The study of inflammation has captured the interest of scholars since the earliest recorded history. Symbols identifying the cardinal signs of inflammation were uncovered in both Sanskrit and hieroglyphics (1). Since complete appreciation of the inflammatory process is underscored by the need for knowledge at both the cellular and molecular levels, academic inquiry in the area of inflammation has led, in many respects, the foray of current biomedical research. Molecular and Cellular Basis of Inflammation represents research from the cutting edge in the broad view of inflammation. The chapters are written by experts with a multidisciplinary approach to the study of inflammatory and cellular processes, and thus include contributions form the fields of molecular biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, immunology, and pathobiology. Molecular and Cellular Basis of Inflammation was first conceived during a mini symposium sponsored by the American Society for Investigative Pathology held at FASEB in 1995 entitled "The Role of Reactive Lipids, Oxygen and Nitro­ gen Metabolites in Inflammation," at which several of the contributing authors delivered lectures. This present, much-extended volume includes leading-front descriptions of both protein and lipid mediators. The chapter devoted to the comple­ ment cascade by Ward and colleagues, as well as Chapters 3-7 and 13, provide up­ to-date descriptions of the biosynthesis, molecular biology, chemistry, and actions of both protein and lipid mediators.