Human Oral Mucosa

Human Oral Mucosa: Development, Structure and Function is a new text that reflects the considerable increase in knowledge of oral mucosa that has occurred in recent years. Our understanding of the structure of oral mucosa is now established at a molecular rather than a tissue or cellular level. This in turn has revealed a level of function that was previously not suspected, including a sophisticated barrier to the penetration of exogenous materials, and the synthesis of specific antimicrobial compounds, representing components of the innate immune system. There is also a growing realization of commonality in structure and function between regions of oral mucosa and the mucosae of the esophagus and vagina.

The aim of the present volume is to provide a more sophisticated text on human oral mucosa than presently exists in textbooks and to bring together information that is otherwise to be found in separate, specialist volumes into a comprehensive text. It relates structure at the molecular, cellular and tissu

Christopher Squier has an international reputation for hisresearch on the structure and function of oral mucosa, being theauthor or co-author of 200 books, chapters or peer-reviewedarticles. He has received the Distinguished Scientist Award in OralBiology from the International Association for Dental Research.

Kim Brogden is a professor in the Department ofPeriodontics and the Dows Institute for Dental Research at theUniversity of Iowa. His work on innate immunity in mucosal diseasesincluding oral mucosa is recognized worldwide and he is the authorof over 155 books, chapters or peer reviewed publications.