The main theme of this monograph - conditions of regenera tion of organs in mammals - reflects an area of increasing empha sis which permeates much current Soviet research on regeneration. The introduction of this theme goes back about 25 years, and empha sis on the influence of environmental conditions upon regenerative processes has fluctuated until the mid-1960s, when the viewpoints on this subject were established in much the same form as they are expressed in this book. For years, Russian regeneration research has been charac terized by the presence of several dominant and often conflicting schools of thought. Since an acquaintance with these makes the in terpretation of many of the theoretical implications of this book, particularly in the introductory and concluding chapters, consider ably clearer, those not familiar with the Russian literature might profit by reading my brief survey of this field (Carlson, B. M., 1968. Re generation research in the Soviet Union, Anat. Rec., 160:665-674).
