This book consists of 23 essays about prominent people and events in the history of respiratory physiology. It provides a first-hand chronicle of the advancements made in respiratory physiology starting with Galen and the beginnings of Western physiology. The volume covers every aspect of the evolution of this important area of knowledge: pulmonary circulation, Boyle’s Law, pulmonary capillaries and alveoli, morphology, gas exchange and blood flow, mechanics, control of ventilation, and comparative physiology. The book emphasizes societal and philosophical aspects of the history of science. Although it concentrates on physiology, it also describes how cultural movements, such as The Enlightenment, shaped the researchers discussed. This book is published on behalf of the American Physiological Society by Springer. Access to APS books published with Springer is free to APS members.

A New Companion to Milton builds on the critically-acclaimed original, bringing alive the diverse and controversial world of contemporary Milton studies while reflecting the very latest advances in research in the field. Comprises 36 powerful readings of Milton's texts and the contexts in which they were created, each written by a leading scholar Retains 28 of the award-winning essays from the first edition, revised and updated to reflect the most recent research Contains a new section exploring Milton's global impact, in China, India, Japan, Korea, in Spanish speaking American and the Arab-speaking world Includes eight completely new full-length essays, each of which engages closely with Milton's poetic oeuvre, and a new chronology which sets Milton's life and work in the context of his age Explores literary production and cultural ideologies, issues of politics, gender and religion, individual Milton texts, and responses to Milton over time

This book illustrates applications of mathematics to various processes (physiological or artificial) involving flowing blood, including hemorheology, microcirculation, coagulation, kidney filtration and dialysis, offering a historical overview of each topic. Mathematical models are used to simulate processes normally occurring in flowing blood and to predict the effects of dysfunctions (e.g. bleeding disorders, renal failure), as well as the effects of therapies with an eye to improving treatments. Most of the models have a completely new approach that makes patient-specific simulations possible. The book is mainly intended for mathematicians interested in medical applications, but it is also useful for clinicians such as hematologists, nephrologists, cardio-surgeons, and bioengineers. Some parts require no specific knowledge of mathematics. The book is a valuable addition to mathematics, medical, biology, and bioengineering libraries.

Oxygen uptake for metabolic energy demand and the elimination of the resulting carbon dioxide is one of the essential processes in all higher life forms; in the case of animals, everything from protozoans to insects and vertebrates including humans. Respiratory Biology of Animals provides a contemporary and truly integrative approach to the topic, adopting a strong evolutionary theme. It covers aerobic metabolism at all levels, from gas exchange organs such as skin, gills, and lungs to mitochondria - the site of cellular respiration. The book also describes the functional morphology and physiology of the circulatory system, which often contains gas-carrying pigments and is important for pH regulation in the organism. A final section describes the evolution of animal respiratory systems. Throughout the book, examples are selected from the entire breadth of the animal kingdom, identifying common themes that transcend taxonomy. Respiratory Biology of Animals is an accessible supplementary text suitable for both senior undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in respiratory biology, comparative animal physiology, and environmental physiology. It is also of relevance and use to the many professional academics requiring a concise but authoritative overview of the topic.

This text provides an account of the development of medical science in its various branches, and includes discussions of the medical profession and its institutions, and the impact of medicine upon populations, economic development, culture, religions, and thought.

This book is an informal autobiography by John West MD PhD. He obtained his medical degree in Adelaide, Australia and then spent 15 years mainly at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital in London where he, with others, used radioactive oxygen-15 to make the first description of the uneven regional distribution of blood flow in the lung. In 1960-1961, he was a member of the Himalayan Scientific and Mountaineering Expedition led by Sir Edmund Hillary who had made the first ascent of Mt Everest 7 years before. During the expedition about 6 scientists spent up to three months at an altitude of 5800 m studying the effects of this very high altitude on human physiology. Because of his interests in the effects of gravity on the lung, Dr. West spent a year at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California in 1967-1968. While there he submitted a proposal to NASA to measure pulmonary function of astronauts in space, and this was funded. Later, in 1981 he organized the American Medical Research Expedition to Everest during which the first measurements of human physiology on the summit, altitude 8848 m, were obtained. In the 1990’s, Dr. West’s team made the first comprehensive measurements of pulmonary function of astronauts in space using SpaceLab which was taken up in the Shuttle.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.