Visually engaging and easy to use, Human Histology: A Text and Atlas for Physicians and Scientists covers the normal histology of every organ in the human body. This book presents full-page high-definition photomicrographs for organs and tissues, followed by a compact and simple-to-read description of the structures identified on the micrographs, offering a clear, visual understanding of this complex subject. With over 300 outstanding images, this reference is an invaluable resource for every clinical researcher and pathologist in need of easily accessible, relatively simple but detailed enough information on normal histology of different organs systems. Due to its compact, but detailed layout, the volume is an excellent tool for medical board review and can be recommended for medical students and histology course directors.

The Atlas of the Human Hypothalamus presents for the first time a detailed view of the cyto- and myeloarchitecture of the human hypothalamus. Providing high-resolution images of consecutive coronal sections, this book illustrates the brain area that is responsible for maintaining the homeostasis of the body by direct neuronal projections as well as by linking the central nervous system to the endocrine system. The primary goal of this atlas is to provide detailed morphological understanding of the hypothalamic structures that control numerous vital functions as well as to provide a tool to target hypothalamic areas during deep brain stimulation.

The catecholaminergic system is one of the most studied neurotransmitter systems in the central nervous system. Since the original studies of Dahlstroem and Fuxe in the mid-60s, when they mapped the pattern of monoaminergic neurons using formaldehyde-induced flourescence technique developed by Falck and Hillarp, the distribution and the biological roles of catecholamines have been in the center of interest. It is clear now that catecholaminergic transmission not only plays a pivotal role in the modulation of stress response, but is also involved in numerous cortical functions, such as cognition, memory, learning, mood and behavior. Additionally, the catecholaminergic system appears to control vital hypothalamic functions. Several physiological processes, including growth, sexual regulation, and salt and water balance are regulated by catecholamines, either directly or via complex circuitries involving numerous neurotransmitter/neuroregulator systems. Both the involvement of catecholamines in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and their pivotal roles in schizophrenia and manic depression place these neurotransmitters in the focus of drug development that aims to address neurodegenerative disorders and psychiatric conditions. The present book attempts to give the reader a synopsis of the physiology and pathology of these important catecholaminergic functions.

Somatic growth is a crucial component in the development of an organism. Growth is manifested in many levels during an organisms lifespan; rapid intrauterine growth is followed by extrauterine development that subsides with age. The control of growth is exerted via particularly complex and multifaceted mechanisms that affect every cell of the body, regulating the balance between the anabolic and catabolic processes, and it is intimately entwined with almost every physiological function. The central component of this regulatory system is the hypothalamo-hypophyseal axis that controls not only all of the endocrine organs of the body, but also regulates the growth of every cell via growth hormone (GH) release. It would certainly exceed the scope of the present book to summarize the growth-related complex peripheral actions of the various hormonal systems of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal axis. GH secretion is modulated primarily by the somatotropic axis, which is one of the functional components of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal axis and integrates the stimulatory and inhibitory actions of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and somatostatin upon GH release, respectively. Therefore, in the present volume we attempt to give an overview of the regulatory components of a somatotropic axis with a special emphasis on the regulatory input provided by hypothalamic hormonal and neurotransmitter/neuromodulator systems. Since it is particularly complicated to extrapolate animal data to human physiology, the authors focus on human results while animal studies are detailed only if they provide a better understanding to how growth is regulated in humans. This process has proven to be difficult due to the scarcity of human studies in this field.