Overview
Here is a thorough, up-to-date survey of the physiological processes through which salt, water, and nutrients are absorbed or secreted by the intestinal tract, and of how these myriad processes are regulated. In twenty-five chapters, written by a team of leading experts, the volume addresses four main topics: the methodologies and basic principles of structure and function; intestinal ion transport; nutrient absorption; and macromolecular transport. Throughout, the contributors emphasize recent developments in the field—for example, neuroendocrine-immune cell interactions in the intestinal mucosa, the regulation of intestinal sodium transport, the cloning of the intestinal glucose carrier, the intestinal cytoskeleton, and the regulation of intestinal epithelial transport function by protein kinases and calmodulin. This is not only the fourth and final volume in the series; it is also the broadest, most contemporary approach to this important topic. As such, this book will be warmly welcomed—and often consulted—by student, scholars, professionals, and anyone researching intestinal absorptive mechanisms and their regulation.