Basement Membranes focuses on specialized extracellular matrices that provide the scaffolds used and required by cells to organize themselves into tissues and organs. As basement membranes have been shown to be defective in numerous genetic and acquired diseases and to contribute to the microenvironment of both tumor cells and stem cells, this book presents a view of specific basement membrane components and their roles in development and disease, all written and commented on in chapters written by leaders in the basement membrane field.