Assisted Circulation 4 is an authoritative review of the progress which has been achieved in the last 5 years since the publication of "Assisted Circulation 3" in 1989. The present book highlights the work of well-known experts on indications for assisted circulation, cardiac support devices such as bridges, devices for transplantation, devices for chronic mechanical support, biological energy sources, cardiomyoplasty, extracorporeal membraneoxygenation and an overview of cardiac devices support with a specific emphasis on xenotransplantation. Assisted Circulation 4 is the latest product of an ongoing effort by the editors to keep readers regularly informed of recent developments in the field. Assisted Circulation is a standard technology in cardiac surgery and especially in cardiac transplantation.

This book records the presentations given at a workshop held in Bonn in May 1994. The aim of the meeting was to bring together scientists from various disciplines and clinicians to discuss within a group of experts the theoretical, medical, engineering, and regulatory aspects of automated control of therapeutic interventions in. anaesthesiology. The meeting was considered a continuation of a preceding work shop on "Quantitation, Modelling and Control in Anaesthesia" 1], which was held also in Bonn 10 years ago in May 1984. That workshop dealt with problems of how to quantitate concepts like anaesthetic depth, how to model anaesthetic drug disposition, how to link phar macokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and how to use such concepts for the control of anaesthetic drug delivery. With respect to these topics the current proceedings have simultaneously both a broadened and a narrowed perspective. It is broadened in so far as the topics of the workshop did not focus exclusively on anaesthetic drugs and the control of their delivery, but did also discuss anaesthesia machine monitoring and patients therapeutic monitoring as well as control of blood pressure and artificial ventilation. The proceedings have nar rowed the perspective insofar as they do not intensively discuss the processes of quantitation and modelling but presuppose them and give more room to control, especially automated control. During the past 10 years informatics has tremendously expanded its knowledge and methods applicable to control problems."

C. Manni The focusing of general interest and of many disciplines on disaster medicine is an interesting and recent phenomenon in our society. Disasters have by now left the his torical and philosophical sphere and finally entered the operational arena. Modern man, in other words, no longer accepts disasters in a passive and fatalistic manner, but claims to be able to control them like so many other forces of nature. The new approach is aimed at preventing, containing, and remedying the invariably tragic consequences of these events. The role of medicine in this context is of fundamental importance and is charac terized by two main aspects: application of techniques of intervention appropriately and effectively, and collaboration with the general organization, assuming responsi bility for the protection of health and the treatment of injuries. Following a period of more or less chaotic growth, during which sectionalism and empirical interests prevailed, and localized aspects of this new discipline underwent considerable development, a need is now felt to propose and realize a more com prehensive scientific approach. It has become necessary to identify and to rationally analyze the individual components of this branch of medicine. As in any analysis, the recognition of the "object" of the research is of fundamental importance: hence the title of this first round table: "Types and Events of Disaster."

Sepsis and Innovative Treatment: The Odyssey R. C. Bone The Odyssey by Homer, dates back to the 8th century, B. C. [1]. It is a great epic adventure of Odysseus's dramatic journey from Troy back home to Ithaca. Odysseus survives the ordeals of this journey and returns with new powers and insights. The study of the pathogenesis and treatment of sepsis has also been an odys- sey. I feel we will return from this odyssey with new insights and treatments. However, as with Odysseus, this will occur only after considerable struggle. In the 1980s we had a rather simplistic view of sepsis. It was a highly lethal complication caused by infection and often charac- terized by shock and multi-organ failure. Our knowledge of the inflammatory responses associated with sepsis was embryonic compared to today. The inflammatory response was often treat- ment with mega-dose corticosteroids along with fluid resuscita- tion, vasopressors and antibiotics. Because of the paucity of mul- ti-center controlled trials documenting the risk/benefit ratio of the treatment of sepsis with corticosteroids, two large multi-cen- ter controlled trials were organized to evaluate the role of corti- costeroids in sepsis [2, 3]. Because animal models showed bene- fits of corticosteroids only with pre-treatment or early treatment, a definition of sepsis was used that did not require positive cul- ture documentation or septic shock to be included in the studied population.

This book concentrates on problems generated by acute care in severely traumatized patients during the first 24 hours after injury. During this hectic period, highly complicated problems have to be solved at the site of the accident, during transport to hospital, and in hospital. Multiple medical and paramedical disciplines are involved in providing care to the severely injured. This book endeavors to present a problem-oriented approach to the diagnostic, therapeutic, and organizational aspects that may be encountered.

The book is based on papers presented at the recently held international meeting on central-nervous-system monitoring in Hamburg, Germany. Experts inthe fields of neurophysiology, experimental and clincial anesthesia and intensive care discussed the state of the art in noninvasive central-nervous-system monitoring. Starting with the principles of CNS monitoring in humans, the topics covered include pharmacokinetic pharmacodynamic interactions, the usefulness of spontaneous and evoked brain electrical activity as an overall-control for afferent systems andfor the assessment of analgesic drug treatment, perioperative anesthesiological monitoring, and intraoperative awareness. Recently developed specific EEG and EP indices such as spectral edge frequency, median frequency, auditory and somatosensory evoked responses for the assessment of depth of anesthesia are evaluated for intraoperative monitoring. The surgical and anesthesiological perspective in intraoperativemonitoring during vascular surgery are presented, as is the state of theart in the monitoring of afferent central-nervous-system pathways by monitoring transcranial motor evoked potentials. Bispectral EEG analysis forthe assessment of anesthetic adequacy represents the future trend in intraoperative monitoring. In addition to neurophysiological methods, assessment of jugular bulb venous oxygen saturation and transcranial Doppler sonography may give additional information for the interpretation of brain fuction. In the field of intensive care, topics in multimodal long-term monitoring of brain function are presented. The application of an expert system supporting the diagnosis of brain death is also included.

Sepsis and infection are the major enemies of the intensive care patient in whom immunological defenses are severely impaired. This major problem is thefocus of attention in this book, based on the presentation of the First International Congress on the Immune Consequences of Trauma, Shock, and Sepsis, which is one of the first attempts to exchange ideas on the state-of-the-art in this area of immunology. Both basic and clinical research, including new centres of attention, are described. The growing role of immunology in medicine opens new avenues to the under- standing of trauma and sepsis and will allow the design of novel therapeutic approaches.

The interrelated syndromes of shock and the adult respiratory distress to attract the attention of both clinical and syndrome (ARDS) continue laboratory scientists. This reflects both the size of the problem and its unresponsiveness to current lines of treatment. Doubtless, a greater appreciation of the underlying pathophysiological disturbances during the past two decades has led to appropriate action and increased survival in the early stages but once established these syndromes have remained remarkably immune to a wide spectrum of therapeutic modalities. This observation stresses the importance of prevention but also indicates the need for continued research into the nature of the established syndromes and the means whereby they may be reversed. Drs Kox and Bihari are to be congratulated on bringing together within the covers of this volume many of the acknowledged European experts in these two fields of investigation. Each author has provided an up-to-date account of his current experimental and clinical research, and their com bined contributions makes fascinating reading. Undoubtedly, these are exciting times in the development of understanding of shock and ARDS. Inevitably, more questions are raised than answers provided, but the accumulated knowledge presented here adds significantly to our under standing of this complex biological jigsaw. From this corporate endeavour will come the clinically useful developments of the future and with them the ultimate hope that the term 'refractory' shock may be finally removed from our vocabulary.

Every specialist, at present, is confronted with the fact that it is continually becoming more difficult to remain 'up to date'. The areas in which he must read are expanding while the individual publications are becoming greater in number, larger in content and appear more frequently. The choice of the subject was not easy. This time we have selected the pharmacological aspects of anaesthesiology as our main topic, as a continu ation of the Boerhaave course in 1971. Although we know that a drug works, the mechanism behind this action is of great importance. The pharmacokinetics and side effects of the drugs we administer affect not only our patients, but also ourselves, our children, and the personnel under our care. In a special section we draw attention to this subject. We fervently hope that this symposium will further enrich your knowledge of anaesthesia and that through this enrichment you will derive more pleasure from the profession you have chosen and that in the end this will lead to even better care and treatment of the patients entrusted to us. We wish to express our thanks to Prof. C. M. Conway, Dr. D. T. Popescu, and Prof. D. M. E. Vermeulen-Cranch for their assistance in the editing of some of the chapters in this book."

A state-of-the-art presentation of intraoperative neuro- physiologic monitoring by specialists from well-known international medical centers.

The spinal cord has a characteristic structure and functions that are distinct from those of the brain. Its functions are tremendously important since it modulates the peripheral sensory inputs to the dorsal horn, and it gives rise to the ascending pathways transmitting peripheral afferent inputs to the brain, and conveys the descending pathways from the brain both to the lower motor neurons, the final common pathway, and to dorsal horn sensory neurons. In spite of these vital functions, the spinal cord constitutes only a small percent age of the mass of the human central nervous system and is located far from the skin surface, which has obstructed the recording of its electrical activity. Recently, however, important advances have been made in several recording techniques, including epidural recording or averaging methods, allowing both sensory and motor evoked spinal cord potentials in man to be recorded. This volume is based on the papers presented at the Fourth International Symposium on Spinal Cord Monitoring and Electrodiagnosis. Each of these international symposia has brought together many of the specialists involved in this research, with an important increase in the number of participants since the first symposium was held in Toyko in 1981. At the past symposia several attempts were made to standardize data, techniques, and clinical applications and to integrate the new findings into patient care."

Echocardiography has been one of the most significant advances in cardiology in the past two decades. It can provide anatomic, functional hemodynamic, and blood flow information. Conventional transtho- racic echocardiography has limitations, particularly in certain patients such as those with obesity, chronic lung disease, or chest wall defor- mity, or in those where a transthoracic approach is difficult for reasons including trauma, life support apparat uses, and surgical dressings. There are also certain disease states or conditions in which transtho- racic echocardiography expectedly gives incomplete or inadequate in- formation. Transesophageal echo cardiography has opened a unique "new window to the heart." The immediate proximity of the esophagus and the posterior heart permits exceptionally high resolution images, par- ticularly of the left atrium, mitral valve, and intraatrial septum. Addi- tionally, from the stomach (trans gastric views), the ventricles can be dependably imaged. Transesophageal echo cardiography presently is utilized in two environments: intraoperatively and for outpatient examinations. Intraoperatively, TEE is utilized to monitor cardiac function and de- tect intracardiac air or debris, to diagnose or quantitate cardiac path- ology, and to access operative results.

Theodore H. Stanley. M. D. W. Clayton Petty. M. D. Anesthesia. the Heart and the Vascular System contains the Refresher Course manuscripts of the presentations of the 32nd Annual Postgraduate Course in Anesthesiology which took place at the Westin Hotel Utah Convention Center in Salt Lake City. Utah. February 20-24. 1987. The chapters reflect new data and concepts within the general framework of "risk. preoperative evaluation and monitoring. " "cerebral. pulmonary and peripheral vascular disease. " "new agents. their advantages and their problems" and "pediatric. cardiac and non-cardiac surgery. " The purposes of the textbook are to 1) act as a reference for the anesthesiologists attending the meeting. and 2) serve as a vehicle to bring many of the latest concepts in anesthesiology to others within a short time of the formal presentation. Each chapter is a brief but sharply focused glimpse of the interests in anesthesia expressed at the conference. This book and its chapters should not be considered complete treatises on the sub jects addressed but rather attempts to summarize the most salient points. This textbook is the fifth in a continuing series documenting the pro ceedings of the Postgraduate Course in Salt Lake City. We hope that this and the past and future volumes reflect the rapid and continuing evolution of anesthesiology in the late twentieth century. YO TABLE OF CONTENTS Diabetes: Preoperative Evaluation and Intraoperative Management Simon de Lange, M. D., Ph. D."

During the past twenty years there has been a rapid evolution in anaesthesia, so much so, that we stand on the brink of a major change in the role of the anaesthetist in medicine. Anaesthesia has now emerged from being a craft speciality, obsessed with details of techniques, to become a science concerned with the maintenance of life. As a result of our better understanding of the physiological and pharmacological effects of anaesthesia and surgery, new opportunities have been created for anaesthetists to apply their particular knowledge, not only to provide better and safer conditions for surgery, but also in resuscitation, ventilatory and circulatory support and in the treatment of chronic pain. This has resulted in the recognition of the anaesthetist as a physician specialising in applied physiology and clinical pharmacology. The 1971 Boerhaave Course in Anaesthesia has deliberately tried to reflect this scientific basis of the speciality of anaesthesia by selecting for presenta tion in this book, subjects in which recent investigations have provoked new concepts and ideas. We are most grateful to our colleagues who presented a paper and to the secretary-staffs of our departments of anaesthesia in Leiden and London. Also thanks are extended to Mrs. Bongertman for the preparation of the proofs. Department of Anaesthesiology 10han Spierdijk University Hospital, Leiden Department of Anaesthetics Stanley Feldman Westminster Hospital, London v CONTENTS Preface . . . V Contributors . VIII PART ONE ANAESTHESIA AND THE HEART Alpha and beta blockers in anaesthesia . 3 H. LABORIT 18 Advantages and disadvantages of isoprenaline ."

During the last decade, the effects of anaesthetics on cerebral blood flow, cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen and intracranial pressure have been studied experimentally and clinically. In this review studies of CBF and CMRO2 during craniotomy have been performed with the classical technique described by Kety and Schmidt. In chapter 1 general considerations concerning the effects of anaesthetics on cerebral blood flow and metabolism are reviewed. In chapters 2 and 3 the effects of inhalation agents and hypnotics on flow and metabolism are considered. Chapters 4 and 5 cover the effects of central analgetics, and neuromuscular blocking agents. In chapter 6 the effects of other drugs in common use in neuroanaesthetic practice are summarized. Chapter 7 considers the effects of drugs used for controlled hypotension. In chapter 8 the application of Kety's method in studies of CBF and metabolism is reviewed, the studies of cerebral circulation and metabolism during nine different techniques of anaesthesia for craniotomy are presented, and other studies of cerebral circulation during neuroanaesthesia are reviewed. In chapter 9 considerations concerning central and cerebral hemodynamics during anaesthesia in the sitting position are considered. This review is primarily addressed to anaesthetists, but it will also be of interest to those working within neurosurgery, neuroradiology and clinical neurophysiology.

Theodore H. Stanley, M. D. Anesthesia and the Lung contains the Refresher Course manuscripts of the presentations of the 34th Annual Postgraduate Course in Anesthesiology which took place at The Cliff Conference Center in Snowbird, Utah, February 17-21, 1989. The chapters reflect recent advances in the diagnosis, pre-, intra-, and postoperative anesthetic management of patients with lung disease, presenting for pulmonary and non-pulmonary surgery. They also deal with ventilation-perfusion issues, the lung as a metabolic organ, the effects of anesthesia on pulmonary mechanics and pulmonary blood flow. In addition there are chapters that will focus around hypoxia; regional differences in the lung; pulmonary surfactant; recent advances in the understanding of pulmonary edema; high altitude disease; anesthesia and the control of breathing; recent developments in oximetry; instrumentation designed to measure pulmonary oxygen tension, P0 and PC0 trans 2 2 cutaneously; differential lung ventilation; reactive airways; septic shock; the adult respiratory distress syndrome and numerous aspects of ventilatory support. The purposes of the textbook are to 1) act as a reference for the anesthesiologists attending the meeting, and 2) serve as a vehicle to bring many of the latest concepts in anesthesiology to others within a short time of the formal presenta tion. Each chapter is a brief but sharply focused glimpse of the interests in anesthesia expressed at the conference."

Painful disorders following injury ofperipheral nerves; bones and othersoft tissueshaveoccurredfrom theearliesttimesofhuman existence. Ambroise ParewascalledupontotreatthepersistentpainexperiencedbyKing Charles IXwhich wascausedbyalancetwound. Thepainwaspersistent,diffuseand associatedwithcontractureofmuscles. Thekingcouldneitherflexnorextend hisarmforamonth untilthepainfmally disappeared WeirMitchell, G.R.Moorehouse,andW.W.Keeneproducedamonumental treatisein 1864titled"GunshotWoundsandOtherInjuriesofNerves,"which containedan account ofsymptoms and signs ofperipheral nerve injuries as observed in Unionist Soldiers. After 1864, however, little mention ofthis condition wasmade during peacetimeuntil a spateofarticlesappearedagain afterWorldWarOneandTwo. With the formation ofsocieties such as International Association for the Study of Pain, renewed interest has been shown in understanding the mechanismsandmanagementofpainsyndromes. Paincausedbysympathetic disordershasalwayscaughtthefancyofclinicians, andyetconfusionexistsas tothe etiologyandpropertreatmentofreflexsympathetic dystrophy. Many new names have been proposed for these syndromes; recent ones include sympatheticallyornonsympatheticallymaintained pain. Taxonomy ofThe International Association for the Study ofPain lists causalgia and reflex sympathetic syndromes as two distinct entities. All clinicians seem to feel that pain relieved by a diagnostic sympathetic block should be labeled as causalgia or reflex sympathetic dystrophy. Similarly, numerous therapeuticmodalitieshavebeenproposed. Theyallcenteraround sympathetic denervation of some sort, pharmacologically, chemically, or surgically. Inspiteofagreatadvanceinourunderstandingofpainmechanism in the last quarter century, we are no closer to improving the outcome of patientswithsevere reflexsympatheticdystrophy. Etiologyand incidenceis xvi Serieseditorforeword still unclear. Diagnosis is made late and treatment is not standardized Clinicians whotreatcausalgiaandreflexsympatheticdystrophyhavedifferent treatmentsbasedupon their background and experience,ratherthan on the mechanism ofthesyndrome itself. ThetimeisopportunenowtogathersomeunbiasedthoughtsonRSDand clem- the air. Our editors, in particular Michael Stanton-Hicks, needto be congratulatedfor organizing a timely symposium onthesubject and inviting international expertsto discuss the pathophysiology and treatmentofRSD. Whatfollowsinthismonograph isaclear,concisepresentationanddiscussion ofnomenclature, etiology, incidence, mechanism, treatment, and outcome of RSD.

After a long period of neglect, the gastrointestinal tract is increasingly being recog nized as an important target of anesthetics and anesthesia-related processes, as well as of conditions and treatments related to peri- and postoperative period and inten sive care. Drugs used in anesthesia and intensive care and physiological or pathologi cal changes in the perioperative period affect the digestive system in its function from the pharynx to the colon. Prolonged postoperative ileus or stasis of propulsive peri stalsis in the critically ill or multiply injured patient may impair enteral nutrition and give rise to complications such as sepsis or multiple organ failure. In view of this new understanding of the clinical relevance of gut function, we felt that a book on problems of the gastrointestinal tract in anesthesia, the perioperative period, and intensive care was badly needed. The present volume is the product of an international symposium which brought together physiologists, pharmacologists, experimental and clinical anesthetists, gastroenterologists, surgeons, and intensive care physicians to discuss all major contemporary aspects of bowel function in health and under the influence of anesthesia, surgery, and intensive care."

A HISTORY OF MALIGNANT HYPERTHERMIA Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a hereditary disorder of muscle. Undoubtedly, individuals have possessed this trait since time immemorial. However, because the trait is usually only unmasked in the presence of potent inhalational anaesthetic agents or non-depolarizing skeletal muscle relaxants, the existence of malignant hyperthermia was not suspected until we" after the dawn of the modern anaesthetic era. In the early years of ether and chloroform anaesthesia, monitoring was minimal. Body temperature was never measured. A finger on the pulse, and observation of respirations and skin colour were the most that could be expected. Death was not infrequent and usually unexplained (1). By the beginning of the twentieth century, reports of fulminant fever and tachycardia (rapid heart rate) during or immediately after anaesthesia often ending in death, were being described with increasing frequency in the medical literature (2-6). As a number of cases from New York had occurred during summer months, they were initially thought to be a form of heat stroke due to overly hot operating theatres (2-6). However, one enterprising anaesthetist (5: ' checked the weather reports for the days on which some of these so called "heat strokes" had occurred. He found that on the days i'n question the ambient 0 temperature had never been in excess of 72 F. Environmental heat, therefore, could not have been a cause of at least some of these reactions.

The science of neuroanaesthesia and neurointensive care is fascinating, and the amounts of experimental and clinical studies are overwhelming. Surely, everyone can surf Medline and other database systems in order to get information. If you, however, ask for head injury, cerebral ischaemia or barbiturate, you will get hun dreds, may be thousands of titles and even the same number of abstracts. The aims of this book are to review important experimental and clinical data with emphasis on up-dated references. The text within each issue and sub-issue systematically covers experimental and clinical data separately, and details con cerning cerebral blood flow, cerebral metabolism, intracranial pressure etc. are reviewed accordingly. In our survey of the literature we did not use Medline or other database sys tems systematically. Rather, we used available medical journals which covered the topics of anaesthesia, neuroanaesthesia and neurointensive care. In this way we hope that relevant literature is presented. On the other hand, we cannot exclude that some important issues are omitted. The book covers 12 topics. In three chapters methodology of CBF measure ments, regulation of CBF, and intracranial pressure are described. In the next 6 chapters inhalation anaesthetics, hypnotic agents, analgesics, muscular relaxants, drugs used for control of blood pressure, and the sitting position are reviewed. The last three chapters cover head injury, subarachnoid haemorrhage and cere bral ischaemia."

This volume represents a review of recent work presented by eminent scientists at the Second International Symposium on 'Applied Physiology in Critical Care with Emphasis on Children' at Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, November 28 - 2 December, 1983. We are grateful to the keynote speakers who accepted our invitation and completed their chapters in time for the press. I must thank the Government of Aruba, the Tourist Office of Aruba, Mr Frank Croes and Mr Betico Croes for their support and generosity for organizing this symposium. My sincere thanks go to Mr Rory Arends, Lucy Arends, Simon Meij and Norma van Toornburg for their untiring efforts and cooperation. Omar Prakash, MD IX List of contributors Bryan, A.Ch., MB, BS, PhD, FRCP (C), The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X8 Bryan, H., MD, Department of Pediatrics, Room 1241, Mount Sinai Hospital and The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X5 co-authors: A.L. Campbell, Y. Zarfin, M. Groenveld, P. Duffty Enhorning, G., MD, University of Toronto, Toronto Western Hospital, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 2S8 Gross, I., MD, Perinatal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, P.O.

B. Raymond Fink Sheldon Roth and Keith Miller have asked me to record that the Third Conference on Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Anesthesia was held in Calgary last May "in my honor. " Such was my dear friends' gracious way of continuing a series that began at the University of Washington, where I hosted two, four, or five previous ones, 1,3-6 depending 2 on how far back one wishes to count. At that, Seattle took up where Paris left off in 1951. These occasions create their own unforgettable memories. This book captures the fine, invigorating ambience of the University of Calgary and the exciting explorations and com panionship of a gathering in a frontier territory of neuroscience. So, floreant symposia. They have progressively refined the quarry, from pathway to synapse to lipoprotein membrane to receptor and single channel, in heuristic convergences of neuronal physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology. Nevertheless, the anesthesiologist in me senses a certain disquiet, a certain claustrophobia provoked by the narrow confines of micropipettes. How much more tubular must tunnel vision become before the desired broad view emerges? At present, the advances in molecular neurobiology seem continually to increase the apparent complexity of the total problem and the conceptual distance between the reductionists in the laboratories and the holists in the operating rooms. Happily, what is also growing is the excitement in trying to bridge the gap. Perhaps it would be timely to regard general anesthesia not as a state but as a syndrome."

The first two "Brain Heart Conferences" in Jerusalem in 1978 and 1983 were based upon the common interests of clinically orientated neurologists and cardiologists in the problems of centr'al autonomic control and autonomic disturbances of the cardiovascular system. The relatively slow scientific progress, at least clinically, in this area may be due to the fact that neither cardiologists nor neurologists felt competent in both topics. Furthermore, it has become increasingly difficult to have an overall view of the basic research and its clinical applications in this field. New research methods, based on a comtination of morphological, biochemical, and physiological techniques, have enabled the functional differentiation of various areas of the brain and subsequently also of the autonomic nervous system. The simple dualistic concept of an antagonistic sympathetic-parasympathetic regulation of the circulatory system is no longer valid. It is clear that numerous neurotransmitters, in particular the neuropeptides, are involved in a highly differentiated subdivision of the autonomic system. One of the aims of the IIIrd International Brain Heart Conference was therefore to supply a synopsis of the latest developments in basic research undertaken in this field by exceptionally competent scientists, to clinically orientated neurologists and cardiologists, and thus to provide new impulses for clinical research.

Intensive Care Medicine has been continuously growing and expanding, culturally, technically and geographically. Monitoring and instrumentation are continuously improving and more and more hospitals are getting Intensive Care facilities. The costs have proportionally increased over the years, so that ICUs represent today a major cost for health structures. Since the available resources are limited, a real need is emerging to set the limits and indications of Intensive Care. It is understood that the problem not only involves medical considerations, but also ethical and economical aspects of the utmost importance. For the first time in Europe, this book edited by Reis Miranda and his colleagues tackles systematically the many structural aspects of the European Intensive Care. The organisation and financing of health care in the Old Continent is deeply different from the American one, and the results and consequent proposals obtained in the USA cannot simply be transferred to this side of the Atlantic Ocean. Weare extremely pleased to welcome this first European attempt to discuss the Intensive Care problem. It lays no claims to giving definite replies in a continuously developing field, but it will surely become the basis for future discussions and proposals. I am particularly happy that this work has mainly developed within the European Society of Intensive Care, whose final target is to ensure a common standard of therapy in our old Europe, beyond national differences. We warmly congratulate the authors, and I am sure that their work will find wide diffusion and consent.

On 15 November 1997, the first international symposium "Neural and Chemical Control of Breathing: Pharmacological and Clinical Aspects" was held at Leiden University Medical Center on the occasion of the retirement of one of the members of the Control of Breathing Research Group of the Departments of Physiology and Anesthesiology, Dr. Aad Berkenbosch. Among others, Dr. Berkenbosch, played an important role in this research group, which made a large and significant contribution to scientific research on the regulation of breathing. This book presents the proceedings of that meeting together with papers of several authors who have strong bonds with the Leiden Departments of Physiology and Anesthesiology. All studies represent state of the art work on the subject of respiratory control and cardiovascular medicine, with emphasis on the physiological, pharmacological and anesthesiological aspects of both fields. The book is divided in several sections: Oxygen Physiology. Prof. John Severinghaus presents among other things his ideas on oxygen sensing and high altitude related diseases. Prof. Honda gives results from studies in a unique set of subjects without carotid bodies. The findings of Honda's group support the idea that an intact hypoxic drive from the carotid bodies is necessary for the generation of central hypoxic depression. Dr. Hans van Beek discusses the effects of hypoxia and hypercapnia on cardiac contractility in animal models. Prof. Oeseburg demonstrates the feasibility of Near Infra Red Oximetry for monitoring tissue oxygenation in patients. Central Chemoreception.