Sukhamay Lahiri - Böcker

This book entitled Arterial Chemoreception is an edited compilation of the oral communications and posters presented at the IXth International Sym­ posium on Arterial Chemoreceptors held in Park City, Utah, from August 29th to September 3rd, 1988. The Symposium also saw the formal inau­ guration and first meeting of the International Society for Arterial Che­ moreception (ISAC). In all there were 87 presentations by 108 scientists from 18 countries. Authors making multiple presentations at Park City combined their results into single, longer papers for this volume. As a result this vol~me offers the reader 63 contributions of state-of-the-art research in this important and exciting field. Inasmuch as oxygen is the substrate sine qua non for the survival of all higher organisms, it is quite understandable that considerable interest sur­ rounds investigations into mechanisms responsible for detecting dwindling oxygen supplies in the organism. This interest has intensified as the newer techniques of cell, sub-cell, and molecular biology have become available. As detectors of insufficient oxygen in the arterial blood the arterial che­ moreceptors (carotid and aortic bodies) initiate many cardiopulmonary reflexes geared toward maintaining constant the delivery of oxygen to the tissues. These chemoreceptors, which also trigger secretions from the ad­ renal glands, are located near the carotid sinus and in the arch of the aorta.

This volume records the papers presented in Chieti, Italy, at the 1991 meeting of the International Society for Arterial Chemoreception (ISAC). This was the eleventh of a series of assemblies held since 1959. This field of research, which examines the critical function and mechanisms of O and pHIPC0 sensitive cells in 2 2 the body, is unique in that it encompasses diverse biological and medical areas. The reader of this book will note chapters concerning modem techniques like in situ hybridization; analysis of cell membrane channels and intracellular ion movements; immunohistochemistry of peptides, hormones, and the corresponding receptors of chemoreceptor cells; and systemic analysis of reflex pathways involving chemoreceptor cells and their meaning in health and disease. This broad spectrum will appeal to readers interested in the chemoreceptor field, as well as young scientists seeking a scientific field where not only structural analysis but also a sense for functional connections is required. In recognition of the importance of the contribution of a new scientific generation to this field, ISAC awarded the prestigious F. de Castro-C. Heymans­ E. Neil prize to A. G6rlach, a young scientist. Also at this meeting, the Ferdinando Data Foundation Award, for helping scientists from non-developed countries to pursue their interest in chemoreception, was initiated. ISAC held plenary lectures in honor of C. Eyzaguirre and R. Forster, both of whom have contributed greatly to research in the chemoreceptor field.