  We review the experimental and theoretical results obtained during the past
decade on the structure and rheology of wormlike micellar solutions. We focus
on the linear and nonlinear viscoelasticity and emphasize the analogies with
polymers. Based on a comprehensive survey of surfactant systems, the present
study shows the existence of standard rheological behaviors for semidilute and
concentrated solutions. One feature of this behavior is a shear banding
transition associated with a stress plateau in the nonlinear mechanical
response. For concentrated solutions, we show that in the plateau region the
shear bands are isotropic and nematic.
