This book represents the culmination of the major aspect of Dr. Margot
Shiner's professional career. It was she who devised the technique of
jejunal biopsy which opened up whole new fields of small intestinal
research, including microbiology, immunology, histochemistry and
histopathology, thus greatly expanding our knowledge of fundamental
aspects of absorptive patho- physiology. Later the application of
electron microscopy demonstrated the individual cell with its mechanisms
both for absorption and for the production of so many chemicals such as
mucus, enzymes and hormones. Like the vision from the peak in Darian, it
opened up new worlds. The contribution to our understanding of cell
structure and function has been greater than the direct elucidation of
specific diseases but nevertheless, there are pointers to different
mechanisms which could have wide applications. It is a book which serves
a double function: On the one hand it is highly technical and a
publication for the super expert, recording new landmarks of knowledge
and interpretation. On the other hand, it is a book which can indeed
fire the imagination of the rising generation of gastroenterologists,
paediatricians, pathologists and medical scientists. Having seen the
emergence of the art and science of present-day gastro- enterology
within my professional lifetime and having been able to provide the
facilities for her work in the very early days, it is with particular
pleasure and pride that I write this foreword.
