I t has been said that "there is no safe drug, there are only safe doc tors". And also, that drug treatment by doctors is only as good as their knowledge of the fundamentals of therapy, or, in other words, of pharmacology. This small book is aimed at giving a conspectus of pharmacological knowledge which allows a general survey without drowning the reader in details. This 'primer' is therefore no substitute for a textbook or lecture notes, but is meant to supplement lectures and to provide concise outlines for revision. It is a collection of resumes and tables of the kind which are frequently shown at lectures but which are rarely copied by the audience. For the sake of sim plicity, only one drug of a particular group is usually mentioned, with the hope that similar drugs will come to the knowledge of the student during his clinical training. F. LEMBECK K. -FR. SEWING v Introduction to the English Edition When translating, we have tried to adhere as closely as possible to the excellent arrangements of the German edition. The only relatively major manges whim had to be introduced refer to the choice of preparations and their nomenclature. It seemed reasonable to us to replace preparations which are well known to German speaking doc tors - but not as well known to the British and American medical public - by others which are in routine use in the English speaking countnes.

This report presents the recommendations of a WHO Expert Committee commissioned to coordinate activities leading to the adoption of international recommendations for the production and control of vaccines and other biologicals and the establishment of international biological reference materials. The report starts with a discussion of general issues brought to the attention of the Committee and provides information on the status and development of reference materials for various antibodies, antigens, blood products and related substances, cytokines, growth factors, endocrinological substances and in vitro diagnostic devices. The second part of the report, of particular relevance to manufacturers and national regulatory authorities, contains revised WHO recommendations for production and control of live attenuated influenza vaccines and for production and control of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. New WHO guidelines on the regulatory evaluation of similar biotherapeutic medicines are also provided. Also included are a list of recommendations, guidelines and other documents for biological substances used in medicine, and of international standards and reference reagent for biological substances.

This new volume on Biological Invasions deals with both plants and animals, differing from previous books by extending from the level of individual species to an ecosystem and global level. Topics of highest societal relevance, such as the impact of genetically modified organisms, are interlinked with more conventional ecological aspects, including biodiversity. The combination of these approaches is new and makes compelling reading for researchers and environmentalists.