A total of 1150 participants from forty-two countries worldwide attended the above mentioned congress. The congress was organized to provide a wide-ranging scientific program of plenary lectures, symposia, and workshops to review the rapid development in the diverse fields of clinical biochemistry as presented by eminent invited speakers from around the world. A number of important poster presentations were displayed during the congress, showing future trends in clinical biochemistry. Tremendous progress has been made in clinical biochemistry over the past decade because of the application of new information and the development of new technologies. As a result, clinical biochemistsry now involves many disciplines ranging from basic to applied science, from research to practice and education, from technical methodology to clinical medicine, and from health care to diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Almost all the papers presented during the congress appear in this volume as full manuscripts, and it is hoped that this book will be a milestone in the development of clinical biochemistry internationally.
