Preface

Summary

I had the good fortune to behold for the first time that fantastic ending of the growing axon. In my sections of the spinal cord of the three day chick embryo, this ending appeared as a concentration of protoplasm of conical form, endowed with amoeboid movements. It could be compared with a living battering ram, soft and flexible, which advances, pushing aside mechanically the obstacles which it finds in its path, until it reaches the region of its peripheral termination. This curious terminal club, I christened the growth cone.

Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Recollections of My Life, 1937 and 1989

If I had known how long it would take me to write this monograph on neuronal growth cones for Cambridge University Press, I would never have started it! I agreed to do so over seven years ago at a time when the task seemed considerably less daunting than it would be if I were starting now. However, as the years passed and the annual rate of publication of papers on growth cones became exponential, I began to feel I was facing a Herculean task. Of course, I did manage to get in a few games of tennis between writing chapters. I have tried to cover all topics concerning growth cones with the exception of regeneration, and I hope that the book is useful to both those entering the field and those who already work in it.