DUNCAN'S DISEASES OF METABOLISM: ENDOCRINOLOGY, ed 7. Edited by Philip K. Bondy and Leon E. Rosenberg. Philadelphia, WB Saunders Co, 1974, $26; 736 pp

The endocrinology section of Duncan's Diseases of Metabolism comprises 736 pages, or about 44% of the total text. The division of this seventh edition of a classic text in the field is perhaps a logical expression of the splitting of endocrinology from metabolism as each field has grown tremendously in the past decade. The endocrinology portion is compact and easy to use because of this division, aided by the employment of thin, though substantial paper and small, but easily readable type. These combine to avoid the feeling of consulting a big-city telephone directory, which is so common with use of many of the standard textbooks of today. The illustrations are generally excellent and the 54-page index, which covers both sections of the book, is unusually thorough. As in all textbooks, many sections are outdated before they appear in print. Although the editors, Philip K. Bondy and Leon E. Rosenberg, propose to avoid this by means of a "last-minute" addendum, only two of the 13 chapters bear such, and one of these lists only three references, all dating to 1972. The other recent-developments section is longer and more helpful. The content is essentially that of general clinical endocrinology, each chapter using the standard approach of considering normal structure and function and then diseases in a gland arrangement, starting with the hypothalamus and traveling downward to the testis and ovary. A small chapter on acid-base balance seems out of place, whereas those on nonendocrine-secreting tumors and serotonin and the carcinoid syndrome are useful extensions of the scope of endocrinology.