It is becoming increasingly clear that disturbances of membrane structure and function may be of critical relevance to the understanding of a number of phenomena of common clinical concern. The purpose of this symposium is to provide a summary, hopefully palatable, of the current state of the art in the exponentially enlarging area of membrane biology.
The papers have been grouped into three sections involving first, the nature of biological and synthetic membranes; second, some aspects of current problems in membrane transport processes; and third, some of the pathologic alterations in membrane transport processes in disease states.
I am grateful to Morton D. Bogdonoff, MD, chief editor of the Archives of Internal Medicine for providing this opportunity and to the authors of the manuscripts in this symposium for their interest and cooperation.