Peritoneum

ENTERING ON A CREATIVE AND ENTERPRISING PROJECT, DRS. DIZEREGA and Rodgers have taken an innovative look at the peritoneum. They have provided an interesting, informative, and stimulating text about an organ that is rarely considered independently-usually being thought of only as a part of other organs or organ systems. The peritoneum is an active membrane that serves as both a secretory organ and a structure that modulates diffusion and osmosis. Both of these important functions are described in great detail. The text is divided in classic fashion. The authors first examine the peritoneal anatomy from both macro and cellular viewpoints, during which exploration it becomes clear that what appears simply to be a lacy covering over abdominal organs actually is a complex structure. Fur- thermore, during the discussion on its embryologic development the au- thors make comprehensible the complexity confronting the student of the peritoneum. The authors then proceed to the practicalities associated with this im- portant organ. To surgeons, for example, the key to the peritoneum is understanding the organ's repair mechanism, as it is adhesions formed on the peritoneal surfaces that interfere with the surgeon's hope of success.