This volume is a report of the proceedings of the Third International Nephro-Lrological Course held in the Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Culture, Erice, Sicily, from 12th to 18th May 1980. Contributions were accepted on the understanding that the editors could make certain changes leading towards a uniformity of style but accepting as a Driority the importance of early publi- cation, if necessary at the expense of stylistic perfection. The meeting, directed by A. Vercellone (Torino), R. Maiorca (Brescia) and M. Pavone-Macaluso (Palermo), was sponsored by: the Italian Associations of Nephrology, Immunology and Urology; the Ministries of Scientific Research and Public Education of the Republic of Italy; the Sicilian Regional Government; the National Research Council and the University of Palermo. Immunologic problems in renal disease Rnd metabolic and medical aspects of urolithiasis were the two subjects of the Congress, which was attended by numerous invi~ed speakers and participants. The first part was introduced by A. Vercellone (Torino), who discussed the major steps in the development and the present per- spectives of nephrology, a relatively newly born science, recognized as such only in 1960. He called attention to the great significance of our present knowledge of the immunologic mechanisms (circulating immune complexes or in situ mounting, cellular immunity, activation of complement) which are involved in the pathogenesis of glomerulo- nephritis.

This volume is a report of the proceedings of an International Symposium on Bladder Cancer and a selection of Urological papers presented at the Antwerp Medical Days in Antwerp, Belgium, on the 19th and 20th September 1980. The meeting was sponsored by the Antwerp Medical Days Program Committee supported by the Royal Antwerp Circle of Medicine, the Urological Group of the European Organization for Research on the Treatment of Cancer, the Belgische Vereniging voor Urologie, the Societe Belge d'Urologie, the Province and City of Antwerp and the National Fund for Scientific Medical Research of Belgium. Contributors were briefed to avoid too much overlapping, in the hope of obtaining a coherent compilation of clinical data. We are grateful for their discipline which enables early publication. All the contributions in this volume, except he section on immunology which was selected by the editors for its related inter est, were presented at the International Symposium under the sections 'Understanding the Disease', 'Therapeutic Approaches', 'Chemotherapy', and 'Prospective Studies'."