Understanding how digestive organs develop, their physiology and structure is important for determining new therapies to combat diseases of the digestive organs. This volume reviews the latest research and developments in this field. - Discusses new discoveries, approaches, and ideas - Contributions from leading scholars and industry experts - Reference guide for researchers involved in molecular biology and related fields

Understanding how digestive organs develop, their physiology and structure is important for determining new therapies to combat diseases of the digestive organs. Development, Differentiation, and Disease of the Luminal Gastrointestinal Tract reviews the latest research and developments in this field. - Discusses new discoveries, approaches, and ideas - Contributions from leading scholars and industry experts - Includes reference guide for researchers involved in molecular biology and related fields

The mammalian gastrointestinal mucosa is a rapidly self-renewing tissue in the body, and its homeostasis is preserved through the strict regulation of epithelial cell proliferation, growth arrest, and apoptosis. The control of the growth of gastrointestinal mucosa is unique and, compared with most other tissue in the body, complex. Mucosal growth is regulated by the same hormones that alter metabolism in other tissues, but the gastrointestinal mucosa also responds to host events triggered by the ingestion and presence of food within the digestive tract. These gut hormones and peptides regulate the growth of the exocrine pancreas, gallbladder epithelium, and the mucosa of the oxyntic gland region of the stomach and the small and large intestines. Luminal factors, including nutrients or other dietary factors, secretions, and microbes that occur within the lumen and distribute over a proximal-to-distal gradient, are also crucial for maintenance of normal gut mucosal regeneration and could explain the villous-height-crypt-depth gradient and variety of adaptation, since these factors are diluted, absorbed, and destroyed as they pass down the digestive tract. Recently, intestinal stem cells, cellular polyamines, and noncoding RNAs are shown to play an important role in the regulation of gastrointestinal mucosal growth under physiological and various pathological conditions. In this book, we highlight key issues and factors that control gastrointestinal mucosal growth and homeostasis, with special emphasis on the mechanisms through which epithelial renewal and apoptosis are regulated at the cellular and molecular levels.

This is the most comprehensive book to be written on the subject of fetal MRI. It provides a practical hands-on approach to the use of state-of-the-art MRI techniques and the optimization of sequences. Fetal pathological conditions and methods of prenatal MRI diagnosis are discussed by organ system, and the available literature is reviewed. Interpretation of findings and potential artifacts are thoroughly considered with the aid of numerous high-quality illustrations. In addition, the implications of fetal MRI are explored from the medico-legal and ethical points of view. This book will serve as a detailed resource for radiologists, obstetricians, neonatologists, geneticists, and any practitioner wanting to gain an in-depth understanding of fetal MRI technology and applications. In addition, it will provide a reference source for technologists, researchers, students, and those who are implementing a fetal MRI service in their own facility.

Pathology of Domestic Animals, Volume 1 elaborates on the bone structure and diseases, as well as the genital, circulatory, and respiratory systems, of domestic animals. The manuscript first offers information on bones, joints, and synovial structures and diseases of joints, including adaptational deformities of the skeleton, metabolic diseases of bones, necrosis and inflammation of bones, and discontinuities of bone and the healing of fractures. The text then ponders on the circulatory and respiratory systems. Discussions focus on congenital anomalies of the heart and large vessels, myocardium, hypertrophy and dilation of the heart, pharynx and guttural pouches, larynx and trachea, lungs, and pleura and mediastinum. The publication examines the haemopoietic system and endocrine glands. Topics include blood and bone marrow, general reactions of erythrocytes to injury, lymphoreticular tissues, adrenal glands and paraganglia, and polycythaemia. The book then reviews the male and female genital systems. The manuscript is a valuable source of data for readers interested in the pathology of domestic animals.