Allergy: Principles and Practice

Abstract

After many years as a neglected stepchild, the practice of allergy has come to the forefront of medical research and practice. Part of this change has come from increased basic understanding of allergic reactions, especially knowledge of the IgE antibodies mediating immediate hypersensitivity reactions, their mode of interaction with cells, and the nature of the products released following the encounter between cell-associated antibody and antigen. Skillful use of drugs can control many of the worst effects of allergic reactions. The allergist has graduated from being an empiricist whose only therapeutic tools consisted of skin tests and shots to a broadly based clinician whose understanding of allergic disorders permits him to manipulate skillfully the allergic response. The two-volume book<i>Allergy: Principles and Practice</i>will further advance the practice of allergy by both the specialist and the generalist. Volume 1 contains a thorough review of the basic sciences that underly the practice