• ISBN13: 9783662009918
• Binding: Paperback
• Subject: N/A
• Publisher: Springer
• Publisher Imprint: Springer
• Publication Date: December 4, 2014
• Pages: 855
• Original Price: EUR 99.99
• Language: English
• Edition: Softcover Repri
• Item Weight: 1470 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): Life Sciences / Zoology / General, Anatomy, and Life Sciences / Molecular Biology

The integument plays an important role in the survival of meta- zoans by separating and protecting them from a hostile environ- ment. Its function ranges from protection against injury and in- fection, participation in the regulation of body temperature and water balance, to respiratory activity, monitoring of the environ- ment and production of signals related to behaviour. All these result from specific structural, biochemical and physiological properties of intra-and extracellular components of the integu- ment. Thus its characterization can be best accomplished by a multidisciplinary approach with authors specialized in different fields of science. This multi-author book, in two volumes, provides an up-to- date survey of the literature. The first volume deals with the integument of invertebrates, the second with that of vertebrates, both organized primarily on a phylum basis. As the level of knowledge on the integument of phyla differs considerably, the information provided is correspondingly either limited or con- densed. For some of the smaller groups of invertebrates little information is available, as often only a few electron micrographs are to be found in the literature; on the other hand, from the large body of knowledge existing for vertebrates, particularly for mammals, no complete overview can be provided, but publica- tions giving access to further information have been reviewed critically.