Skeletal Muscle: Form and Function

Skeletal Muscle: Form and Function, Second Edition, provides readers with a detailed understanding of the different facets of muscle physiology. Meticulously researched and updated, this text examines motoneuron and muscle structure and function. It is intended for those who need to know about skeletal muscle—from undergraduate and graduate students gaining advanced knowledge in kinesiology to physiotherapists, physiatrists, and other professionals whose work demands understanding of muscle form and function.

A unique feature of this book is that it combines basic sciences (anatomy, physiology, biophysics, and chemistry) with clinical applications (detection of disease and genetic mutations and training and rehabilitation). Each chapter ends with a section on clinical and other applied aspects of the information presented in that chapter, showing, for example, how specific defects of muscle or nerve cells can result in certain clinical disorders. The result is a thorough understanding of skeletal muscle structure and physiology.

This new edition includes the following:

-The latest research in all areas of muscle physiology

-Major revisions of chapters covering muscle contraction, muscle metabolism, and fatigue

-More than 200 drawings (many of them original) and 30 photos (mostly micrographs), all of which clarify and augment the text

-Pedagogical aids to facilitate comprehension, including key points in the margins, special interest points, an index, and a greatly expanded glossary
Skeletal Muscle: Form and Function, Second Edition, is divided into three parts. Part I presents the structures of the neuromuscular system: muscle, motoneurons, and neuromuscular junctions and sensory receptors as well as the development of these structures. Part II examines muscle function, including neuromuscular transmission, muscle contraction, motor units, and muscle metabolism. Part III focuses on the adaptability of the neuromuscular system. Among the issues it explores are fatigue, loss and recovery of muscle innervation, trophism, muscle training, and injury and repair.

The depth and breadth of the contents, combined with the practical applications, make this book the leading authority on the structure, electrophysiology, and adaptability of human skeletal muscle. It is an excellent text for students and a practical and up-to-date reference for professionals.

Brian R. MacIntosh, PhD, is associate dean of the graduate program and professor for the faculty of kinesiology at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. MacIntosh is on the cutting edge of research in skeletal muscle and has published more than 50 papers and numerous book chapters in muscle and exercise physiology. He has been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in these areas for 25 years and is a member of the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, the Canadian Physiological Society, the American Physiological Society, the American College of Sports Medicine, the Biophysical Society, and the Human Powered Vehicles Association. He is also an associate editor for the Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology and a former board member for the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology.

Phillip Gardiner, PhD, is director of the Health, Leisure & Human Performance Research Institute at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is also an adjunct professor of physiology, a member of the Spinal Cord Research Center in the faculty of medicine at the University of Manitoba, and a Canada Research Chair, a position given to internationally renowned researchers. Gardiner is past president of the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology and previous coeditor in chief of the Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology. He has published extensively in the area of neuromuscular adaptations and authored the book Neuromuscular Aspects of Physical Activity.

Alan J. McComas, MB, is emeritus professor of medicine (in neurology) at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. McComas has more than 40 years of research experience in nerve and muscle. Among his accomplishments in research are devising a method for estimating the number of human motor units in human muscle, showing the importance of the electrogenic sodium pump in delaying fatigue, and carrying out early microelectrode studies of human muscle fibers. He has held named lectureships and is a member of the Society for Neuroscience.