The Reticuloendothelial System And Immune Phenomena

This volume represents a portion of the Proceedings of the Sixth International Meeting of the Reticuloendothelial Society. There is little question that the University of Freiburg was a most appropriate choice as the site of the meeting since, in essence, the Society was founded here when Aschoff undertook his classical studies on the macrophage and discovered what may well have been the last remaining biological system. In the approximate fifty years which have elapsed since Aschoff introduced the descriptive term Reticuloendothelial System to unify those cells with the common property of phagocytosis, one finds investigative activity at the highest level in all areas of reticuloendothelial involvement. Indeed, the topics covered in the present volume would of necessity require that the common property of phagocytosis which led to the formulation of the reticuloendothelial system be modified. The common basis at the present is clearly no longer phagocytic expression, but the unifying basis of host defense. The totality of reticuloendothelial involvement in host-defense is clearly reflected by the diverse scientific backgrounds and research interests of the participants of the meeting. Remarkable advances in appreciating the involvement of the RES in maintaining the well-being of the host against a variety of endogenous and exogenous factors have been made since volume I of the Advances in Experimental Biology and Medicine on the reticulo endothelial system was published.

This comprehensive treatise on the reticuloendothelial system is a project jointly shared by individual members of the Reticuloendothelial (RE) Society and bio medical scientists in general who are interested in the intricate system of cells and molecular moieties derived from those cells which constitute the RES. It may now be more fashionable in some quarters to consider these cells as part of what is called the mononuclear phagocytic system or the lymphoreticular sys tem. Nevertheless, because of historical developments and current interest in the subject by investigators from many diverse areas, it seems advantageous to present in one comprehensive treatise current information and knowledge con cerning basic aspects of the RES, such as morphology, biochemistry, phylogeny and ontogeny, physiology, and pharmacology as well as clinical areas including immunopathology, cancer, infectious diseases, allergy, and hypersensitivity. It is anticipated that, by presenting information concerning these apparently het erogeneous topics under the unifying umbrella of the RES, attention will be focused on the similarities as well as interactions among the cell types constitut ing the RES from the viewpoint of various disciplines. The treatise editors and their editorial board, consisting predominantly of the editors of individual vol and enormous task umes, are extremely grateful for the enthusiastic cooperation undertaken by members of the biomedical community in general and especially and Japanese Reticuloen by members of the American as well as European dothelial Societies.

The sidewalk cafes on Plaza de Mayor are festive and reminiscent of the vivid descriptions left by Hemingway. In contrast, the Universidad de Navarra is a modern, beautifully furnished and equipped facility, which added the final touch of perfection to a wonderful Congress.

This comprehensive treatise on the reticuloendothelial system is a project jointly shared by individual members of the Reticuloendothelial (RE) Society and bio medical scientists in general who are interested in the intricate system of cells and molecular moieties derived from those cells which constitute the RES. It may now be more fashionable in some quarters to consider these cells as part of what is called the mononuclear phagocytic system or the lymphoreticular sys tem. Nevertheless, because of historical developments and current interest in the subject by investigators from many diverse areas, it seems advantageous to present in one comprehensive treatise current information and knowledge con cerning basic aspects of the RES, such as morphology, biochemistry, phylogeny and ontogeny, physiology, and pharmacology as well as clinical areas including immunopathology, cancer, infectious diseases, allergy, and hypersensitivity. It is anticipated that by presenting information concerning these apparently het erogeneous topics under the unifying umbrella of the RES attention will be focused on the similarities as well as interactions among the cell types constitut ing the RES from the viewpoint of various disciplines. The treatise editors and their editorial board, consisting predominantly of the editors of individual vol umes, are extremely grateful for the enthusiastic cooperation and enormous task undertaken by members of the biomedical community in general and especially by members of the American as well as European and Japanese Reticuloen dothelial Societies.

This comprehensive treatise on the reticuloendothelial system is a project jointly shared by individual members of the Reticuloendothelial (RE) Society and bio medical scientists in general who are interested in the intricate system of cells and molecular moieties derived from those cells which constitute the RES. It may now be more fashionable in some quarters to consider these cells as part of what is called the mononuclear phagocytic system or the lymphoreticular sys tem. Nevertheless, because of historical developments and current interest in the subject by investigators from many diverse areas, it seems advantageous to present in one comprehensive treatise current information and knowledge con cerning basic aspects of the RES, such as morphology, biochemistry, phylogeny and ontogeny, physiology, and pharmacology as well as clinical areas including immunopathology, cancer, infectious diseases, allergy, and hypersensitivity. It is anticipated that by presenting information concerning these apparently het erogeneous topics under the unifying umbrella of the RES attention will be focused on the similarities as well as interactions among the cell types constitut ing the RES from the viewpoint of various disciplines. The treatise editors and their editorial board, consisting predominantly of the editors of individual vol umes, are extremely grateful for the enthusiastic cooperation and enormous task undertaken by members of the biomedical community in general and especially by members of the American as well as European and Japanese Reticuloen dothelial Societies.