Research on the complement system is at the forefront of efforts to reveal the molecular biological basis of many disease processes. This study presents interpretive review articles from laboratories around the world at the cutting edge of new developments in complement research.

The complement system continues to be a riddle that has challenged generations of investigators since its first description a century ago. As medical science approaches the molecular age, complement research is at the forefront of efforts to reveal the molecular biological basis of many disease processes. As a centenary tribute to the investigators who provided the foundation upon which current knowledge is based, this new book series, entirely devoted to complement research, is being launched. This first volume in the series presents interpretive review articles from laboratories around the world whose research is at the cutting edge of new developments in complement research. Although broad in scope, the articles are concisely written to provide the reader with an overview of the entire field in as brief a space as possible. Taken together, they provide an understanding of the previously elusive but intriguing role of complement in biological processes and disease etiology and pathogenesis.