An exploration of the growth of physiology, this book examines the general ideas of each period, ending with a challenging discussion of the limits of physical research on biological order. The bibliography in English follows each chapter and has several hundred citations.

This history of exercise physiology is written from a systems perspective. It examines the responses of key physiological systems to the conditions of acute and chronic exercise, as well as their coupling with integrative responses.

HE history of high-altitude physiology and medicine is such a rich and T colorful topic that it is perhaps surprising that no one has undertaken a comprehensive account before. There are so many interesting ramifications, from the early balloonists to the various high-altitude expeditions, culminating in the great saga of climbing Mt. Everest without supplementary oxygen. Underpinning this variety is the basic biological challenge of hypoxia and the ways organisms adapt to it, a subject that is of key importance in medicine and many other life sciences, encountered as it is by organisms throughout the animal kingdom. I hope that this book will be of interest to a wide range of people, from biologists and physiologists to pulmonologists and others who manage patients with hypoxemia. The topic should also appeal to those who love the mountains including trekkers, skiers, climbers, and mountaineers. The book begins with a short introductory chapter to set the scene for the non-scientist. It then follows a general chronological sequence beginning with the Greeks and ending with contemporary events. In some places, however some compromises have been made to group together areas of related interest. For example, in Chapter 4 the controversy about oxygen secretion is traced from the 1870s to the 1930s and includes the Anglo-American Pikes Peak Ex pedition of 1911 and the International High-Altitude Expedition to Cerro de Pasco, Peru during 1921-1922. It makes sense to consider these events together.

Life history theory seeks to explain the evolution of the major features of life cycles by analyzing the ecological factors that shape age-specific schedules of growth, reproduction, and survival and by investigating the trade-offs that constrain the evolution of these traits. Although life history theory has made enormous progress in explaining the diversity of life history strategies among species, it traditionally ignores the underlying proximate mechanisms. This novel book argues that many fundamental problems in life history evolution, including the nature of trade-offs, can only be fully resolved if we begin to integrate information on developmental, physiological, and genetic mechanisms into the classical life history framework. Each chapter is written by an established or up-and-coming leader in their respective field; they not only represent the state of the art but also offer fresh perspectives for future research. The text is divided into 7 sections that cover basic concepts (Part 1), the mechanisms that affect different parts of the life cycle (growth, development, and maturation; reproduction; and aging and somatic maintenance) (Parts 2-4), life history plasticity (Part 5), life history integration and trade-offs (Part 6), and concludes with a synthesis chapter written by a prominent leader in the field and an editorial postscript (Part 7).

During the long twentieth century, explorers went in unprecedented numbers to the hottest, coldest, and highest points on the globe. Taking us from the Himalaya to Antarctica and beyond, Higher and Colder presents the first history of extreme physiology, the study of the human body at its physical limits. Each chapter explores a seminal question in the history of science, while also showing how the apparently exotic locations and experiments contributed to broader political and social shifts in twentieth-century scientific thinking. Unlike most books on modern biomedicine, Higher and Colder focuses on fieldwork, expeditions, and exploration, and in doing so provides a welcome alternative to laboratory-dominated accounts of the history of modern life sciences. Though centered on male-dominated practices—science and exploration—it recovers the stories of women’s contributions that were sometimes accidentally, and sometimes deliberately, erased. Engaging and provocative, this book is a history of the scientists and physiologists who face challenges that are physically demanding, frequently dangerous, and sometimes fatal, in the interest of advancing modern science and pushing the boundaries of human ability.

Beginning with the medical knowledge of the ancient Graeco-Roman world, this authoritative, easy-to-read reference presents a unique history of breathing physiology-detailing the evolution of our understanding of breathing mechanisms and the physiological function of breathing.

This volume offers a comprehensive history of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (MDIBL), one of the major marine laboratories in the United States and a leader in using marine organisms to study fundamental physiological concepts. Beginning with its founding as the Harpswell Laboratory of Tufts University in 1898, David H. Evans follows its evolution from a teaching facility to a research center for distinguished renal and epithelial physiologists. He also describes how it became the site of major advances in cytokinesis, regeneration, cardiac and vascular physiology, hepatic physiology, endocrinology and toxicology, as well as studies of the comparative physiology of marine organisms. Fundamental physiological concepts in the context of the discoveries made at the MDIBL are explained and the social and administrative history of this renowned facility is described.