Although elastin was first identified and purifled in 1840, relatively few, major advances to determine its structure and function occurred between then and 1970. This was pointed out by Carl Franzblau in his recent review (1). This sad state of affairs does not detract, however, from the importance of contributions made during the last 50 years; many of these are referred to in the various chapters that comprise this monograph. I would be remiss not to emphasize the pioneering work of S. M. Partridge, who, in 1955, reported on a technique to obtain virtually pure elastin. It was, indeed, a...