Clinical Immunology: Principles and Practice

Abstract

Clinical immunology is not a traditional medical specialty at all. Clinical immunology is an intellectual territory divided into tiny bits among pulmonologists, neurologists, oncologists, nephrologists, pediatricians, dermatologists, rheumatologists, clinical laboratory directors, allergists, nutritionists, hematologists, ophthalmologists who have a special interest in the anterior chamber, and many more, all intensely concerned. Each clinical specialty takes over a small piece of the territory for elaborate development, and it is a daunting task for any editor to bring the little pieces back together. Even in a 2250-page book in two heavy volumes, edited carefully by experts, it is not possible to bring unity to this awkward field. Clinical scholars may consider limiting their close study to the more coherent field of basic immunology. Clever readers will compare this text to William E. Paul's shorter and simpler<i>Fundamental Immunology</i>(Raven Press, 1993), which originates in the same research centers and draws on many of