The Pigmentary System, Second Edition, gathers into one convenient, all-inclusive volume a wealth of information about the science of pigmentation and all the common and rare clinical disorders that affect skin color. The two parts, physiology (science) and pathophysiology (clinical disorders), are complementary and annotated so that those reading one part can easily refer to relevant sections in the other. For the clinician interested in common or rare pigment disorders or the principles of teaching about such disorders, this book provides an immediate and complete resource on the biologic bases for these disorders. For the scientist studying the biology of melanocyte function, the book provides a list of disorders that are related to basic biological functions of melanocytes.

Table of Contents

• The History of Melanosome Research (Jan Borovansky)
• Classical and non-classical melanocytes in vertebrates (Sophie Colombo, Irina Berlin, Véronique Delmas, and Lionel Larue)
• The Biological Chemistry of ortho-Quinones (Patrick A. Riley, Christopher A. Ramsden, and Edward J. Land)
• Biosynthesis of Melanins (José Carlos García-Borrón, and M. Conchita Olivares Sánchez)
• Inhibitors and Enhancers of Melanogenesis (Alain Taïeb, Muriel Cario-André, Stefania Briganti, and Mauro Picardo)
• Structure of Melanins (Shosuke Ito, Kazumasa Wakamatsu, Marco d Ischia, Alessandra Napolitano, and Alessandro Pezzella)
• Properties and Functions of Ocular Melanins and Melanosomes (Malgorzata Rózanowska)
• The biological role of neuromelanin in the human brain and it’s importance in Parkinson’s disease (K. L. Double, W. Maruyama, M. Naoi, P. M. Gerlach and P. Riederer)
• The Biogenesis of Melanosomes (Cédric Delevoye, Francesca Giordano, Michael S. Marks, and Graça Raposo)
• The Transport and Distribution of Melanosomes (Mireille Van Gele and Jo Lambert)
• Genetics of Melanosome Structure and Function (Vincent J. Hearing)
• Physiological and Pathological Functions of Melanosomes (Jan Borovansky, Patrick A. Riley)
• Dysplastic Naevi as Precursor Melanoma Lesions (Stanislav Pavel, Nico P.M. Smit, Karel Pizinger)

Serving the needs of pigment cell biologists, cellular physiologists, developmental geneticists, researchers interested in melanoma and more, this new book showcases a blend of new technologies and new insights in the field of pigmantary genetics of mice, with comparative information on other animals. Graduate students can learn here the terminology and scope of the field, and animal fanciers can discover the genetics behind common color variants of mammals. The book is hailed for being written by four of the premier scientists in the field. These authors aim to present the molecular /cellular work in the context of phenotype and the interacting functions of genes that direct the development and function of one biological system. For other researchers, the depth of genetic knowledge on the pigmantary system makes it a valuable model for the study of other systems.