Bioelectricity: A Quantitative Approach / Edition 1

by Roger C. Barr, Robert Plonsey

Overview

This text is an introduction to electrophysiology, following a quantitative approach. The first chapter summarizes much of the mathematics required in the following chapters. The second chapter presents a very concise overview of the general principles of electrical fields and current flow, mostly es­ tablished in physical science and engineering, but also applicable to biolog­ ical environments. The following five chapters are the core material of this text. They include descriptions of how voltages come to exist across membranes and how these are described using the Nernst and Goldman equations (Chapter 3), an examination of the time course of changes in membrane voltages that produce action potentials (Chapter 4), propagation of action potentials down fibers (Chapter 5), the response of fibers to artificial stimuli such as those used in pacemakers (Chapter 6), and the voltages and currents produced by these active processes in the surrounding extracellular space (Chapter 7). The subsequent chapters present more detailed material about the application of these principles to the study of cardiac and neural electrophysiology, and include a chapter on recent developments in mem­ brane biophysics. The study of electrophysiology has progressed rapidly because of the precise, delicate, and ingenious experimental studies of many investigators. The field has also made great strides by unifying the numerous experimental observations through the development of increasingly accurate theoretical concepts and mathematical descriptions. The application of these fundamental principles has in turn formed a basis for the solution of many different electrophysiological problems.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306428944
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	08/31/1988
Series:	Quantum Approach
Edition description:	1988
Pages:	306
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.03(d)

About the Author

Robert Plonsey is a Pfizer-Pratt Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. He received the PhD in Electrical Engineering from University of California in 1955. He received the Dr. of Technical Science from the Slovak Academy of Science in 1995 and was Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve, University, 1976-1980, Professor 1968-1983. Awards: Fellow of AAAS, William Morlock Award 1979, Centennial Medal 1984, Millenium Medal 2000, from IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Ragnar Granit Prize 2004, (First) Merit Award, 1997, International Union for Physiological & Engineering Science in Medicine, the Theo Pilkington Outstanding Educator Award, 2005, Distinguished Service award, Biomedical Engineering Science, 2004, ALZA distinguished lecturer, 1988. He was elected Member, National Academy of Engineering, 1986 ("For the application of electromagnetic field theory to biology, and for distinguished leadership in the emerging profession of biomedical engineering").

Roger C. Barr is Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Duke University. In past years he served as the Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke, and then as Vice President and President of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. He received the Duke University Scholar-Teacher Award in 1991. He is the author of more than 100 research papers about topics in bioelectricity and is a Fellow of the IEEE and American College of Cardiology. This text is a product of interactions with students, and in this regard he has taught the bioelectricity course sequence numerous times.

Table of Contents

1. Vector Analysis.- 2. Electrical Sources and Fields.- 3. Introduction to Membrane Biophysics.- 4. Action Potentials.- 5. Propagation.- 6. Subthreshold Stimuli.- 7. Extracellular Fields.- 8. Membrane Biophysics.- 9. The Electrophysiology of the Heart.- 10. The Neuromuscular Junction.- 11. Skeletal Muscle.- 12. Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation.