Physiology, Environment, and Man

Physiology, Environment, and Man is based on a symposium conducted by the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, August 1966. While one might expect a textbook to present its field in organized and comprehensive fashion, a symposium necessarily follows more of an illustrative pattern, according to the personal interests or even idiosyncrasies of the participants. It is interesting to note that, in spite of these limitations, the presentations did in fact cover the range of physiological concerns with environmental effects, from the genetic to the temporal, and from the molecular to the holistic. The book opens with a discussion of the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council's broad-based critical study of the physiological underpinning of current concepts of biological responses to toxic chemicals and physical stresses. Subsequent chapters deal with topics such as the metabolic fate of common environmental agents; growth and trophic factors in carcinogenesis; environmental factors in aging and mortality; adaptation to heat and cold; and the definition of an optimum environment.