The Mast Cell: Its Role in Health and Disease
Authors: R. N. Maini
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (1981)

The remainder of the book is concerned with im-the respiratory and alimentary tracts and generally in the munology.The chapters on immunopathology and vicinity of venules in connective tissue.The cell appears to laboratory investigations are largely complementary to function as an exocrine unit capable of generating and earlier chapters and somewhat repetitive.Thus, 'vas-releasing a number of pharmacologically active materials, culitis' features early in the book in differential diagnosis some well known, such as histamine, and others less well of skin diseases and arthritis, in chapters on systemic known, such as chemotactic factors, tissue damaging arteritis and related disorders, in a chapter on its own on enzymes, and heparin.Its potential for pharmacological vasculitis and immune complex disease, and again in a control of vascular permeability, spasm of smooth muscle, chapter on serum sickness.Much of the remaining cell traffic, and tissue damage and repair is obvious, and, material, including the discussion on immunosuppression, since the function of the mast cell is dependent on is of interest to rheumatologists.Immunology has per-adoptive sensitisation by reaginic antibody, it joins the meated many clinical disciplines, and perhaps none more club of potentially important cells for students of imeffectively than rheumatology.Its influence is usually munopathology.Studies on the basophil, another evident in current textbooks of rheumatology, but in repository of vasoactive amines and a cell with surface this book the editor has been bold and imaginative receptors for reagins, and therefore functionally similar enough to presume that rheumatology and immunology to the mast cell, are included in the symposium.can share the same bed.However, the scope of clinical More than a hundred international experts have con- immunology is now so vast that this book could not be tributed to the proceedings of this symposium and furnregarded as having done justice to a subject which has ished evidence that the basic scientists and clinicians not yet found a comfortable home in clinical medicine.have been very active in their researches into the role Overall, the book creates a favourable impression.It of the cell in health and disease.The discovery of sodium is nicely bound, not too large to handle, and well pre-cromoglycate and its introduction in clinical trials 10 sented.It deserves a place in personal and institutional years ago provided a drug with intriguing pharmacological libraries.properties and therapeutic effects, which not only spurred R. N. MAINI recent research, much of it in evidence in this book, but also provided the pharmaceutical sponsorship which appears to have promoted the collection of original The Rheumatoid Foot: Diagnosis, Pathomechanics, and articles in this book.Treatment.By Karl Tillman.Pp. 116.No price given.The papers in the book are divided into 8 parts dealing Georg Thieme: Stuttgart.1979.with basic studies, mode of action of sodium cromo- glycate, disease of the respiratory tract, bowels, skin, The importance of this book is that it is, so far as I know, eyes, otolaryngology, and food allergy.The involvement the first English language book devoted to the problems of mediators derived from mast cells, and their partial of the rheumatoid foot.It gives the author's collected or total therapeutic manipulation, is examined in the and extensive experience in this field over many years diverse syndromes of atopy, exercise induced asthma, from Bad Bramsted and it gives anglophone readers cold induced urticaria, allergy to milk and egg proteins, access to a number of European language references.ulcerative colitis, urticaria pigmentosa, and systemic