methods and
especially their relevance to the in-vivo situation, the latter the subject of the remainder of the
chapters-interestingly, by the American contributors. These include Dr Kunin’s paper on
pharmacokinetic interactions, Dr Sande’s on experimental infections and Dr G. G. Jackson’s on
toxicity. In a final chapter, Professor H. P. Lambert looks to the future with sober expectation.
Apart from the minor irritation of typographical errors (there are seven on page 5) my major
reservations concern the discussion and the index. The discussion appears to have had only
light editing and abounds in trivialities, unanswered questions and false trails. This is a pity
because it also contains sections that give new insight such, for example, as the lively exchange on
the “fatal tail of the distribution curve” in endocarditis. The index is sparse and fails to refer to
the major discussion of several entries. Despite these failings, the sound quality of many of the
contributions makes the book essential reading for anyone with an interest in chemotherapy.
IANPHILLIPS
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