Abstract: An increasing desire for mobility for data users has encouraged wide-scale deployment of wireless networks, in particular using an approach of peer-to-peer multi-hop adhoc networks. In such networks, each node potentially acts as a data terminal as well as performing a relay function linking terminals that do not have a direct connection. This paper focuses on the Media Access Control (MAC) function of the Data Link Layer. It discusses the requirements of MAC in a wireless network and identifies four fundamental assumptions in many protocol designs that, if not true, may impact on protocol performance. A discussion of some well-known MAC protocols seeks to illustrate and clarify wireless adhoc network MAC issues. Detailed examination, with particular attention on two of the assumptions, is then made of two attractive hybrid schemes called CATA and AGENT that have recently been proposed. The examination shows that the behaviour of AGENT is somewhat more robust.