The Fondazione Lorenzini has been sponsoring Postgraduate Courses for physicians and specialists, in Italy, since 1970. Its aim, as an institution, has been that of promoting post graduate medical education. In these years, recent advances in a wide range of medical fields have been discussed by distinguished experts from many countries throughout the world. Courses dealing with methodo logies and technical problems have been designed to include practical demonstrations of the various methods and techniques in the relevant fields. The Postgraduate Course on "Platelets and Thrombosis: Methods of Study" was held in Milan, at the Fondazione Lorenzini, from February 24th to 26th, 1972. This volume contains the edited and somewhat extended papers presented at the Course, which was sponsored and organized by the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis. The special contribution of the present volume is that of gathering a large amount of up-to-date information on the formidable problem of the methods used for testing platelet function in thrombosis.

Inhalt
The Functional Physiology of Blood Platelets.- The Role of Platelets in Arterial and Venous Thrombosis.- Platelet Function Tests and Thrombosis.- Piatelet Function Tests and Thrombosis.- Methods for the Preparation of Washed Platelet Suspensions.- Methods for Platelet Aggregation.- Significance and Comparison of Two Methods for Platelet Aggregation.- In Vitro Platelet Adhesiveness. Methods of Study and Clinical Significance.- Standardized Bleeding Time in the Study of Drugs Interfering with Platelet Function.- Platelet Factor 3-Properties and Clinical Significance.- Platelet Factor 4-Properties and Clinical Significance.- The Platelet Populations.- Technical Section.- Platelet Counting: Visual, Electronic and Fully Automated Optical Methods.- Gel Filtration of Blood Platelets: a Methodological Report.- Platelet Washing by Albumin Density Gradient Separation (ADGS).- Measurement of Platelet Aggregation and Shape Change.- Measurement of Platelet Retention in Glass Bead Columns.- A New Automatic Device for the Standardized Ivy Bleeding Time.- Platelet Factor 3-Methods of Study.- Platelet Factor 4-Methods of Study.- Separation of Platelet Populations from Human and Rat Blood. Method and Applications.- Measurement of Platelet Aggregation and Thrombus Formation in Circulating Blood.- Method for the Measurement of 14C-5 HT Uptake and Release by Platelets.- Assay of Platelet ATP and ADP by the Luciferase Method: Some Theoretical and Practical Aspects.