Catecholamines are important transmitter substances in the autonomic and central nervous systems. These two volumes provide a comprehensive presentation of the state-of-the-art of catecholamine research and development in the past 15 years. The volumes present in-depth reviews of topical areas of catecholamine research in which substantial progress has been made and which are of current interest to various theoretical and clinical disciplines. Each topic has been dealt with by an established expert. Clinical subjects of relevant importance are included. Catecholamines are of interest in pharmacology, physiology, biochemistry, as well as in neurology, psychiatry, internal medicine (cardiology, hypertension, asthma), ophthalmology and anesthesiology.

This volume is the product of a symposium held on 14-16 February, 1985 in Ham- burg in honour of the 65th birthday of Prof. Hans-Joachim Schumann. Schumann was born on 28 December, 1919 in Stralsund. He studied medicine in Cologne, Greifswald and Rostock. The chair of pharmacology in Rostock was held at that time by Peter Holtz. It was he who first introduced Schumann to pharma- cology in 1944 and who was his Doktorvater (research supervisor). Mter the war, Schumann again worked with Holtz in Rostock and then in Frankfurt am Main. He received decisive stimuli during a research fellowship, in 1956, in Prof. J. H. Burn's department in Oxford, where he also worked with Prof. H. Blaschko. In 1964 he ac- cepted his present position as ordentlicher (full) Professor and Head of the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the then newly founded Medical Faculty of Es- sen. He has remained in Essen despite being offered the chair of pharmacology in G6ttingen in 1968. It is interesting to observe how in the main lines of his scientific work, which now spans 40 years, Schumann has followed the steps involved in autonomic neuro- transmission from transmitter release to transmitter-receptor interaction.