This timely, comprehensive volume draws on recent advances in molecular, cellular and organismal biology to provide a detailed analysis of the phylogeny and ontogeny of the immune system. This first book to provide broad coverage of this field gives a clear description of cellular and molecular interactions in the development of immune function. Although most of this work is based on studies in vertebrates, the intriguing observations of cytokine-like molecules in invertebrates are discussed. In a final section, the contributors deal with abnormalities in the development and regulation of the immune system, including primary immunodeficiency diseases, and with the normal aging of the immune system. Throughout the book, an effort has been made to compare and integrate information from studies in diverse systems, and to discuss the limitations of such comparisons. This work will be of special interest to immunologists and theoretical, cell and developmental biologisis, and much of the book will be useful to physicians working in pediatrics, internal medicine and reproductive medicine.

Edwin L. Cooper's profile page

Eric Nisbet-Brown's profile page

Edwin L. Cooper, Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of California, Los Angeles. Eric Nisbet-Brown, Assistant Professor of Immunology and Medicine, University of Toronto.