Mouse Development

From The Critics

Reviewer: Raj P. Kapur, MD, PhD(Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center)
Description: This book presents contemporary molecular and cellular biological aspects of murine embryology. It is written by basic scientists, each with expertise in a specific area of developmental biology.
Purpose: The book is advertised as an "overview of contemporary research in the molecular and cellular aspects of mouse embryonic development" that is aimed primarily at basic scientists who may use murine models. A book that addresses these objectives is needed because existing books do not focus specifically on mouse embryology. In general, the book conveys currently understood details of only those areas of murine embryology that are the focus of each of the authors.
Audience: The book is written for developmental biologists. It assumes familiarity with classical murine embryology. It will be used as a reference for those interested specifically in topics covered in one or more of chapters and it is unlikely to be read from cover to cover. It could be used as a template for a graduate level course on mammalian development, but it is too detailed for medical students or clinicians, despite the fact that these details are intimately related to the pathogenesis of human birth defects.
Features: The chapters are subdivided into three sections that deal with global body pattern formation, cellular lineage specification, and organogenesis. Emphasis is placed on gene products that have been implicated in these processes, when and where each product is expressed, the phenotypes of knock-out embryos, and the complex inter- and intracellular pathways that establish and maintain organization of the early embryo. The chapters cover a very broad range of contemporary mammalian embryology. However, as a reference on molecular and cellular murine embryology, the book is unbalanced and is not comprehensive. For example, an entire chapter is devoted to pituitary development, but development of the adrenal gland is not discussed. Similarly, lineage specification of hematopoietic precursors is described, but developmental immunobiology is virtually ignored. As with most multiauthored books, the quality of individual chapters varies. Some chapters provide an extraordinary amount of anatomic detail as a basis for understanding the molecular and cellular embryology. Others provide almost none. The book would be infinitely more valuable if the contemporary and classical embryology were included and juxtaposed. Too few chapters include glossaries and summary lists of abbreviations for anatomic landmarks or genes. The figures in the book are too few and a large number exhibit extremely poor quality. In several of the chapters an apparent error in the printing process has mangled the computer-generated images.
Assessment: This is an excellent resource for scientists interested in any of the selected topics covered by one of the authors. It is certainly more focused on murine embryogenesis than other contemporary developmental biology texts (e.g., Developmental Biology, by Gilbert (Sinauer Associates, 2000), although much of the same molecular and cellular principles can be found in the latter. It is a good complement to The Anatomical Basis of Mouse Development by Kaufman and Bard (Academic Press, 1999). Given the rapidity with which developmental biology research proceeds, many readers will justifiably be concerned that the material will no longer be contemporary within a few years.

From the Publisher

"two of the most respected mouse developmental biologists have produced an exceptional book....will sit very comfortably upon any bookshelf."
@source—Paul Trainor, Stowers Institute for Medical Research for Nature Cell Biology (September 2002)
"...an excellent resource for scientists interested in any of the selected topics covered by one of the authors."
—DOODY'S NOTES (2002)

From The Critics

Offers an overview of contemporary research in the molecular and cellular aspects of mouse embryonic development. It addresses embryological experimentation, particularly in early embryonic patterning, inductive interactions, and organogenesis. Written by experts in mammalian development, the 23 chapters cover topics including asymmetry and prepattern in mammalian development; left-right asymmetry; segmentation of the paraxial mesoderm and the delineation of tissue compartments; germ cells; vasculogenesis and angiogenesis; development of the endoderm and its tissue derivatives; sex determination and differentiation; craniofacial development; development of the mouse inner ear; and integumentary structures. Color and b&w illustrations throughout. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

3 Stars from Doody