This book is a compendium of recent knowledge relating to the biology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and genetics of lipoxygenases and their products, edited as proceedings of an international congress held in Malta in the summer of 1997. It represents state-of-the-art insight into the above topics. The aim of the book is to broaden the existing knowledge on lipoxygenases and metabolites and to identify directions for future research, which, in our opinion, is accomplished by the contribution of recognized experts in the field. Papers based on the congress lectures are gathered together here under three general headings: (i) enzymology, molecular biology and biological functions of mammalian lipoxygenases, (ii) metabolic regulation of lipoxygenases; lipoxygenase inhibitors, (iii) products of the lipoxygenase pathways and their receptors, which present enticing and forward-looking presentations. It is hoped that the novel structural and mechanistic insights encapsulated in this book will conspire to engender new exciting research, whose results will coalesce into next conferences of this kind at regular intervals.