Surgical 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.

There has been a huge increase in the knowledge and understanding of the immunological processes involved in surgical practice in recent years. Anaesthesiologists and intensive care physicians are increasingly recognising the significant derangements of immune function in the critically ill patient and the possible therapeutic approaches to manage such patients (including new approaches in transplantation rejections, novel vaccination strategies in cancer treatment, as well as a better understanding of the beneficial effects of standard chemotherapy). Written by recognised experts in their field from both the UK and the US, and extensively referenced for further reading, Essential Immunology for Surgeons provides a concise, up-to-date, and readable account of immunology in general and its translation into key areas of clinical practice. It provides the necessary foundation for a critical understanding of this essential and rapidly expanding area of biological science that underpins and explains the modern concepts of a range of diseases and conditions, encompassing autoimmunity, infection, trauma, cancer, nutrition, organ transplantation, and various forms of therapy. Previously published as Immunological Basis for Surgical Science and Practice, this fully-updated textbook is aimed predominantly at the surgical trainee, but will also be of value to undergraduate and postgraduate clinicians of any discipline who wish to have a better understanding and knowledge of the subject, as well as to researchers studying the various core topics discussed in the book.

In this book, the recent developments in immunology and the impact on the treatment of infections in critical care and in surgery are presented, also describing how cellular immunology influences clinical treatment. This information helps in understanding the pathogenesis of infections in surgery and critical care. The impact of a standard treatment such as antibiotic therapy is evaluated and possible future therapy modalities outlined. This book will be of interest to clinicians and immunologists as scientists of both specialties have contributed to the book.

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.

Leading clinicians and scientists in solid organ transplantation review the current status of the field and describe cutting-edge techniques for detecting the immune response to the allografted organ. The authors present the latest techniques for HLA typing, detecting HLA antibodies, and monitoring T-cell response, and examine more specialized methods utilizing proteomics, laser dissection microscopy, and real-time polymerase chain reaction. The area of tolerance induction and reprogramming of the immune system is also covered, along with a discussion of up-to-date methods of organ preservation, of today's optimal immunosuppressive drug regimens, as well as the difficulty of mimicking chronic rejection in experimental models. Introductory chapters provide a theoretical update on current practices in renal, liver, islet, and lung transplantation and on the pathways of antigen presentation and chronic rejection.