DefinePK

Abstract

A SURVEY OF INTESTINAL PROTOZOA AND HELMINTH PARASITES IN KARACHI Mujib, F.,Khan, B.A., Ahmad, A. Pakistan J. Med. Res. 1982, 21: 54 58.
This is a very intetesting collection of articles put together by Dr. Muhammad Ilyas and Dr. Farakh A. Khan. Articles range from notes on geography and other demographic details to interesting narrations of travel accounts in the Karakorams, to semi-scientific and simple descrip­tive scientific studies on anthropometry, blood pressure, ECG, exercise tests, pulmonary and renal functions conducted by many contributors including a contribution from the USSR and some data collected by Cambridge team (though the authors of these two articles are not men­tioned in the list of contributors at the outset!).
The book, provides easy and interesting reading and has been written with an aim to introduce the highlanders of Pakistan’s northern areas to the world as well as point out their problems both’ social and medical and suggest remedies. The idea seems not to have a strictly scientific volume on these people and their medical problems but an engaging reference work for anyone interested in these areas. The book is not really a continuum but separate isolated articles which do however build up to a general overall picture in the end. While lack of detail may be deliberate, it does leave the serious medical researcher with a number of unanswered questions. Also, one wishes that the photographs were of a better print quality as some of the poor photographic reproductions stand out in contrast to the overall good printing quality of the book.
All in all, this work is a worth-while effort and provides information on interesting people in an interesting part of the country.

Azhar Faruqi,
National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi.