Why are books written? Since I have read many works by my colleagues with admiration, this question has always intrigued me. Further, writing a book takes a good deal of time and effort, and I had imagined that I would never undertake such a demanding task. A few unexpected events and circumstances have changed my mind. The first was the pleasant experience of editing Environmental Toxicology of Pesticides with Drs. Mallory Boush and Tomomasa Misato. This fine symposium volume occasioned many interesting responses, including a suggestion to prepare a more complete treatise on the grounds that such "proceedings" volumes, by their very nature, do not satisfactorily offer a complete and coherent description of the field, but cater chiefly to specialists. I myself prefer single-authored books for basic understanding of a scientific field. The second circumstance leading to the present volume was the avail ability of teaching notes from my course on the toxicology of insecticides. As the need to cultivate environmental awareness has increased, there has been a parallel increase in the enrolments of such courses both here and in other major institutions. Yet no comprehensive and up-to-date text has been available. The third factor which facilitated the effort was an especially pleasant sabbatical in Hawaii, where the availability of the excellent Hamilton Library at the University of Hawaii considerably eased my task."

The twentieth century has seen a remarkable evolution of environmental health and environmental protection concerns and concepts in the United States. As a teacher of Environmental Health since the late 1950s, I have witnessed the many twists and turns that have marked the latter half of the century, and have had to seek continuously to explain these phenomena to my students in some rational manner. We have witnessed the following and more: great progress in controlling acute infectious diseases through successes in drinking water treatment and food processing; the emergence of greater concern with trace chemicals in air and water and their role in chronic disease causation; conflicting attitudes toward miraculous chemicals such as DDT (which promised relief from arthropod-borne scourges, then came to be seen as another chemical threat to our children and our environment); then the reemerging concern with infectious diseases precipitated by blood-borne pathogens such as HIV. All this occurred against a backdrop of scientific uncertainty and amid failures of risk assessment and risk communication, together with press sensationalism-from "mad cow disease" to "flesh eating" streptococci. No wonder the public is confused.

As aquaculture continues to expand there is a need for greater knowledge of medicinal treatments both for the prevention and treatment of disease and for the economic husbandry of fish. This book, the first of its kind, is written for a worldwide readership. It is a reference manual for anyone involved in the selection of medicines for administration to fish. It will also be useful to administrators concerned with the legal control of aquaculture. The first part covers issues which affect all medicine's methods of administering drugs to fish, the various aspects of safety and the relevant legislation in countries with important aquacultural industries. Subsequent parts review the range of available medicinal substances and present current knowledge of the pharmacology and methods of use for each. Particular attention is given to safety issues - for the fish, for the person administering the medicine, for the consumer of medicated fish and for the environment.

Take a disease of complex pathology with inflammatory and neoplastic features, which affects lymphoid and neural tissues, belonging to a disease group which killed one chicken in five, and which defied efforts to understand and control it for lOre than 50 years, and one can begin to appreciate the interest Marek's disease has received. Canpound these characteristics with the finding of the causal herpesvirus, its recog nition as the neoplasm first discovered to be so caused, and its pre vention by vaccination, and the special place of Marek's disease in veterinary medicine and comparative oncology becomes clear. This book sets out to provide an authoritative and corrprehensive account of knowledge of Marek's disease and its control. I hope that it will be of value to veterinary research workers, teachers and students who need information about the disease, to veterinarians, poultrymen and vaccine manufacturers who have to diagnose and control it, and to oncologists in other fields interested in comparative aspects. other reviews of the disease exist, of course, but this is the first multi authored book devoted to the subject."

This book contains the contributions to a workshop on stress in farm animals held on April 17-18,1986 at the Pietersberg Con ference Centre Oosterbeek. The workshop was financed by the Commis sion of the European Communities from its budget for the coordina tion of Community Agricultural Research and the Agricultural Uni versity of Wageningen (The Netherlands). Its aim was to bring together experts from different disciplines all having in common that in one way or another they were involved in stress research. Such a multidisciplinary encounter should not only provide an interesting description of present day knowledge on stress, but also promote a more integrated view on stress phenomena as they occur in higher vertebrates. In the course of this workshop the following fields of research were related to stress: endocrinology, immunology, pathology, neurobiology, ethology and theoretical bio logy. Each of these relationships was introduce& by one speaker presenting a concise state of the art. The same relationship was elaborated by a second speaker implementing the available knowledge as far as possible to the farm animal situation. Therefore in this book each discipline is represented by a duo and introduced by some integrating remarks.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) cells are the key regulators of reproductive function in all vertebrate organisms. The GnRH molecule is synthesized in a small number of neurons in rostral hypothalamic regions of the brain. In mammals, these neurons release the GnRH decapeptide into the portal capillary system leading to the anterior pituitary gland. There, GnRH causes the release of the gonadotropins, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which in turn act upon the gonads to stimulate their maturation, and to cause synthesis of sex steroid hormones, estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Although each of the levels of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis is critical for reproductive function, GnRH neurons play the primary role in the control of reproductive maturation and adult reproductive function, and may even play a role in reproductive senescence.

Since its discovery in 1970, there has been intense interest in GnRH-producing neurons, with more than 8000 papers and chapters in the last decade alone. Despite this activity of research in basic and clinical science, there has never been a book written specifically on GnRH neurons. GnRH: The Master Molecule of Reproduction aims to bring together the large and diverse literature of both laboratory and applied research that focuses on these unique cells.

This book will provide basic background into reproductive neuroendocrinology, as well as specifics regarding the role of GnRH neurons in the control of reproduction. Students studying endocrinology, reproduction, neuroendocrinology or molecular endocrinology will benefit from this book. In addition, this book will take a multi-species approach which will be useful both to basic researchers as well as clinicians. Whenever possible, species differences and similarities will be presented, and if possible, studies on humans, or the clinical relevance of basic research findings to humans will be discussed (such as the treatment of reproductive disorders such as abnormalities in pubertal development, or infertility).

The "Groupe International de Recherche sur l'Infinitesimal" (GIRI) was created in 1986 by Professor Madeleine Bastide and Doctor Rene Halm. Madeleine Bastide was its President for several years. The group comprises actually more than 100 researchers from different disciplines (physicians, chemists, biologists, pharmacologists, physicists, etc. ) from 22 different countries. The original aim, which, for the most part, has now been achieved, was to create a working group to exchange ideas and results concerning the effects of very low doses and high dilutions. Madeleine Bastide then proposed to publish a collection of the lectures given at their scientific meetings in a bilingual book (French and English) entitled "Signals and Images." The first volume was published in 1990 by the ATELIERS ALPHA BLEUE. It contains lectures on the new pharmacological approach and related concepts that were presented at the 3rd and 4th Symposiums held in Paris in 1989 and 1990. This volume treats the problem of the effects of very low doses and high dilution in in vitro and in vivo experimental models. It is conceivable that this effect, like that of elect- magnetic fields, is none other than an "ultra molecular" effect as shown in yet p- lished results. The effect could be interpreted as a piece of information, i. e. a signal whose transmission and perception remains to be elucidated. According to Madeleine Bastide "everything depends on the nature and quality of the information, signals and images.""

This book grew out of an effort to salvage a potentially useful idea for greatly simplifying traditional quantitative risk assessments of the human health consequences of using antibiotics in food animals. In 2001, the United States FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) (FDA-CVM, 2001) published a risk assessment model for potential adverse human health consequences of using a certain class of antibiotics, fluoroquinolones, to treat flocks of chickens with fatal respiratory disease caused by infectious bacteria. CVM's concern was that fluoroquinolones are also used in human medicine, raising the possibility that fluoroquinolone-resistant strains of bacteria selected by use of fluoroquinolones in chickens might infect humans and then prove resistant to treatment with human medicines in the same class of antibiotics, such as ciprofloxacin. As a foundation for its risk assessment model, CVM proposed a dramatically simple approach that skipped many of the steps in traditional risk assessment. The basic idea was to assume that human health risks were directly proportional to some suitably defined exposure metric. In symbols: Risk = K x Exposure, where "Exposure" would be defined in terms of a metric such as total production of chicken contaminated with fluoroquinolone-resistant bacteria that might cause human illnesses, and "Risk" would describe the expected number of cases per year of human illness due to fluoroquinolone-resistant bacterial infections caused by chicken and treated with fluoroquinolones."

This volume provides an overview of the latency strategies developed during the estimated 200 Myears long coevolution of Alpha-, Beta- and Gammaherpesvirinae and their host species. The main emphasis is on herpesviruses infecting humans. However, relevant cases if herpesviruses infecting animals are covered as well. Special emphasis is drawn on results on molecular mechanisms regulating latent promoters of herpesvirus genomes and signals and molecular pathways resulting in reactivation of latent viral genomes. To balance the volume, epigenetic mechanisms (DNA methylation, histone modification, chromatin structure) involved in cell type specific expression of growth-transformation-associated Gammaherpesvirus genes will also be discussed at length)

The purpose of this book is to provide the reader with some basic information applicable to cattle feeding. It is intended to adapt some of the basic principles of nutrition in applied form. During the past few decades there have been various changes in type and form of feeds available for livestock feeding due to new kinds of equipment. Mechanization has made it possible to perform certain opera tions of the beef production program more efficiently and economically. With all the new innovations and advances in animal nutrition combined with the capabilities of the computer, it becomes very challenging for everyone to keep up to date on the latest information in the field of cattle feeding and production. The text was written with the intent of utilizing the raw materials, facilities, equipment, etc. which are available in the United States. The terminology of certain materials such as feed ingredients will vary from one country to another. One term which is frequently used in this text is forage. Although the term roughage is used more commonly in the United States it has been replaced with forage in this text. J.K. MATSUSHIMA Fort Collins, January 1979 Contents Chapter 1 Nutrients 1 Proximate Feed Analysis 1 Chemical Classification of Nutrients 2 1.1 Water 3 1.1.1 Drinking Water .... ...."

"Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine Considered" is a book that belongs in your veterinary library. If you are a veterinarian wondering if you should incorporate complementary and alternative veterinary medicine (CAVM) into your practice, if you have recently hired an associate eager to try such things as acupuncture or homeopathy, or if you have clients asking you about chiropractic, herbal, or magnetic field therapy for their pets, you'll want to understand the history, science and ethics behind such therapies.

In its 2001 "Guidelines for Complementary and Alternative Medicine," the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recognizes the growing interest in CAVM, and encourages the critical examination of these therapies using the scientific method. Following the AVMA's lead on this subject, "Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine Considered" thoroughly examines a variety of CAVM therapies and asks important questions regarding alternative treatments. For example, is acupuncture effective in pain relief? What is homeopathy? What is the history behind chiropractic? What does the research say (and not say) about various CAVM modalities? And, just as importantly, what are the ethical and regulatory considerations concerning such therapies? This book has the answers to those questions and more.

"Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine Considered" will help practicing veterinarians to make informed decisions about specific CAVM therapies. This text evaluates various prevalent therapies, and will give veterinarians the ethical and scientific bases they need to make sound decisions regarding CAVM therapies

Coverage includes but isnot limited to:
Acupuncture and acupressure;
Energy medicine;
Manual therapy (chiropractic);
Manual therapy (massage);
Magnetic and electromagnetic therapy;
Laser and light therapy;
Homeopathy; and
Herbal therapy.

The use of ultrasonic imaging techniques for diagnostic purposes in veteri nary medicine and animal science has lagged far behind their use in human medicine. In the area of domestic animal reproduction, diagnostic ultrasono graphy has a relatively short history. Reports on B-mode scanning first appeared as late as 1969, when Stouffer and co-workers used it for counting foetal numbers in late gestation sheep. After Lindahl had re-evaluated the potential of two-dimensional ultrasonography for pregnancy diagnosis in sheep in 1976, results of the first large scale field-trials by Fowler and Wilkins on predicting foetal numbers during the first half of gestation in sheep were published as recently as 1980. In this year also the first paper, by Palmer and co-workers, on ultrasonic scanning of the uterus and ovaries in the mare appeared. The improvement of diagnostics which was achieved by the application of this technique is illustrated by its present routine use in clinical equine practice and sheep breeding. Besides offe ring an accurate early pregnancy diagnosis in species such as the horse, cow, sheep, goat, pig and dog, ultrasonography enables the visualization of ovarian and uterine structures for the identification of both physiological and pathological conditions. In this way it replaces or supplements the more common diagnostic techniques used by the general practitioner so far. Ultrasonography has also opened several new lines of research for clini cians and research workers."

Safety of Meat and Processed Meat provides the reader with the recent developments in the safety of meat and processed meat, from the abattoir along the processing chain to the final product. To achieve this goal, the editor uses five approaches. The first part deals with the main biological contaminants like pathogen microorganisms, specially E. coli and L. monocytogenes, toxins and biogenic amines that can be present either in meat or its derived products. The second part focuses on main technologies for meat decontamination as well as developments like active packaging or bioprotective cultures to extend the shelf life. The third part presents non-biological contaminants and residues in meat and meat products including nitrosamines, PAH, veterinary drugs and environmental compounds. The fourth part discusses current methodologies for the detection of microorganisms, its toxins, veterinary drugs, environmental contaminants and GMOs, and the final part deals with predictive models, risk assessment, regulations on meat safety, consumer perception, and other recent trends in the field. This book is written by distinguished international contributors with excellent experience and reputation. In addition, brings together advances in different safety approaches.

Proceedings of a workshop held at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, Aleppo, Syria, November 30 to December 3, 1987

In recent years nobody could have failed to notice the frequent and often sensati- alist media headlines warning of the latest global disease threat to humankind. But behind all the hyperbole lie real challenges related to dealing with the increasing incidence of emerging zoonotic disease events, the majority of which are thought to originate in wildlife (Jones et al. 2008). There are also many important diseases of domestic livestock which also occur in wildlife (e. g. foot and mouth disease and classical swine fever in wild boar, bovine tuberculosis in deer, badgers or possums), some of which can have a devastating impact on the farming industry, the wider rural economy and ultimately the public purse. But we should also not forget that wildlife diseases may have serious implications for the conservation of biodiversity. For some of the rarest, most endangered species (such as the Ethiopian wolf) d- ease may pose the greatest threat to their survival. If we are to avoid or reduce these impacts then we must improve our ability to detect and manage the risks associated with disease in wildlife populations. This is a challenge that will require expertise from many different disciplines: veterinary, ecological, medical, economic, poli- cal and zoological. In such an interdisciplinary field it is difficult to stay up to date with contemporary ideas and with techniques that may be rapidly evolving.

Animal welfare is attracting increasing interest worldwide, but particularly from those in developed countries, who now have the knowledge and resources to be able to improve the welfare of farm animals. The increased attention given to farm animal welfare in the West derives largely from the fact that the relentless pursuit of ?nancial reward and ef?ciency has led to the development of intensive animal production systems that disturb the conscience of many consumers. In developing countries, human survival is still a daily uncertainty, so that provision for animal welfare has to be balanced against human welfare. Welfare is usually provided for only if it supports the output of the animal, be it food, work, clothing, sport or companionship. In reality there are resources for all if they are properly husbanded in both developing and developed countries. The inequitable division of the world's riches creates physical and psychological poverty for humans and animals alike in many sectors of the world. Livestock are the world's biggest land user (FAO, 2002) and the population is increasing rapidly to meet the need of an expanding human population. Populations of farm animals managed by humans are therefore incre- ing worldwide, and in some regions there is a tendency to allocate fewer resources, such as labour, to each animal with potentially adverse consequences on the a- mals' welfare.

The domestic pig is perceived as an animal with intelligence and character and yet, in the industrialized world, the majority of people have had little or no contact with them. Pigs are subject to a wide range of environments from the tropics to the sub-arctic, ranging from small-scale, extensive systems to large-scale intensive systems. They may spend their whole life on one farm or may be subject to long-distance transport multiple times. Not surprisingly, many aspects of their life experiences can impact their welfare.

This book brings together a team of leading pig welfare research scientists to review the natural history of the pig, the welfare of pigs at different stages of life and to indicate what the future holds in terms of pig welfare. The text is aimed at researchers and teachers working in veterinary and animal science together with those working in the pig industry and for governmental and non-governmental animal welfare organizations.

Man's attempts to learn about aspects of the human body and its functions by observation and study of animals are to be found throughout history, especially at times and in cultures where the human body was considered sacrosanct, even after death. This book describes the origins and later development, especially in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, of comparative medicine and its interrelationship with medicine and veterinary medicine and the efforts of its practitioners to understand and control outbreaks of infectious, epidemic diseases in humans and in domestic animals. In the nineteenth century their efforts and increasing professionalism led to the creation of specialised institutes devoted to the study of comparative medicine. Paradoxically the first such institute, the Brown Institution, opened in London in 1871, despite the fact that the study of this branch of medicine in Britain had always lagged behind that in France and Germany. The book discusses the rise and fall of this centre and describes how it was soon overtaken in importance by the great institutes in Paris and Berlin and then, from the turn of the century, by American institutes, funded by private fortunes. This book sheds much new light on the medical and veterinary history of this period and will provide a new perspective on the history of bacteriology.

Veterinarians increasingly encounter wildlife casualties in practice and have a duty of care for the welfare of the animals. This comprehensive and easy-to-use self assessment book contains some 208 clinical cases with 325 illustrations. It has been compiled by authors with a wide range of experience and expertise in this area. Common conditions seen in wildlife species are covered with cases from Europe, North America, the Middle East and Australia. The selection of cases is presented randomly and covers scenarios relevant to most readers. The book is of value to veterinarians in practice and training and to all those working directly with wildlife who wish to expand their knowledge in this field.

Lesson number one: When taking a cow's temperature the old-fashioned way, never let go of the thermometer . . . Now firmly ensconced in the sleepy Yorkshire village of Darrowby, recently qualified vet James Herriot has acclimatized to life with his unpredictable colleagues, brothers Siegfried and Tristan Farnon. But veterinary practice in the 1930s was never going to be easy, and there are challenges on the horizon, from persuading his clients to let him use his 'modern' equipment, to becoming an uncle (to a pig called Nugent). Throw in his first encounters with Helen, the beautiful daughter of a local farmer, and this year looks to be as eventful as the last... From the author whose books inspired the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small, It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet is the second volume of James Herriot's classic memoirs; a book for all those who find laughter and joy in animals, and who know and understand the magic and beauty of Britain's wild places.

GRACEY'S MEAT HYGIENE Gracey's Meat Hygiene, 11th edition, is the definitive reference for veterinarians working in meat hygiene control. This new edition of a classic text reflects the recent significant changes in science, legislation and practical implementation of meat hygiene controls in the United Kingdom, Europe and worldwide since the 10th edition was published in 1999. This book is an excellent practical guide for teaching food hygiene to veterinary students worldwide, laying the foundations of food animal anatomy, the humane slaughter of animals for food and practical production hygiene. New chapters address the increased concern of operators, inspectors and the public to issues of animal welfare and recognise the role of the profession, and interest from the consumer, in environmental protection. Key features include the following Fully updated new edition, in a refreshed design with colour photographs and illustrations throughout Includes new content on meat hygiene inspection covering the components of an integrated food safety management system as well as animal health and welfare controls in the 'farm to fork' system A practical approach to health and safety in meat processing is outlined by identifying the hazards and then describing how these can be best controlled With contributions from veterinary and industry experts, this edition is both a valuable teaching aid and a practical reference for veterinarians and all food business operators and their staff

Taken from his popular column in The Yorkshire Post, Julian Norton's On Call with a Yorkshire Vet is the follow up to his successful The Diary of a Yorkshire Vet and features more anecdotes from his veterinary work in North Yorkshire. Through the snows of the beast from the east, Julian visits sheep in Nun Monkton and a pony in Dallow Gill. He treats a Meerkat with a broken tail from Great Ouseburn, A lame horse next to Almscliffe crag, a wagyu in Topcliffe and a Clydesdale horse in York. These and many more adventures are contained within. Written in the delightful manner that he is well-known for in the Channel 5 hit series The Yorkshire Vet, this book is a fun and wonderful read. Beautifully produced and illustrated throughout.

Handbook of Avian Medicine, 2/e has been written to give the small animal practitioner a complete information source for the basics of avian medicine and surgery. It pulls together the international expertise of the avian veterinary community by incorporating the knowledge of authors world-wide. The first six chapters cover the basic medical information needed to run a primary care avian practice. The focus here is on introductory level material and the average companion animal practice. If you see between one and five birds a week, this text is for you. The later chapters are species-specific and help the veterinarian in evaluating, treating, and/or referring various bird species. The new edition builds on the success of the first edition and includes full colour illustrations throughout. First 6 chapters: cover basic information needed to run a primary care avian practice Later chapters: species-specific helping veterinarians to build up their knowledge in order to evaluate, treat and/or refer Multi-author text combining best practice tips and different techniques from avian experts worldwide: the editors are from 3 different countries and the chapter authors from many more Provides quick access to crucial information for the non-specialist Offers the basics of avian medicine and surgery Fully up-dated throughout Full colour throughout Increase of line drawings and illustrations in general Better quality images Includes practice tip highlights throughout