This volume is one of those published from the proceedings of the
invited lectures to the First International Congress of Comparative
Physiology and Biochemistry I organized at Liege (Belgium) in August
1984 under the auspices of the Section of Comparative Physiology and
Biochemistry of the International Union of Biological Sciences. In a
general foreword to these different volumes, it seems to me appropriate
to consider briefly what may be the comparative approach. Living
organisms, beyond the diversity of their morphological forms, have
evolved a widespread range of basic solutions to cope with the different
problems, both organismal and environmental with which they are faced.
Soon after the turn of the century, some biologists realized that these
solutions can be best comprehended in the frame- work of a comparative
approach integrating results of physiological and biochemical studies
done at the organismic, cellular and molecular levels. The development
of this approach amongst both physiologists and biochemists remained,
however, extremely slow until recently.