This book is written for veterinary medical students as a primer for their clinical years and should also be of benefit beyond graduation.

As the title suggests, our aim is to highlight the essential relationship between tissue diseases, their pathophysiologic consequences and clinical expression. The book is designed to emphasize the principles of organ system dysfunction, providing a foundation on which to build.

The basis of the book is an integrated course in systemic pathology and medicine taught at this school, and it is a source of satisfaction that all but one of the contributors teach in the course. The approach taken is similar in many respects to the pattern followed in other schools throughout the world. Our experience and no doubt that of many others is that the two disciplines of pathology and medicine are enriched by such integration, a merger rather than a polarization. We have endeavoured to encapsulate these views in the first chapter of the book entitled ‘The relationship between pathology and medicine’.

To our co-authors we extend our heartfelt thanks. Their contributions of time and expertise are greatly appreciated.