The proceedings of the Third International Conference (on title) held in Chatham, Mass., October, 1988. Presents coverage of many areas of the skeletal system, including new experimental techniques, research areas, ideas, and hypotheses. Discusses at length the chemical nature and structure of organic matrix components and their influence with respect to regulation of cell function. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This text is a compilation of presentations by world-wide experts that were given during the Sixth International Conference on the Chemistry and Biology of Mineralized Tissues, which was held in Vittel, France in November 1998. These proceedings represent advances in this specialized area and should be useful for both clinicians and researchers in bone biology and chemistry.

Mineralized Tissues in Oral and Craniofacial Science is a major comprehensive update on knowledge in the field of mineralized tissues in the oral and craniofacial region. Drs. McCauley and Somerman assembled an international team of researchers and clinicians, offering a global perspective on the current knowledge in this field. Basic and clinical correlates reinforce the significance of research to clinical diagnoses and therapies, written in a manner that lends easily to their use for case study teaching venues. Section 1 features the many aspects of bone in the craniofacial region, including embryology, cell biology, and stem cell biology. Section 2 focuses on teeth-tooth development, dentin, enamel, cementum, and tooth regeneration. Section 3 discusses the interaction between bones and teeth, including those associated with inflammatory processes, periodontal ligaments, biomechanics, and other impact factors-such as nutrition, metabolic bone diseases and therapeutic modalities. The novel approach of linking the basic principles of the cell and molecular biology of hard tissues to clinical correlates will appeal to readers at all levels of their research careers, both students and faculty; faculty interested in a comprehensive text for reference; and clinicians interested in the biologic aspects of bones and teeth.

The calcified tissues have fundamental functions in the biology of organisms, not only because their strength, solidity, and elasticity permit movement and mechanical activities, and protect soft tissues against traumatic forces, but also on account of their role in mineral homeostasis. For this reason, extensive investigation in the last 30 years has provided much to explain the complex chemical and physical processes occurring in cells and matrices composing the skeleton, and their alterations in pathological conditions. The use of ultrastructural methods such as immunocytochemistry, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, cytoautoradiography, freeze/fracture etching, high voltage, etc. has proven to be of great value when applied to cells and matrix components of bone and cartilage, in spite of the technical difficulties due to the hardness of these tissues. However, available information on this subject is disseminated in a variety of scientific and medical articles. This volume is an attempt to collect together the most significant data on the ultrastructure of cartilage and bone in normalcy and pathology. Obviously, it cannot be a complete report of all these data, its principal aim being that of: a) giving a comprehensive statement of the results concerning the basic structures common to these tissues, especially collagen fibrils, noncollagenous proteins, and proteoglycans, and their relationships with the mineral substance (for which another volume of this series can also be consulted; see Ruggeri A. , Motta P. M. (eds.