The immune system is complex, multi-layered and has evolved throughout the development of invertebrate and vertebrate species to be able to sense the difference between "self" and foreign pathogens. A functioning immune system provides protection against bacterial, viral and parasitic infections; on the other hand, dysregulation of the immune system can result in a wide range of clinically important diseases including autoimmunity, allergies and inflammatory disorders. Understanding of the immune system has led to the development of a broad range of therapeutic interventions of fundamental importance to improve human health.

Encyclopedia of Immunobiology covers the full range of Immunology, presenting topics in a logical, ordered way, and making extensive use of "hot links" to refer the reader to related content. The new edition is more than a simple updating of content from the original title. Fields such as immunotherapy, immunity to viral infection, vaccine development, inflammatory responses and the role of high throughput analyses are greatly expanded to reflect current and future trends in Immunology. This new edition plays a major role in bringing these concepts to the fore in a logical and coherent way, with the goal of integrating this information into the big picture.