REVIEWS
BOOK
Standard Methods of Clinical Chemistry. Volume 2 The American Association of Clinical Chemists. David Seligson, Editor, University of Pennsylvania, Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1958. xii 217 pp. 16 X 23.5 om. $5.50.
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Like the first volume in the series, which was published in 1953, the current volume consists of thorough presentations of modern methods for analyzing blood, urine, feces, and other biological materials for clinically significant compounds or elements or for performing empirical tests which indicate the functioning of certain organs. The hook is intended p r i m d y for professional clinical chemists, but should be of use to medical technicians, pathologists, and others whose vocations are related to clinical chemistry. The style is clear and easily read; there are very few errors of any kind. For each method, there are given: (1) the historical background; (2) the principles involved; (3) a list of all reagents required with detailed directions for their preparation and procurement; (4) stepby-step procedures with explanatory notes; (5) the precautions necessary to insure the highest accuracy and precision; (6) all calculations and standrtrdizations involved, and (7) a thorough discussion of the clinioal signifiertnce of the results, with normal ranges and, where pertinent, the influences of various physiological factors (such as age) on the normal values. In most cases, the relative merits and failings . of the methods ere also discussed I'he calibration of photo-
electric colarimeters, the operation of sensitive pH meters, and the operation of a flame ~hotometerare dso included. An extenshe list of references, both specific and eeneral. is ao~endedat the end of each chapter. ~eas&hly complete author and subject indexes sre provided a t the end of the book. With the exception of two (blood pH and flame photometry), each method has been checked independently by a t least one clinical chemist in addition to the person submitting the procedure. In most caaes, values obtained in two or three laboratories by snalyeing several known and unknown samples are given, providing adequate bases for evaluation of the precision and accuracy of the method. Similmlv. dat& comoarine.. the results of an~lyriuyrlae sanw s n m p l v ~by two clilfcrput mrthod~arc prrerntc,l. Althousll uight of tlw nmhods rrquirc expensiviequipment, such as a Beckmen DU spectrophotometer, a flame photometer, or a fluorometer, the majority can be done with a minimum of special equipment. The large number of explanatory or precautionary notes and suggestions, together with the data indicating the accuracy and precision, should make even the more complicated procedures workable for relatively inexperienced technicians who have had adequate training in the fundament& of clinical chemistry. Although the methods given for the determination of oholesterol have much to commend them, this reviewer has found the FeCIa-HaSO~method of Zlatkis and Bovle to be accurate and convenient.
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Comparative data might well be given in the next volume of this series. The brief discussion, on page 104, of the relative clinical significance of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and nonprotein nitrogen (NPN) levels fails to point out that since the normal value for BUN is only half of that far NPN a moderate retention of urea will he much more evident if BUN is determined, because the relative increase from the normal will he much greater. Similarly, in some conditions a rise in one component of the NPN will be counterbalanced by an equivalent decrease in another, preventing any significant change in the NPN value.
H. PRITHAM GORDON Pennsylvania State University Uniw~sityPark
Textbook of Biochemistry Benjamin Hawou~,Emeritus Professor d Chemistry, and Abraham Mazur, Associate Professor of Chemistry, City College, New York. W. B. Saunders 557 pp. Ca., Philadelphia, 1958. ix 106 figs. 79 tables. 16 X 24.5 cm. 57.50.
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This is the seventh edition of z textbook which has been popular for many years. Numerous changes have been made to bring the book more nearly up to date. It is ooncerned primarily with human physiological chemistry, the descriptive "biochemistry" of medical school tradition, and as such it d l no doubt continue to enjoy wide acceptance. Its arganiaation follows the historic pattern, beginning with elementary carbohydrate chemistry, followed by descriptive chemistry of other naturally occurring compounds, enzymes, the physiology of digestion and absorption and blood, chemical reactions in metabolism, nutrition, tissues, urine, etc. The treatment is compact, and excellent in many ways. The seventh edition, in recognition of the importance of reaction kinetios and thermodvnamics in hiod ~ e m k t cnntmns ~, s w w t l n t w wulurcq into the firld oi l,h\.&>l rllrruistn. llnforrun~~trly, the pn,n ntntion i.i marred by simple errors. On pages 119-120, it is assumed that first-order kinetic behavior always indicates a monomoleeulsr reaction. Curiously, the one examplegiven to illustrate a monomolecular reaction is admitted in the very next sentence to he in fact a bimoleeulm reaction (hydrolysis of sucrose). Contrary to the statement on page 133, the law of conservation of energy is not the second law of thermodynamics. Beginning with the following equation, not derived: ~
~
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AF = AF'
+ RT in [(C)(D)I(AKB)I (1)
the authors go through whst iis intended t o be a derivation of the equation: AF" =
- RT
In K
(2)
This "derivation" does not seem valid for a number of reasons, among them being the fact that equation (1) was itself derived from previous knowledge of the relation in equation (2). The fact that Volume 36, Number 2, February 1959
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the "derivation" ends with "the right answer" is a phenomenon whieh is frequently observed in derivations on student examinstion papers. As Leibnia sdd, "le vrai peut &re tire du faux." The phrase "steady state" should prohably read "standard states." Page 134 implies that, without having any information as to the actual eoncentmtions (or activities) existing within a system, one is able to know whether the system lies to the left or the right of equilibrium, from the sign of AF". This would be as much a miracle as determining, from the horsepower of a man's automobile, whether he is about to set out on a trip or has just returned from one. As applied to exergonic and endergonic canditions, this confounding of AFo with A F of a reaction unfortunately occurs in many biochemistry textbooks. Errors of the sort cited are not limited to this particular textbook of biochemistry. The widespread continued use by teachers of biochemistry of textbooks which perpetuate such errors does not speak well for present standards of classroom instrnotion in biochemistry. The presence of such errors is the more difficult to explain in view of the ready accessibility of elementary physical chemistry textbooks in which these subjects are presented correctly. Colorodo State University Fort Collins
Charaeleriration of Organic Compounds
F. Wild, Research Chemist, Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge. Cambridge University Pnss, New York, 1958. Second edition. 306 pp. 15 X 22.5 em. $6.50. viii
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The second edition of this well-known book is identical with the first edition (1947) with the exception of the listing of some new derivatives with their physical constants and the revision of a number of melting points. Six lines on the bottom of page 32 have been omitted and a n supplied here from the 6rst edition for those purchasers lacking the earlier volume:
". . . a t s. rate sufficient to keep the solution a t 40'. After the final addition the solution is heated on a water-bath until a solid mess separates. The mixture is cooled to 0' in an ice-bath, and concentrated nitric acid diluted with water (10%) is added slowly until the reaction mixture is yellow. More solid is deposited during the addition of acid whieh is controlled so that the . ." tem-
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This hook is devoted almost exclusively to derivatiization; other subject8 u s u d y discussed in qualitative organic texts such ss separation of mixtures, determination of physical properties and the relationships of structure to physical properties are treated lightly. There is no discussion of, or directions for, the qualitative detection of elementpit being assumed that the student is already familiar with this procedure.
102 / Journal of Chemical Educotion
The tables include various types of derivatives not found in the usual qualitative organic text.
of Organic Chemistry" and the reader is assumed to he familiar with the basic eoncepts and theories of organic chemistry which are presented in the first and second volumes. However, the discussions ;ue Suulhurdrrn nl .\l~ntphra eo clearly written and so richly docf'huprr a,, C'hr,nt~al( ' o w p o n y umented with referenoes to original M t r . phza, 'I'
