Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 May 2016
AGB stars, seen as a stellar population, can be used to probe the dynamical state of galaxies. The relevant data are mostly positions and line-of-sight velocities, sometimes together with information on chemical composition and/or age. As of now, dynamical models have been made for OH/IR stars and Planetary Nebulae. Other candidates are C stars, S stars, and Miras. We review the methods used and the results obtained so far, for the Milky Way and for (relatively nearby) extragalactic stellar systems.