The manifold problems of shock are still of great importance, diagnostic and therapeutic experience of the "severely ill" being supplied with new information almost every month. In the 5 periodicals which have found their way to my desk during the past few days there are no less than 10 interesting articles on questions concerning shock research [see Bibliography 41 b, 53 a, 60 a, 192 a, 242 a, 350 b, 810 a, 941 a, 1069 a, 1082 a]. The most urgent point still is to maintain as complete as possible the objective catalog of the various shock manifestations found in man and in animals - yet at the same time to view interpretations of these phenomena in their relative and temporal "truth". Problems of shock research are not only interesting for their scientific value but also for their clinical implication. In particular, almost every practicing physician is facing problems of blood replacement very frequent ly. The effective or circulating blood volume remains an important theoret ical and therapeutic problem in the shock field. For years, U. F. GRUBER has pursued this question clinically and experimentally. This volume deals with the world literature in an exceptionally thorough manner. This book is made more than a compilation by including a long list of original work done with F. D. MOORE in Boston, in the Surgical Department in Chur, with L. E. GELIN and S. E.