Mammalian Thermogenesis: An Introduction

Abstract

The task of editing a book should never be taken lightly because, as most editors soon realise, there is much more to it than simply acting as a postbox for the contributing authors. Initially, our problem was to determine whether there was a requirement for a book devoted to current knowledge of the effectors of mammalian thermogenesis. It soon appeared that, even by limiting the field to non-shivering thermogenesis, i.e. to mechanisms which liberate chemical energy by processes not involving muscular contraction, there was ample room for a new monograph. Firstly, the most recent comprehensive treatment was the book on Brown Adipose Tissue (ed. O. Lindberg, Elsevier, New York) which was published in 1970 and, although the proceedings of conferences (e.g. Effectors of Thermogenesis, eds L. Girardier and J. Seydoux, Birkhäuser, Basel, 1978) have since appeared, sufficient time has now elapsed to justify the appearance of an updated treatment of the topic.