This volume provides an exhaustive review of the most current knowledge of the composition, architecture and dynamics of the nuclear envelope. In contrast to other comprehensive works on cellular membranes in general, this book is the first to specifically address the nuclear envelope. Experts in the field relate the different domains of the nuclear envelope, their biogenesis, their composition, their mode of targeting to chromosomes and how they dissociate from chromosomes upon cell division. A wealth of information from several experimental systems is provided, such as dividing somatic cells, embryos and nuclear assembly assays in cell-free extracts, in a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate organisms ranging from humans to yeast. The book also contains up-to-date reviews on the relationship between mutations in proteins of the nuclear envelope and Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy. The breadth of topics covered in what may seem to be a field as narrow as the nuclear envelope makes this volume a valuable reference.