Book excerpt: While advances in modem medicine largely parallel our understanding of morphology, discoveries in morphology are propelled by developments of new tools and means to visualize and measure tissue elements. The invention of dissecting, light, fluorescence and electron microscopes together with advances in labeling and staining techniques are among the stepping stones of morphological progress. Today, we are in an exciting new era when classical morphology is being combined with developments from other disciplines. The combination of morphology and immunology resulted in immunocytochemistry; morphology and molecular biology led to in situ hybridization and in situ PCR. Adding computer science to morphology gave birth to image analysis. Combining laser technology and the microsope evolved into confocal microscope. For more than a decade, modem morphology has continued to develop by merging with other disciplines at a rate that is still gathering momentum, providing exciting and dynamic new frontiers for other biological fields. "Modem Methods in Analytical Morphology," based largely on the "First International Workshop on Modem Methods in Analytical Histochemistry, "is an updated review of the current trends in the field. It covers an extensive array of new technical developments in major disciplines of modem morphology. The authors are not only leaders in their fields but also have extensive "hands on" experience with "bench work. " Their chapters are written in a comprehensive manner including discussion of both theoretical considerations and practical applications to give the readers a broad view of the topics covered.