Medical and biological scientists from Europe, North America, and Australia summarize basic principles and recent research findings on the plasma zymogen plasminogen and the serine protease plasmin, and how those findings provide a conceptual framework for understanding the physiological role of plasminogen in the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems, and in health and disease generally. Among the topics are the structure and function of plasminogen activators, activator inhibitors, regulating gene expression, receptors, lessons from plasminogen deficient mice, wound healing, hematopoietic malignancies and normal hematopoiesis, and angiogenesis. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR