The Fourth Conference on the Clinical Delineation of Birth Defects: Part XIII, G.I. Tract, Including Liver and Pancreas, edited by Daniel Bergsma, is a relatively small book of 27 chapters followed by 26 individual case reports, totaling only 199 pages. The combined photographs of participants, tables, and figures add an impressive total of 241 pertinent illustrations.
This is an unusual collection of reports about the inheritance of disorders of the intestinal tract and associated parts of the body. It constitutes the studies and experiences primarily of the Johns Hopkins group but also includes contributions by people in England, Germany, and Italy, as well as a representative group of investigators in other parts of the United States.
The organization of the material does not follow a strict anatomical or physiological order as is illustrated by the chapter on intestinal lactase deficiency followed by two reports on pyloric stenosis. However, if one