Advances in Oral Biology, Volume 3, aims to facilitate communication between dental scientists by providing critical surveys of the state of knowledge in selected areas of biology that bear upon growth, development, and maintenance of normal function of oral tissues on the one hand, and on the other, departures from this norm that eventually become recognized as disease. The value of this broad approach is well illustrated by the contributions appearing in this first volume, wherein the authors show the extent to which a multidisciplined approach has led to the acquisition of new information about the structure, chemical composition, and function of oral tissues. This volume follows the pattern of its predecessors. A series of reviews of major areas in oral physiology, such as salivary secretion and mastication, discussed in Volume 1, and tooth sensation, discussed in Volume 2, continues with a study on the control of blood circulation in oral tissues, which includes a discussion of the skin of the head. Other chapters deal with topics such as the production, injection, and action of snake venom; the formation of surface phases on calcium phosphate solids in vitro in relation to acid dissolution of dental enamel; and the use of tetracycline in studies of bone healing.
