Invertebrate Immunity: Mechanisms of Invertebrate Vector-Parasite Relations consists of chapters presented at a workshop on invertebrate defense mechanisms, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and held in Bethesda, Maryland, on April 17 and 18, 1974. Organized into four parts, having a total of 24 chapters, this book first discusses the barrier imposed by the gut of invertebrates to invading parasites. It then centers on the role of invertebrate hemocytes and other phagocytic cells in immunity, as well as the humoral defense mechanisms of these organisms. Other topics discussed include parasite encapsulation in insects, role of melanin in host-parasite interaction, and use of host hormones by insect parasites to make the host environment favorable for their growth and development. This book will be essential for those interested in comparative immunology and in invertebrate immune responses. It will be of special interest to entomologists, protozoologists, physicians, veterinarians, ecologists, pathologists, research workers, science teachers, and graduate students.
