In contrast to the three earlier books stemming from the Annual Symposia of the Society of Craniofacial Genetics (a meeting held on the day prior to the March of Dimes Birth Defects Meeting), this volume does not deal with a single area but contains reports of a salmagundi of topics with a common denominator of alteration of some part of the craniofacial structures. The term salmagundi may be a bit unfair, since it implies but a single dish. This book is rather a banquet of nine courses. It would take a mighty jaded palate not to savor at least one or more of them.
The appetizer is concerned with "white hair and its genetic immunological implications." The title of this paper by A.C. Brown and his colleagues somewhat belies the nature of the article, for they discuss not only white hair, but the whole spectrum of poliosis (premature graying), vitiligo (focal white hair and white skin), and alopecia areata as manifestations of a disease spectrum associated with an increased incidence of lymphoproliferative malignancies and with autoimmune diseases, particularly involving the thyroid, testes, and ovaries. While the article is 20 pages long, a large part represents a detailed tabulation of findings in 37 patients. Of interest to this reviewer was a rather fascinating digression to a discussion of Lippizaner horses, the colts being born with black hair and developing white hair with sexual maturity. Of even greater interest to me was the North American shorttail weasel having dark-brown hair during spring and summer; but come winter, the weasel molts, growing white hair, and becoming sterile-a fascinating animal model made even more intriguing by the information that hair color, molt, and testis size are influenced by the pineal hormone, melatonin, which is influenced by exposure to light and having intact eyes.
The second chapter, by A.J. Miller and G. Chierici, discusses morphologic and neuromuscular changes in the face of rhesus monkeys who, because of experimental nasal bIockage, must use oral respiration. In the next section, A. Miller and K.