Covers endothelial biology from the fundamentals of structure and lung fluid balance physiology to descriptions of the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of lung failure. This illustrated text provides the knowledge of endothelial function, vascular integrity, pulmonary function, and pathophysiology in respiratory failure.

This best-selling resource has a worldwide reputation as the leader in its field. Focusing on human immunology and biology, while also reporting on scientific experimentation and advancement, it provides comprehensive coverage of state-of-the-art basic science as well as authoritative guidance on the practical aspects of day-to-day diagnosis and management. This new edition includes 700 full-color illustrations and a new, more accessible format to make finding information a snap for the busy practitioner. And this Expert Consult Edition offers online access to the complete contents of the 2-volume set, fully searchable, and much more. Includes a glossary of allergy and immunology for quick and easy reference. Contains keypoints and clinical pearls highlighted to find important information quickly. links to useful online resources both for you and for your patients. Offers contributions from hundreds of international authorities for world-class expertise in overcoming any clinical challenge. Contains 400 new illustrations, 700 in all, to better illustrate complex immunology. Covers the very latest in the field, including hot topics such as food allergy and immunotherapy. Includes the latest guidelines from The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP). Utilizes a new, more user-friendly full-color format for easier reference. Includes online access to the entire contents of the book, fully searchable, with links to MEDLINE abstracts for all of the references.

The Pulmonary Endothelium is a uniquely comprehensive compendium of our current knowledge of the pulmonary endothelium and is the first book dedicated specifically to the subject, offering insights into current and future approaches to management. The text provides the clinician with the most up-to-date information on one of the core physiological processes in airway disease and is an ideal point of reference for both postgraduates and professionals – specialist physicians in pulmonology and allergy and workers in biomedical and pharmaceutical research.

Written by known specialists in the field, this is a comprehensive and timely overview of a central and expanding topic. Simultaneously an introduction and a description of the latest concepts, findings and methods, the handbook provides basic knowledge on technical issues required for those intending to research in the field. It covers the functional role of involved molecules and the cellular mechanisms, and addresses selected examples for their possible application in therapy -- bridging the gap between trafficking mechanisms and novel therapeutic strategies. In addition, it includes selection of proven and timesaving methods for studying cell trafficking in vitro and in vivo. The accompanying CD-ROM makes leukocyte migration videos available to a broad audience for the first time.

Scientific developments in recent years have led to significant strides and advancements within the medical field. By integrating these findings into medical practice, optimal healthcare can be delivered to the public. Emerging Applications, Perspectives, and Discoveries in Cardiovascular Research is a comprehensive reference source for the latest academic material on the exploration of cardiovascular diseases and provides an interdisciplinary examination of novel developments and applications for cardiovascular sciences. Highlighting a range of diverse topics, such as pharmacology, pathophysiology, and alternative medicine, this book is ideally designed for researchers, professionals, practitioners, graduate students, and academics interested in the latest medical advancements.

Birds have and continue to fascinate scientists and the general public. While the avian respiratory system has unremittingly been investigated for nearly five centuries, important aspects on its biology remain cryptic and controversial. In this book, resolving some of the contentious issues, developmental-, structural- and functional aspects of the avian lung-air sac system are particularized: it endeavors to answer following fundamental questions on the biology of birds: how, when and why did birds become what they are? Flight is a unique form of locomotion. It considerably shaped the form and the essence of birds as animals. An exceptionally efficient respiratory system capacitated birds to procure the exceptionally large quantities of oxygen needed for powered (active) flight. Among the extant air-breathing vertebrates, comprising ~11,000 species, birds are the most species-rich-, numerically abundant- and extensively distributed animal taxon. After realizing volancy, they easily overcame geographical obstacles and extensively dispersed into various ecological niches where they underwent remarkable adaptive radiation. While the external morphology of birds is inconceivably uniform for such a considerably speciose taxon, contingent on among other attributes, lifestyle, habitat and phylogenetic level of development have foremost determined the novelties that are displayed by diverse species of birds. Here, critical synthesizes of the most recent findings with the historical ones, evolution and behavior and development, structure and function of the exceptionally elaborate respiratory system of birds are detailed. The prominence of modern birds as a taxon in the Animal Kingdom is underscored. The book should appeal to researchers who are interested in evolutionary processes and how adaptive specializations correlate with biological physiognomies and exigencies, comparative biologists who focus on how various animals have solved respiratory pressures, people who study respiration in birds and other animals and ornithologists who love and enjoy birds for what they are – profoundly interesting animals.

This contributed volume focuses on cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and explores the ways in which signaling mechanisms at the biochemical, molecular, and cellular levels in the blood vessels (vascular) and heart contribute to the underlying causes of development and progression of the CVDs. This volume covers unique topics such as oxidant signaling in vascular and heart diseases and health, cytoskeletal signaling in vascular health and disease, phospholipase signaling in CVDs, lipid signaling in vascular and myocardial health and diseases, and drug discovery in cellular signaling for cardiovascular diseases. This book assembles the most important discoveries made by leaders on the cellular signaling mechanisms operating behind the development and progression of life-threatening CVDs. It is an extremely useful resource for the investigators in the field of CVDs, and opens the discussion for further discovery of efficient management and effective treatment of the CVDs.

Membrane Receptors, Channels and Transporters in Pulmonary Circulation is a proceeding of the 2008 Grover Conference (Lost Valley Ranch and Conference Center, Sedalia, Colorado; September 3-7, 2008), which provided a forum for experts in the fields of those receptors, channels and transporters that have been identified as playing key roles in the physiology and pathophysiology of the pulmonary circulation. The book rigorously addresses: i) recent advances in our knowledge of receptors, channels and transporters and their role in regulation of pulmonary vascular function; ii) how modulation of expression and function of receptors, channels and transporters and their interrelationships contribute to the pathogenesis of pulmonary vascular disease; and iii) the therapeutic opportunities that may be revealed by enhancing our understanding of this area. The overall goal was to explore the mechanisms by which specific receptors, channels and transporters contribute to pulmonary vascular function in both health and disease, and how this knowledge may lead to novel interventions in lung dysplasia, pulmonary edema, lung injury, and pulmonary and systemic hypertension to reduce and prevent death from lung disease. Membrane Receptors, Channels and Transporters in Pulmonary Circulation is divided into six parts. Part 1 (Ion Channels in the Pulmonary Vasculature: Basics and New Findings) is designated for basic knowledge and recent findings in the research field of ion channels in pulmonary circulation. There are five chapters in Part I discussing the function, expression, distribution and regulation of various ion channels present in pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells and how these channels are integrated to regulate intracellular Ca2+ and cell functions. Part II (TRP Channels in the Pulmonary Vasculature: Basics and New Findings) is composed of five chapters that are exclusively designed to discuss the role of a recently identified family of cation channels, transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, in the regulation of pulmonary vascular tone and arterial structure. Part III (Pathogenic Role of Ion Channels in Pulmonary Vascular Disease) includes four chapters that discuss how abnormal function and expression of various ion channels contribute to changes in cell functions and the development of pulmonary hypertension. Part IV (Receptors and Signaling Cascades in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension) consists of five chapters devoted to the role of bone morphogenetic protein receptors, Notch receptors, serotonin receptors, Rho kinase and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Part V (Receptors and Transporters: Role in Cell Function and Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction) includes four chapters designed to illustrate the potential mechanisms involved in oxygen sensing and hypoxia-induced pulmonary vasoconstriction and hypertension. Part VI (Targeting Ion Channels and Membrane Receptors in Developing Novel Therapeutic Approaches for Pulmonary Vascular Disease) consists five chapters which discuss the translational research involving on membrane receptors, channels and transporters, including their potential as novel drug targets. We hope that Membrane Receptors, Channels and Transporters in Pulmonary Circulation will allow readers to foster new concepts and new collaborations and cooperations among investigators so as to further understand the role of receptors, channels and transporters in lung pathophysiology. The ultimate goal is to identify new mechanisms of disease, as well as new therapeutic targets for pulmonary vascular diseases. An additional outcome should be enhanced understanding of the role of these entities in systemic vascular pathophysiology, since the conference will include researchers and clinicians with interests in both pulmonary and systemic circulations.