Porphyrine und Porphyrinkrankheiten.

This is an unusually interesting book and deals with a subject which is of considerable clinical interest. It is divided into ten chapters; the first seven are devoted to the porphyrins, their chemical composition, their importance in biology and their relation to pigment and iron metabolism in general. The eighth and ninth chapters deal with the clinical manifestations of porphyria and their treatment. The tenth chapter is concerned with methods and describes how porphyrin may be quantitatively measured in blood, urine and bile.

The monograph as a whole emphasizes the importance of differentiating between normal and abnormal porphyrin metabolism. The author designates the latter porphyria. He discusses the cutaneous, abdominal and nervous manifestations that may be induced by abnormal porphyrin metabolism. In the chapter on treatment he discusses what may be attempted in the light of current knowledge and leaves one with the feeling that much more is now understood