Hair is the subject of this book, including the anatomy of the hair follicle, developmental stages, analyzed by light and electron microscopy, hair ultrastructure, nerve and blood supply, specialized hairs and hair organs, and a review of the present techniques to cultivate hair follicle cells in vitro. In the clinical part several chapters describe the most important diseases and possibilities for treatment. Hair care products and their toxicology are the subject of further sections. Extensive reviews of the antiandrogens, a most important group of drugs influencing hair growth, and of their clinical use in conditions such as androgenetic alopecias and hirsutism are included as well. Finally, surgical techniques for hair transplantation are discussed. This book is a standard textbook for everything pertaining to hair under normal and pathological conditions.

In the past two decades, considerable interest in skin cancer has developed in the public and scientific communities. There may have been several reasons for this: - The rise in the global incidence of cutaneous cancers - New molecular biology techniques resulting in a better understanding of pathogenesis and improved diagnostic procedures - The advent of new pathological entities, e. g. , the endemic form of Kaposi's sarcoma - A constantly increasing range of therapeutic modalities, providing even more efficacious treatment and manage ment of skin cancers As N. E. Fusenig describes in the first chapter of this volume, basic research is only beginning to unravel the complex mechanism involved in cellular dedifferentiation and tumor progression. Progress is dearly needed, especially in dermato oncology, where the rise in the incidence of epithelial tumors has inflated the overall skin cancer incidence. The incidence of tumors of the skin exceeds that of all other neoplasias in humans, with recreational sun exposure being a suspected primary cause. Several studies on the effects of UV radiation have been included at the beginning of this volume. Even the role of long wavelength UV (UVA) has become a focus of research activities. The main concern is that the low carcinogenicity of UVA, in comparison to UVB, may be outweighed and exceeded in its effects by increased UV A exposure, e. g.