Advances in Lipid Research, Volume 24 provides information pertinent to the fundamental aspects of skin lipids. This book discusses the importance of epidermal lipids for cutaneous barrier function. Organized into 11 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the biochemical, metabolic, and structural aspects of the role of lipids in permeability barrier formation and maintenance. This text then examines the lipid biophysics of the intercellular lipid domains in the stratum corneum, and the regulation of percutaneous absorption by these domains. Other chapters consider the lipid content and metabolism of cultured keratinocytes, which are grown under standard conditions and in various in vitro systems that attempt to produce an epidermal equivalent. This book discusses as well the important field of lipid signaling mechanisms in the epidermis. The final chapter deals with the clinical, pathophysiological, and therapeutic applications of vitamin D. This book is a valuable resource for chemist, cytochemists, and clinicians.