Essential Immunology For Surgeons

Previously published as: The Immunological basis of surgical science and practice, 1992.

Immunology is a rapidly developing subject. The contributors in this book present some components of immunological knowledge which relate to the present and the possible future practice of surgery. Aspects of cellular and humoral immunity necessary for understanding are described and considera tion given to the mechanisms underlying immunological diseases. Whilst the original interest in immune response was related to microbial resistance, the recent impetus to surgical immunology has been the resurgence of organ grafting. Separate sections of the book deal with clinical organ transplanta tion, the allograft reaction, graft rejection and immunogenetics. A pre-requi site of successful organ grafting is suppressive control of immune responses. Approaches to conventional immunosuppression and specific non-reactivity are therefore considered. One method of cancer therapy is strengthening of the host's immune responses. Both experimental and clinical immunotherapy are discussed and components of tumour immunology necessary for their rational understand ing are dealt with separately. Successful immunotherapy requires monitoring of immune responses but another method for improving results of cancer treatment is earlier diagnosis by immunological methods. The book is aimed at practising surgeons who want to know the relevance of immunology to clinical surgery and laboratory scientists needing to understand the applications of their basic concepts. I am very grateful both to the authors for their contributions and the editorial staff of MTP Press Limited, for their considerable help.

Immunology is a rapidly expanding biological science which provides an insight into a number of disease processes in surgical practice, such as cancer, sepsis, and trauma. It also lays the foundations for new and innovative therapy including cytokine infusions in cancer, and monoclonal antibodies in organ transplantation. This book is an up-to-date, concise, and lucid account of basic immunology and its relevance to the modern practice of clinical surgery. It is essential, not only for the surgical trainee, but also for the established surgeon, to keep abreast of developments in the "new biologies". This guide also gives a timely account of the impact of AIDS, provides an overview of the principles of common assays used in immunology, and contains a valuable glossary of terms used in immunology.

An understanding of the complex workings of the immune system is essential for all surgeons. Immune responses play a crucial part in the way human body reacts to infection and trauma. Immunology for Surgeons contains a high-level discussion of this difficult clinical area. The text looks at tumor immunobiology and immunotherapy as well as the worldwide results of various clinical trials. The topics discussed focus on relevant immunological and molecular biological trends for future treatment of complex surgical disease. The main objective of the text is to render a difficult area accessible for the postgraduate surgical trainee and established surgeon who is interested in immunology.