H.G. Schwarzacher – författare

This volume was originally intended to be an English translation of the book MetllOden in der medizinischen Cytogenetik, published in 1970. Just about then, however, a number of new techniques were introduced in human cytogenetics and soon acquired the utmost importance, parti­ cularly in clinical diagnosis, so that the English edition had to be con­ siderably enlarged. As a result, there are now twelve chapters instead of eight, and two additional authors have been called upon, Dr. KRONE and Dr. SCHNEDL. In addition to the up-to-date presentation of con­ ventional methods of cell culture and techniques for the preparation and identification of human chromosomes, this text covers the various tech­ niques of producing banding patterns and applying them in chromo­ some identification. Further, it deals with the culture of amniotic fluid cells and gives instructions for handling tissue-culture cells for bio­ chemical analysis; it thus meets the ever-increasing requirements of a modern cell-culture laboratory. To paraphrase the aims of this book, we quote part of the preface to the German edition: "It was intended to collect the various methods so as to make them accessible for laboratory use. Furthermore, it is hoped that the reader faced with current research problems will be stimulated to modify and supplement the techniques described, instead of merely applying them automatically. In a rapidly developing field, some methods are still preliminary, and no final presentation seems possible.

This volume was originally intended to be an English translation of the book MetllOden in der medizinischen Cytogenetik, published in 1970. Just about then, however, a number of new techniques were introduced in human cytogenetics and soon acquired the utmost importance, parti­ cularly in clinical diagnosis, so that the English edition had to be con­ siderably enlarged. As a result, there are now twelve chapters instead of eight, and two additional authors have been called upon, Dr. KRONE and Dr. SCHNEDL. In addition to the up-to-date presentation of con­ ventional methods of cell culture and techniques for the preparation and identification of human chromosomes, this text covers the various tech­ niques of producing banding patterns and applying them in chromo­ some identification. Further, it deals with the culture of amniotic fluid cells and gives instructions for handling tissue-culture cells for bio­ chemical analysis; it thus meets the ever-increasing requirements of a modern cell-culture laboratory. To paraphrase the aims of this book, we quote part of the preface to the German edition: "It was intended to collect the various methods so as to make them accessible for laboratory use. Furthermore, it is hoped that the reader faced with current research problems will be stimulated to modify and supplement the techniques described, instead of merely applying them automatically. In a rapidly developing field, some methods are still preliminary, and no final presentation seems possible.

The progress in Micromorphology and Biochemistry of the last decades has led to a rather far reaching understanding of the function of the genes. Much is also known about their morphological organization within the cell, particularly their reduplication and segregation in connection with the process of cell division. The intensive light microscopic studies of the earlier cytological era on cell division and chromosomes, which laid the basis for this understanding are very comprehensively covered by WASSERMANN (1929) in his masterly contribution "Wachstum und Vermehrung der lebendigen Masse" in this handbook. There exist also many more recent reviews on chromosomes and on cytogene­ tics (e. g. SWANSON, 1960; MAZIA, 1961; TURPIN and LEJEUNE, 1965; WmTEHousE, 1969; HAMERTON, 1971; FORD, 1973). However, although some of them cover the more recent findings in man, they have either had to rely on more favorable species for detailed basic information or handled cytogenetic problems from a more practical and clinical point of view. Since moreover, the last few years have brought a flood of new information on chromosomes due to new cytological techniques, a new review on human chromosomes would seem justified within the frame of this handbook. This review will be restricted to human somatic chromosomes, i. e. it wi11leave out meiosis, and will provide information on other species only if this seems necessary for increased clarity.