This volume presents lecture notes from the session of the International School of Pharmacology, at the "Ettore Majorana" Centre, on Advances in Prostaglandins that took place in Erice (Sicily), October 4 to October 15, 1976. The School was a NATO Advanced Study Institute. The aim of this international course was a compre­ hensive discussion by experts in various disciplines of the present status of our knowledge of the biological role of prostaglandins and thromboxanes. The synthesis, metabolism, and function of prosta­ glandins have been evaluated at the cellular level, in isolated tissues, and/or in the intact organism. The mode of action of prostaglandins and their interactions, particularly with cyclic nucleotides, in normal and pathological conditions, has been discussed with the aim of understanding the possible role of these compounds in hormonal regulation and cell response. The prostaglandin biosynthetic capacity of different tissues, under various experimental conditions, in the presence of specific precursors, and the inhibitory ac­ tivity of different agents have been examined to ascer­ tain the relationship between function and metabolism. For these reasons the discussion has also been extended to the methods (biological, immunological, and spectrometric) available for the direct and specific determination of prostaglandins and the evaluation of their synthesis and metabolism. The Editors hope that the book will be useful both to beginners and to those with a long-time interest in prostaglandins. F. Berti B. Samuelsson G. P. Velo v CONTENTS Chemistry of Prostaglandins and Thromboxanes . .