Stellar abundance profiles in disk galaxies

Long-lived stars are unique tracers of galactic chemical evolution since they give the opportunity to study the incremental build-up of chemical elements and not only the convolved end (as far as we are concerned) result. They also offer a different mix of chemical elements for study, as compared to nebulous objects. I discuss the virtues of stars and stellar aggregates as probes of galactic evolution but also some complications and uncertainties associated with their analysis. Due to the faintness of stars, we have only just seen the beginning of their use for "chemical" studies of nearby galaxies.