Pharmacology has always been a bridge discipline with one foot in the laboratory and the other in the clinic. Today the scope of the field has enlarged to encompass the entire environment as the need increases to determine the effects of industrial and agricultural chemicals and pollutants on all life forms. The new drugs, potent and usually multi-actioned, also demand careful evaluation as we realize the importance of drug interactions and drug-tissue interactions which may have delayed effects extending to future generations. There is plenty for pharmacologists and toxicologists of all persuasions to do. Very few ultimate mechanisms of either therapeutic or toxic actions of drugs and chemicals have been nailed down and benefit-risk (or is it risk-benefit?) ratios must be determined not only for therapeutic agents but for many chemicals and pollutants which have either contributed to or are a result of our unprecedented standard of living. An item for serious consideration is the fact that the cost in money and manpower of safety and efficacy studies for a new drug is so great that fundamental work on the drug is often delayed or neglected to the detriment of rational drug therapy and the science of pharmacology.

All these factors point out that this volume is an epitome of Pharmacology 1974. Between a fascinating reminder of the early days of our science and the familiar "review of reviews" are chapters on mechanisms of drug action, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, comparative pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, toxicology, mutagenesis, and chemotherapy. A record 31 articles reflect the many faces of pharmacology and the responsibilities of pharmacologists to their fellow passengers on planet earth.

We note with regret the retirement of Assistant Editor Virginia Hoyle, who always managed to turn a problem into a game and a frown into a smile. We welcome her replacement, Toni Haskell, who has already proven her talents by her work on this volume, and we thank our Indexers, Dorothy Read, Mary Glass, and Susan Tinker for their help in bringing Volume 14 to you.

THE EDITORIAL COMMITTEE