The various cell types have traditionally been recognized and classified according to their appearance in the light microscope following the process of fixing, processing, sectioning, and staining tissues that is known as histology. Classical histology has been augmented by immunohistochemistry (the use of specific antibodies to stain particular molecular species in situ). Immunohistochemistry has allowed the identification of many more cell types than could be visualized by classical histology, particularly in the immune system and among the scattered hormone-secreting cells of the...

Histochemistry deals with the activities of chemical components in cells, and immunohistochemistry addresses the function of cell types in tissue or organs, such as those leading to acceptance or rejection of grafts or organs.

This book is a methods volume focusing on antigen retrieval, particularly methods used in disease-related antigens. Because the book is a methods volume and a lab manual, it will have an audience of pathologists, biochemists, and lab technicians.