International Review of General and Experimental Zoology

Book excerpt: International Review of General and Experimental Zoology, Volume 3 reviews various topics related to general and experimental zoology, including the epigenetic mechanisms of patterns in the insect integument and the enteric plexus of mammals. The role of macrophages in the induction of the immune response and the metabolism of mammalian ova are also explored, together with the structure of gallbladder epithelium and cell types in the mammalian thyroid gland. Comprised of eight chapters, this volume first discusses the problem of supracellular pattern formation in the insect cuticle and its complexity and unknown nature, with emphasis on the cuticular patterns of the various zones of the cockroach antenna. The reader is then introduced to the enteric plexus of mammals and its components, along with the relationship of the innervation of the gut to the autonomic nervous system. Subsequent chapters focus on the role of macrophages in the induction of the immune response; metabolism of mammalian ova; structure of gallbladder epithelium; and the goblet cells, Paneth cells, and basal granular cells of the epithelium of the intestine. The book also considers cell types found in the mammalian thyroid gland before concluding with an assessment of the use of electron microscopy in elucidating the structure and function of the placenta. This monograph should prove useful to practicing zoologists and graduate and undergraduate students of zoology.