The present book might be regarded as a sequel to my previous work, Bioinorganic Chemistry: An Introduction (Allyn and Bacon, 1977). The latter is essentially a collection of chemical and physical data pertinent to an understanding of the biological functions of the various elements and the proteins dependent on them. The ten years since its publication have seen an enormous increase in research activity in this area, hence of research papers. A number of monographs and review series on specific topics have also appeared, including the volumes in the series of which the present volume is a...