Views and attitudes. towards termination of pregnancy have shown con- siderable evolution over the past few decades. Along with these changes has come a growing concern to adopt means and methods which could make termination easier, safer and more effective. In this evolution, termination in the second trimester in par~icular is notable as being responsible for a dis- proportionate share ofthe complications and adverse experiences associated with pregnancy termination. Although the almost universal shift towards earlier abortion has reduced the number of second trimester procedures as a...

W. TH. DAEMS This volume contains the papers presented at a Boerhaave Course for Post graduate Education on The cell-biological aspects of disease: the plasma membrane and lysosomes. One of the purposes of this introduction is to explain the reasons for this choice of subject. The first question which might be asked - why a postgraduate course on the cell biological aspects of disease was considered neccessary - is not difficult to answer: the impact of the basic sciences on medicine is im measurably strong, and among these sciences cell biology has contributed immensely to the advances made...

This book is based on a series of lectures given by an international team as part of a course on Bone Scintigraphy organized by the Boerhaave Committe for Postgraduate Medical Education (Leiden, January 1980). Bone scintigraphy and the use of radionuclide tracers in the investi- gation of skeletal pathology has developed into a subject of its own. Significant advances in instrumentation, radiopharmaceuticals and data analysis has considerably widened the scope of clinical application. Beyond the important area of sensitive detection of malignant involve- ment of the skeleton, major strides...

There continue to be disagreements concerning the embryology of the ventric- ular septum and the nomenclature of its various parts, as well as on its phylogenetic derivation. It must be obvious that until such time as these uncertainties have been resolved it will not be possible to understand the pathogenesis of ventricular septal defects and other anomalies involving the ventricular septum. In an effort to clarify some of these difficulties a number of individuals, including anatomists, embryologists, pathologists, cardiologists, and sur- geons, all acknowledged experts in their respective...

During the last five years the histological classification of the non-Hodgkin lymphomas has become a complex subject. Even experienced pathologists and clinicians find it increasingly difficult to make their way through the extensive and often confusing literature. The confusion is mainly due to the fact that different "schools" use different starting points for their classifica tion. Moreover, since many immunological problems related to classifica tion have not been completely resolved yet, even researchers who use the same approach do not always arrive at the same classification scheme....

The Boerhaave Committee for postgraduate Medical Education decided to organize a course on cancer treatment covering selected solid tumors, in which they felt important chan ges were emerging in the basic biologic, diagnostic and therapeutic concepts. Current management of cancer patients is intimately dependent on precise morphologic diagnosis, clinical staging and the proper application of all treat ment modalities. Many prominent investigators and clinicians of major can cer centers in the United States, Canada, and Europe con tributed by lecturing and during the panel discussions. This...

This book is based on the proceedings of a successful Boerhaave International Symposium on colorectal cancer held at the University of Leiden, 6-9 June, 1979. I would like to offer grateful thanks to the eminent clinicians and scientists who contributed both to the Symposium and to this book. Colorectal cancer is a very common form of malignancy, particularly in the Western world, and there have been a number of recent developments in the management of this condition. This book has attempted to collate informa tion on the current methods of investigation and treatment and I believe that it...

The desirability of quality-assay of ingestable or imbibable material has resulted in an established procedure in advanced countries. Testimony to its necessity was borne by the scandal of chateau-bottled Bordeaux crus classes a few years ago, a litigation instigated by the disillusioned consumers who either on the basis of absence of the expected inebriate state, or of the olfacto-gustatory caress by the bouquet or full-bodied lingering pharyngeal sensation, decided to strike a paranoid attitude, which ultimately proved to be justified. When one proceeds from sheer pleasure to dire...

In recent years there has been an impressive surge of interest in the mecha- nisms which control the onset and the maintenance of labour. Much of it stems from a constant awareness that gestational age at birth is still an important factor in neonatal mortality and morbidity. Advances in the sensitivity and specificity of immunoassay, the discovery of the prosta- glandins, new skills in fetal surgery and chronic catheterisation in experi- mental animals have greatly stimulated further research in this area. In the meantime clinicians became continuously more aware that, despite consider- able...

The material contained in this book was presented at the Boerhaave Course which was held in Leiden, The Netherlands, on May 2 and 3, 1977. It deals with three topics of considerably recent interest, not only to cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons, but also to embryologists, anatomists and pathologists. Papers on the development and the normal anatomy of the conduction system include a discussion of the continuing controversy as to whether dis- crete and anatomically distinct internodal pathways exist in the human heart. These are followed by descriptions of the abnormal anatomy and...