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The War Within Us

Everyman's Guide to Infection and Immunity

  • 1st Edition - June 19, 2000
  • Latest edition
  • Author: Cedric A. Mims
  • Language: English

Infectious diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. In The War Within Us, well-known author and infectious disease specialist Cedric Mims makes the intricacies of the im… Read more

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Description

Infectious diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. In The War Within Us, well-known author and infectious disease specialist Cedric Mims makes the intricacies of the immune system and infectious diseases less baffling for the general reader and answers the questions of how things work and why. The story is told in terms of the ancient conflict between the invader (the infectious disease) and the defender (the body's immune system) and the strategies and counter-strategies used by both sides, making it a book that is both informative and interesting to read. The War Within Us is an ideal introduction to the basics of immunity and infection for general readers and students. It also serves as a quick reference book for physicians, researchers, and other health workers.

Key features

  • Parasite versus host
  • The conflict: how we defend ourselves
  • The microbe's response to our defence
  • How microbes cause diseas
  • Thumbnail sketches of seven selected diseases:
  • The threat of new diseases

Readership

General readers interested in the life sciences, as well as microbiologists,immunologists, infectious disease researchers and clinicians. Also for undergraduate students and others who need an introduction to the basics of immunity and infection

Table of contents

The Parasite Versus the Host:How We Defend Ourselves:Surfaces Barriers and the Early Defences.Immune Defences.Chinks in the Armour: Things That Go Wrong With Our Defences.The Microbe's Response to Our Defence:Breaching the Early Defences.How to Evade Immune Defences.The Disease:From Residents to Big Killers.How Microbes Cause Disease.Thumbnail Sketches of Seven Selected Diseases.What the Future Holds:The Threat of New Diseases.Our Answers to Infectious Diseases.Selected Reading.GlossaryIndex.

Review quotes

"a thorough explanation of the human immune system...The author accomplishes his goal of guiding the reader through the intricacies of the immune system, and does so in a unique and entertaining style.":—Jane S. Roccaforte, M.D., DOODY'S HEALTH SCIENCES BOOK REVIEW JOURNAL

Product details

  • Edition: 1
  • Latest edition
  • Published: June 27, 2000
  • Language: English

About the author

CM

Cedric A. Mims

Cedric Mims began as a zoologist, studying under GP Wells and JBS Haldane at University College, London. He then went to the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, London, graduating in 1952. After hospital appointments he spent three years in Uganda studying tropical fevers, and then 16 years in Canberra, Australia, interspersed with two years in the USA. This was followed by a 20-year period in London as Professor of Microbiology at Guy's Hospital Medical School, where his enthusiasm for teaching found its outlet. His entire career has focused on infectious diseases and immunology, and he has produced five books and more than a hundred scientific papers on these subjects. He has four children and nine grandchildren and lives in the Sussex countryside.
Affiliations and expertise
Guy's Hospital Medical School, UMDS, London, U.K.

View book on ScienceDirect

Read The War Within Us on ScienceDirect