The papers presented at international meetings often give the best summary of current thought and practice in the field; such is the case with Artifical Heart 3. These proceedings of the annual symposium of the American, European and Japanese Societies for Artifical Organs cut across geographic boundaries and give a status report that captures today"s knowledge in one convenient source. Forty-one papers cover subjects such as the temporary artificial heart, pump design, heart transplantation, biomaterial, and the NIH artificial heart program. Illustrations of artificial hearts and ventricular assist systems exhibited during the symposium by 19 major university and commercial company laboratories are shown. Transplant and cardiothoracic surgeons as well as biomaterial specialists will welcome this up-to-date review as the artificial heart is used more and more as a bridge to heart transplantation.