Preface

Summary

Culture of marrow stromal cells cannot be covered comprehensively in a single small book. Our selection of subject matter for the different chapters was biased towards the cell lines of the marrow stromal system, which are more directly concerned with osteogenic tissues. Because of space, all authors were limited in the number of references allowed. Often a relevant review or recent paper which provides access to the previous literature has been cited as a best compromise. We apologise to those whose papers have not been quoted directly and we recognise and fully appreciate the importance of their work.

This book is dedicated to Alexander Friedenstein (1924–97), of the Gamaleya Institute, Moscow, who pioneered the subject of marrow stromal cell biology and made unrivalled contributions over many decades.