This book has been written from the perspective of a university teacher whose research has been in the field of mammalian reproductive physiology but who is also much interested by developments in animal genetics and molecular biology. Preparing the individual chapters offered an exciting opportunity for bringing these disciplines together in various ways. The result is seen primarily as a text for advanced (Honours) undergraduates in Schools of Biological Sciences, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science. It should also appeal to those on taught MSc courses and to PhD students interested in both developmental biology and reproductive physiology in the higher mammals.

The book was planned during my time in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Montréal, but the administrative commitment there – together with lecturing and activities in the operating theatre – meant that a serious spell of writing had to await my return to Edinburgh. In fact, the chapters were prepared in draft between May 1991 and June 1993, and then brought up to date as far as December 1993 on the basis of the extensive journal coverage available in the University of Edinburgh libraries. A small number of 1994 references has also been included.

As to the origins of this work, they almost certainly date back to the author's post-doctoral days in Paris (1968–1970) listening to lectures on sexual differentiation by the late Professor A.