Handbooks in Practical Animal Cell Biology is a series aimed to provide practical workbooks on specific primary cell lineages. Contributing authors to each volume have assumed that their readers will have a basic level of skill and knowledge of general cell culture techniques. The role of this volume on general cell culture techniques is two fold: First, to provide a grounding in the basics of cell culture techniques and second, to give practical details of setting up a cell culture facility from scratch or improving an existing one. The authors run a large and efficient cell culture facility at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London; however, the procedures and equipment that they describe are equally applicable to the laboratory with one laminar flow hood and one cell culture incubator. Cell culture novices would be well advised to gain competence in the culture of a few robust long-term cell lines prior to attempting the culture of one of the more demanding primary cell types described in the individual cell lineage volumes. Those with ample experience of cell culture techniques will find this volume most valuable for troubleshooting and for ideas on how to improve their cell culture facility.