Abstract
THE appearance of a second edition of this little work eighteen months after the first is itself a good recommendation, and this favourable impression is confirmed on closer acquaintance. It fills a definite gap in biochemical literature as a short, readable, and up-to-date account of the theoretical aspect of the subject as distinct from the practical. The chief additions made to this edition are a short account of the preparation and properties of insulin and a section on Werner's views of the constitution of urea. No criticism can be levelled at the subject matter or its presentation, which is admirable as a short introduction to the subject of biochemistry. Apart from a few typographical errors, there are one or two other lapses to be noted: thus the phrase “the excitation passes from muscle to nerve” is not particularly happy, whilst insulin is not administered “in the form of repeated intravenous injections” (the italics are ours), nor is the method of standardising insulin mentioned likely to prove satisfactory. These faults detract but little from the general high level of the book. The subject matter includes chapters on the chemistry, digestion, and metabolism of the foodstuffs, on physical chemistry, including the activity of enzymes, and on the respiratory gases.
Fundamentals of Bio-chemistry in relation to Human Physiology.
T. R.
Parsons
By. Second edition. Pp. xii + 295. (Cambridge: W. Heffer and Sons, Ltd.; London: Simpkin, Marshall and Co., Ltd., 1924.) 10s. 6d. net.
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Fundamentals of Bio-chemistry in relation to Human Physiology . Nature 115, 637 (1925). https://doi.org/10.1038/115637b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/115637b0