Book excerpt: Albumin Structure, Function and Uses reviews the many facets of serum albumin, including its history and evolutionary development, structure and function, synthesis, degradation, distribution and transport, and metabolic behavior. The use, misuse, and abuse of albumin in the treatment of disease are also discussed. This book is comprised of 17 chapters and begins with a commentary on how albumin is used, misused, and abused in the treatment of disease such as peptic ulcer, and a description of the real indications for its use. Concepts in albumin purification are then examined, along with the amino acid sequence of serum albumin and some aspects of its structure and conformational properties. Subsequent chapters explore the phylogenetics of albumin; albumin binding sites; clinical implications of drug-albumin interaction; genetics of human serum albumin; and hepatic synthesis of export proteins. Albumin catabolism and intracellular transport are also considered, together with surgical and clinical aspects of albumin metabolism. This monograph should be a useful resource for biochemists and clinicians.