Book excerpt: Progress in Immunology: First International Congress of Immunology is a collection of papers and summaries of the workshops conducted at the First International Congress of Immunology. The proceedings review significant advances that have been made in the field of immunology and covers topics ranging from the structure and genetics of antibodies to lymphocyte membranes and the role of antibodies and complexes in immune tissue damage. Cell cooperation in the immune response is also examined. This volume is organized into 15 sections and begins with a discussion on the structure of immunoglobulins and results of experiments which support the domain hypothesis and the evolution of immunoglobulins by gene duplication, along with the presence of genetic markers in V regions. The reader is then introduced to expansion and contraction in the evolution of immunoglobulin gene pools; receptors for C3 on B lymphocytes and their possible role in the immune response; and subpopulations of thymus cells and thymus-derived lymphocytes. Tne remaining sections focus on effector mechahisms of cell-mediated immunity; genetic control of immune responsiveness; immune disorders in humans such as glomerulonephritis and rheumatoid arthritis; and viruses involved in immunopathology. This book is dedicated to immunologists.