This volume surveys the chemistry, biochemistry, biosynthesis, metabolism, and pharmacological properties of lectins. After a chemically orientated first chapter dealing with specificity and a second chapter on structure, in the rest of the book lectins are looked at from a biological point of view. Their involvement in metabolism and biosynthesis, the distribution and localization in plant tissues and their role in interactions with the outside world are discussed in chapters 3 and 4. The last two chapters deal with the effects of lectins on various cells of the body including blood, gut, and nerve cells with particular emphasis on medical, nutritional, and general biological aspects.