The blood basophils lead a shadowy existence in the field of hematology, even now, 100 years after their discovery by PAUL EHRLICH. In clinical medicine they were hardly noticed for many decades, since they occur in such small numbers in the blood that small and moderate variations in the basophil count were not detectable with common count ing methods. This situation has changed since the in troduction of direct counting methods. It was noticed, for example, that the blood basophil count is increased in hy perlipemia. In the field of pathology the blood basophil was prac tically overlooked until recently. This was due to the fact that with common fixations in aqueous solutions the granules dissolve, so that the cells can no longer be stained specifically and therefore escape observation. This problem was solved through special fixing solu tions. However, interest in the blood basophils remain ed confined to only a few research groups.

Cerebral Sphingolipidoses: A Symposium on Tay-Sach's Disease and Allied Disorders is a collection of papers presented at the 1961 Symposium on the Cerebral Sphingolipidoses, held in Isaac Albert Research Institute of the Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital and the Downstate Medical Center of the State University of New York. The contributors demonstrate the significance attached to an intensive study of Tay-Sach's and allied diseases. A unique feature of the Symposium was the constant awareness of the clinical implications of the fundamental studies presented. This book is organized into three sections encompassing 30 chapters. The first part deals with the morphological aspects of cerebral lipidoses, including the diagnosis, biopsy, pathology, and clinical features of these diseases. This part also provides case reports of specific cerebral sphingolipidoses. The second part highlights the biochemical aspects of Tay-Sach's and allied disorders. This part specifically looks into the mechanism of abnormal lipid metabolism, chemical pathology of lipids, and quantitative fractionation of complex lipid mixtures. This part also considers the characterization of accumulated gangliosides in brain, which is one the most striking features in infantile amaurotic idiocy, a type of Tay-Sach's disease. The third part explores the genetic and therapeutic aspects of the sphingolipidoses. This book will be of value to lipid chemists, geneticists, biochemists, neuropathologists, and clinicians.

The Amino Sugars: The Chemistry and Biology of Compounds Containing Amino Sugars, Volume IIA: Distribution and Biological Role focuses on the chemistry, physical chemistry, and biochemistry of naturally occurring and synthetically prepared amino sugars and amino sugar-containing molecules, as well as the biological and medical importance of these molecules. The selection first offers information on the distribution of amino sugars in microorganisms, plants, and invertebrates and amino sugars and macromolecules containing amino sugars in liver. Discussions focus on microorganisms, invertebrates, amino sugar composition, catabolism of amino sugars, and metabolic interrelationships between amino sugars and other sugars. The text then takes a look at amino sugars and macromolecules containing amino sugars in kidney and amino sugar-containing compounds in urine. The publication takes a look at glycoproteins in salivary glands, saliva, and sputum; glycosaminoglycans and glycoproteins in skin; and amino sugar-containing compounds in tumors. The text also evaluates glycosaminoglycans in umbilical cord and glycosaminoglycans and glycoproteins in synovial fluid. The selection is a dependable reference for readers interested in the study of amino sugars.

This book describes analysis techniques and results of topics such as physical backgrounds, chemical backgrounds, and principal methods of topo-optical reactions used in ultrastructure research of the ECM; orientation patterns of GAGs and collagen in different tissues/cartilage, cornea, kidney basement membranes, and skin; factors involved in the formation of submicroscopically ordered matrix structure; and cell-matrix interactions, including cytoskeleton-cell-membrane-matrix relationships. A summarization of the advantages and limitations of polarization microscopy compared to electron microscopy in ultracellular research is also included. Cell biologists, histologists, pathologists, and biochemists in connective tissue research will find this book to be an invaluable reference tool.