Basic Cell Biology for Dentists and Medical Students

This textbook offers essential basic information on cell biology, with a special focus on the connection between cell biology and general medicine and dentistry. The chapters cover key topics including methods of cell biology, cell structure and organelles, macromolecules and their biochemistry, membrane transport and dynamics, signal transduction, the cytoskeleton, and cell communication. Special sections highly relevant for medicine and dentistry students address muscle contraction, biomineralization, and the formation of dentin and enamel. The book concludes with insights into cell division, apoptosis, and viral replication, thus providing a solid foundation for understanding the cellular basis of health and disease. This textbook is aimed at students of biomedicine who wish to obtain or refresh a solid background in cell biology, as well as for medical and dentistry students who wish to supplement their molecular and cell biology courses and bring this knowledge into the medical context.

Gives an overview of the most important aspects of cellular life Provides fundamental knowledge of cell biology for dentistry and medicine students Highlights the historic development of research techniques for uncovering the processes occurring within cells

Autorentext

Dr. Angelika Böttger is a retired Professor of cell biology. She has conducted cell biological and biochemical research about the regulation of the tumor suppressor p53, apoptosis, signalling pathways important for embryonic development, the evolution of such signalling pathways and their function during regeneration of the freshwater polyp Hydra. Moreover, she has analysed enzymes involved in oxygen sensing in animals. For 25 years, she has been teaching general cell biology and special courses for biology students on signal transduction, stem cells and regeneration. Dr. Jasmin Moneer has done her doctoral studies at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (LMU Munich) in the research group of Prof. Dr. Angelika Böttger. Her research focuses on cell biology topics, particularly the characterisation of Notch signaling in Hydra vulgaris.

Inhalt

Chapter 1. Cells, Cell organelles and the Cell theory: From simple microscopes to mass spectrometry and genome sequencing.- Chapter 2. Biochemistry of the macromolecules of Life: Nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids.- Chapter 3. The Biomembrane: Mediator between the cell and its environment.- Chapter 4. Shape and structure by the cytoskeleton inside the cell, cellular contacts, cell adhesion and extracellular matrix to structure tissues and organs.- Chapter 5. Cellular homeostasis: Cell division, cell death and virus infection.