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When inserted into cells, or used extracellularly in special ways, micropipettes can provide channels for recording the electrical activity of single cells, even cells buried in a mass of tissue such as the brain. Micropipettes can also provide channels for injecting substances into individual cells for a variety of experimental purposes, and this is likewise a necessary step in genetic engineering. Micropipettes are thus critical tools in modern cell physiology, but many aspects of how they are best fabricated and used in various types of work have been little understood. For the last 12 years, the authors of this book have collaborated upon research in this field, a uniquely intensive and extensive effort in the subject that has provided a great deal of new and helpful information. This book reports fully their findings and insights, including much work of the last eight years that has not been described elsewhere. In treating each aspect of micropipette technique, an attempt is made to present and evaluate all noteworthy contributions within a historical context and to summarize the present status of our knowledge.Special attention is given to how each aspect of technique should be adapted to best meet the needs of particular types of research. Emphasis is also placed upon how these techniques may be extended to meet the stringent requirements of systematic and high quality intracellular work in small cells, an exceptionally broad and promising field for future work.