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It is not possible for a psychoanalyst to judge the scientific value of this book and further research is needed to investigate the basis of the author's methods, findings and conclusions. He has invented a simple apparatus which he calls the 'zykloskop' with which it is possible to make spectroscopic examinations of the blood in the skin vessels between the index finger and thumb. In the spectrum the reduction-time of the oxyhemoglobins to methemoglobin can be
exactly determined. This time is supposed to indicate the hormone content of the blood. The results are very surprising and unbelievable in their consequences: ovulation time may be determined to the hour; very often two and three ovulations can be observed during one menstrual cycle; pregnancy can be diagnosed a few days after conception; rational timing of endocrine therapy is possible and a new method is given to judge the success of endocrine treatment. It is possible to give the exact time when women are sterile and to gain exact knowledge about the state, kind and pathology of the female cycle. The author calls the seconds of the reduction time the notes from which everybody is able to read the music of the endocrine concert. Among the many questions which are stimulated by the reading of the book arises the problem of the constancy of the reduction time of the male and his 'cycle'.
If methods and results of Samuels' research should be confirmed, psychoanalysis would get a new basis for a promising means of coöperation with the physiologist.