Encyclopedia of Molecular Mechanisms of Disease.pdf

Encyclopedia of Molecular Mechanisms of Disease

F LORIAN L ANG (Ed.)

Encyclopedia of Molecular

Mechanisms of Disease

With 646 Figures* and 213 Tables

*For color figures please see our Electronic Reference on www.springerlink.com

Editor:

Prof. Dr. med. Florian Lang

Institute of Physiology

University of Tuebingen

Tuebingen, Germany

florian.lang@uni-tuebingen.de

A C.I.P. Catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

ISBN: 978-3-540-67136-7

This publication is available also as:

Electronic publication under ISBN 978-3-540-29676-8 and

Print and electronic bundle under ISBN 978-3-540-33445-3

Library of Congress Control Number 2008930847

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Preface

Pathophysiology describes mechanisms of disease and is thus at the interface between basic research and clinical

medicine. The aim of this comprehensive encyclopedia is to supply the reader with concise information on

molecular pathophysiology, a research area of breathtaking gain of knowledge. We trust that the book shall be a

valuable companion for both basic scientists exploring the clinical hallmarks of the diseases they are interested in,

and clinicians searching for insight into the molecular pathophysiology of their patients. The entries are structured

to allow rapid retrieval of the desired information. For more detailed reading, each entry is followed by key

references.

The editor is indebted to the section editors for their superb support in selecting the appropriate entries and choosing

the leading experts in the respective areas of research. The editor further wishes to express his appreciation to the

many brilliant authors who delivered outstanding state-of-the-art descriptions of pathophysiological mechanisms.

In addition, the book would not have come to reality without the dedicated, professional and creative support of

my secretaries Tanya Loch and Jasmin Bühringer and by several staff members of the Springer Publishing

house including Dr. Michaela Bilic, Jana Simniok, Hiltrud Wilbertz, Dr. Rolf Lange, and Dr. Thomas Mager.

F LORIAN L ANG , March 2008