Review of Medical Physiology - William F. Ganong 2002

Introduction

This book is written for medical students and all others to provide a concise summary of human and mammalian physiology. It can be used as a primary textbook or as supplementary reading alongside other publications, current papers, monographs, and reviews. The book also highlights relevant aspects of general and comparative physiology. Each section includes appropriate anatomical backgrounds, although the book is primarily intended for readers who already have basic knowledge of anatomy, chemistry, and biochemistry. Relevant Examples from clinical medicine help illustrate the Physiological aspects of the discussed problems. In many chapters, physicians will find useful information or brief overviews of the most critical symptoms arising from functional disorders.

Human Physiology also includes a self-study section to help students review material before exams and tests, as well as an Appendix consisting of general References, a Structure/133.html">Discussion of statistical analysis Methods, a glossary of Abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols commonly used in physiology, and several helpful reference tables. The subject index is extensive.

In writing this book, the author could not achieve a complete and concise presentation without being somewhat dogmatic. Most Conclusions are presented without a detailed discussion of the underlying experimental data, or the proofs and evidence available today. A significant portion of the information can be found alongside the illustrations. Further discussion of specific topics and subjects not covered in detail can be found in the literature cited at the end of each section. Information regarding series of published reviews that provide up-to-date discussions on various physiological problems is also included in the general references within the appendix. Due to The Need for brevity, the names of researchers whose work made fundamental contributions to The Study of physiology have generally been omitted. This is not intended to diminish The Significance of their contributions, but citing all names and original articles would have substantially increased the size of the book.

In the twentieth edition, as in previous ones, the entire book has been thoroughly revised to eliminate errors, incorporate readers' feedback and modern concepts, and remove outdated material. Since the last edition—which coincided with an explosion of knowledge regarding extracellular signaling pathways initiating changes in Gene Expression and the GENETIC BASIS OF diseases—material on these topics has been thoroughly updated. The immunology section has been rewritten and expanded to further clarify the relationship between innate and acquired Immunity. The chapters on the Cerebral Cortex responsible for Vision, Hearing, and Olfaction have also been revised; the chapter on Sleep and wakefulness has been overhauled with an emphasis on the vital role of thalamocortical oscillations. Many other topics have been updated, including descriptions of Molecular Motors, cardiac Hormones, motilin and gastrointestinal motility, acute-phase Proteins, sleep apnea, and the mechanisms of addiction.

The self-study section has also been updated, with a strong focus on illustrating how human physiology changes in response to disease development, in alignment with the modern requirements of medical licensing examinations.

I am deeply indebted to many individuals who assisted in the preparation of this edition. Special thanks go to Dr. Walter Miller, Dr. Melvin Grumbach, Dr. Stephan McPhee, and Dr. Dolores Shoback for their contributions to the twentieth edition. Jessie Lowesberg provided invaluable secretarial assistance, and, as always, my wife's support greatly facilitated the writing of this book. Jim Reis, who edited the first edition of this book 40 years ago, returned to collaborate and has done an outstanding job. Many assistants and friends provided previously unpublished illustrations, and numerous authors and publishers generously granted permission to reprint and use illustrations from other books and journals. I also wish to thank all students and other individuals who took the time to send helpful critical comments and suggestions. Such feedback is always welcome, and I look forward to receiving your comments and suggestions at the following address:

Class="center">Department of Physiology

University of California

San Francisco, CA 94143-0444, USA

Since the first edition in 1963, subsequent translations have been published in Bulgarian, Greek (two editions), Indonesian (three editions), Spanish (sixteen editions), Italian (seven editions), Chinese (two independent translations), Korean, Malay, German (four editions), Polish (two editions), Portuguese (seven editions), Serbo-Croatian, Turkish (two editions), Hungarian, French, Czech (two editions), and Japanese (fifteen editions) languages. More information about this and other Lange and McGraw-Hill books can be found at www.mghmedical.com

William F. Ganong

San Francisco,

March 2001