Abstract
This book is part of this publisher's Target Organ in Toxicology Series and summarizes research within the past 10 years regarding the toxicology of the pancreas. The book consists of 29 chapters written by 66 contributors. The exocrine pancreas is emphasized, but several chapters are devoted to the endocrine pancreas. The initial chapters review the development, gross and microscopic anatomy, physiology, and drug-metabolizing enzymes of the pancreas. Other chapters address pathologic alterations of the exocrine pancreas in response to hormones, nutrient deficiencies, and a number of xenobiotics. Various aspects of acute and chronic pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, and pancreatic cancer are reviewed. The chapters on the endocrine pancreas focus on exocrine-endocrine interactions, toxicologic models of diabetes, cellular alterations seen with islet transplantation, and pancreatic cancer. The chapters are well-written and include fairly up-to-date information on the topics. References cited include some of the classical experiments as well as more recent studies. There is very little overlap of material between chapters and many chapters contain references to more detailed information presented elsewhere in the book. The only negative criticism is the poor quality of the printing; the quality is not up to the high standards of past CRC Press publications. The paper is thin and rough and the font is thin, faint and hard to read. The photomicrographs are small and many are either out of focus or have poor contrast, making it difficult to see what is being demonstrated. Many of the poor photomicrographs depict immunohistochemical stains that may be meaningful in color prints but show very little in these low contrast, black-and-white prints. Despite the poor quality of the printing, this book provides an excellent scientific review and would be of interest to any pathologist, toxicologist or other scientist whose main research interest is the pancreas.