This book brings together the basic documents needed for reaching an informed judgment on the central ethical question in the Pinto case: did Ford Motor Company act ethically in designing the Pinto fuel system and in deciding not to upgrade the integrity of that system until 1978? The five parts of this book cover the case, cost-benefit analysis, whistle blowing, product liability, and government regulations.

An introduction to ethical analysis and discussions of the ethical responsibilities involved are also provided. Paper edition (unseen), $12.95. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

It is difficult to study failed medical devices because of a lack of data. Routine device retrieval and analysis (DRA) is essential to performance evaluation, which, in turn, is essential to good patient care. We argue for the development of a national DRA program and medical device database and discuss the major ethical and policy issues associated with this proposal.

When the manufacturer of a medical device alone bears the responsibility for alerting recipients that the device may be defective, there is a certain temptation to gloss over the risk. The story of the Bjork‐Shiley Convexo‐Concave heart valve is a case in point.