This marvelous volume is a tribute to the timely combination of efforts of editors, contributors and publishers. When these elements are synthesized properly the communication lag between research, dissemination of research, and clinical application surely must shorten. All ophthalmologists throughout the world recognize the dramatic increase in diabetic retinopathy. In terms of the cause of newly reported cases of blindness, diabetes has increased more than 15-fold in the past 30 years. As the diabetic lives longer through better management, the incidence of vascular complications increase geometrically. The symposium sponsored by the University of California School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, concentrates primarily on the ocular vascular complications. Outstanding investigators including clinical and basic-research-oriented ophthalmologists, diabetologists, radiotherapists, nutrition experts, and otolaryngologists convened to present their current approach to the microangiopathy problem and to participate in a series of stimulating panel discussions. Fine black and white illustrations of retinal histopathology, fluorescein studies,