Clinical Immunology and Serology: A Laboratory Perspective 4th Edition

Book Preface

The fourth edition of Clinical Immunology and Serology: A Laboratory Perspective is built on the success of the first three editions. This text is tailored to meet the needs of clinical laboratory students on both the 2- and 4-year levels. It combines practical information about laboratory testing with a concise discussion of the theory behind the testing. For practicing laboratorians and other allied health professionals, the book may serve as a valuable reference about new developments in the field of immunology. The organization of the chapters is based on the experience of many years of teaching immunology to clinical laboratory science students. The book is divided into four major sections: I. Nature of the Immune System; II. Basic Immunologic Procedures; III. Immune Disorders; and IV. Serological and Molecular Diagnosis of Infectious Disease. Sections build upon one another, and chapters relate previous material to new material by means of boxes titled Connections and Clinical Correlations. These new features help the students to recall information from previous chapters and to bridge theory with actual clinical diagnosis and testing. Information in the chapters is related to real world events in order to make it more interesting for the student and to show the important role that immunology plays in people’s daily lives. New to this edition are the Study Guide Tables at the end of many of the chapters, which can be used as study tools by the students.

All chapters have been updated to include new information about the immune system as well as new treatments for immunologic diseases. With this edition comes added emphasis on the basic immune mechanisms. Three new chapters have been added: Innate Immunity (Chapter 3), Adaptive Immunity (Chapter 4), and Immunization and Vaccines (Chapter 25). These chapters have been added in response to comments from reviewers and readers, as well as the burgeoning information inthese areas. The chapter on autoimmunity (Chapter 15) has been expanded to include some diseases that are increasing in importance. Additionally, Molecular Diagnostic Techniques (Chapter 12) and Tumor Immunology (Chapter 17) have been expanded to help bring readers up-to-date on new developments in the field. Information on quality assessment, regulatory issues, and quality management systems has been added to the chapter on laboratory safety. Perhaps the most exciting new change, however, is the addition of full color illustrations. Not only does this increase the visual appeal of the book, but full color is helpful to students in promoting a better understanding of principles and techniques discussed in the chapters.

The book remains a practical introduction to the field of clinical immunology that combines essential theoretical principles with serological techniques commonly used in the clinical laboratory. The theory is comprehensive but concise, and the emphasis is on direct application to the clinical laboratory. The text is readable and user-friendly, with learning outcomes, chapter outlines, and a glossary of all key terms. Each chapter is a complete learning module that contains theoretical principles, illustrations, definitions of relevant terminology, and questions and case studies that help to evaluate learning. For the instructor, there are many new online resources at DavisPlus to assist in course development. These resources include PowerPoint slides, suggested laboratory exercises, additional case studies, and a large bank of test questions that can be used for review or test preparation. Because the field of immunology is expanding so rapidly, the challenge in writing this book has been to ensure adequate coverage but to keep it on an introductory level. Every chapter has been revised to include current practices as of the time of writing. It is hoped that this book will kindle an interest in both students and laboratory professionals in this exciting and dynamic field.