The first two volumes of this series addressed themselves to the chemistry, physiology, and metabolism of the bile acids. The present volume is devoted to the pathophysiology of bile acids. As the role of bile acids in health and disease is being increasingly recognized, we have chosen for discussion a wide range of topics of current importance. The presence of bile acids in brain tissue and their possible role in demyelinating diseases form the subject of a provocative discussion. As an extension of this theme, the presence and quantification of bile acids in extrahepatic tissues is the...

The bile acids as principal end products of cholesterol metabolism occupy a focal position in our understanding of the role of steroids in bio logical systems. The biogenesis of bile acids from cholesterol in higher ani mals, and their functions in regulating sterol metabolism and in gastrointestinal physiology have been elucidated by the development of elegant methodo logical approaches during the last two decades. The molecular pleomorphism exhibited by the bile acids and bile alcohols in the animal kingdom is a classic example of their role in biochemical evolution. The total story of the...