I am delighted to see the appearance of the first comprehensive atlas recognizing the important relationship between periodontal and systemic health and disease. The atlas is not intended to cover the new areas of in terest in relation to periodontal health and cardiac and other disease, but rather to demonstrate the systemic diseases that manifest to the periodon tist and hygienist. The atlas thus covers a vast range of systemic disorders that may present with gingival or periodontal lesions and highlights the importance of the periodontal and oral medicine teams in diagnosing and managing patients with sometimes complex medical problems. The authors, Professor George Laskaris and Professor Crispian Scully, are both active clinicians, teachers and researchers in oral medicine, with wide experience and special interest in the oral medicine/periodontal interface and both have published widely in their fields. I welcome this contribution to the advancement of care for the patient with periodontal disease. Jan Lindhe Professor Emeritus of Periodontology University of Gothenburg, Sweden ~ The periodontium is a part of the oral tissues of great interest to dentists and particularly to the periodontal team. The importance has now been recognized to extend beyond local disorders to a wide range of conditions that may affect periodontal health.