Human Physiology is the English version of a time-honored German textbook first published by HERMANN REIN in 1936. We undertook the preparation of a completely revised 20th edition with the intention of making the book accessible to a wide range of English-speaking readers. The subject-matter was therefore organized so as to corre­ spond to the structuring of physiology courses in most countries of the world. The book is directed primarily at students of medicine. Its aim is to enable them to un­ derstand living processes in the human organism, providing the basis for the scientific understanding of pathological changes. The material was chosen to give the reader not only the knowledge required for passing examinations, but also information necessary for a subsequent professional career. For this reason special attention was devoted to pathophysiological aspects. We hope that the book will prove a useful reference on the present status of physiology for physicians in private and hospital practice as well as for its primary readership. The book should also serve biologists, biochemists, pharmacologists, pharmacists, and psy­ chologist as a source of information on the physiological principles underlying their disciplines.

I. Nervous System.- 1 Function of Nerve Cells.- 1.1 Nerve Cells: General Structure and Function.- 1.2 The Resting Potential.- Measurement of the Membrane Potential.- Charge Distribution at the Membrane.- K + Distribution and Resting Potential.- Contribution of CI- to the Resting Potential.- The Passive Na+ Inflow.- The Sodium Pump.- Survey of the Ion Currents through the Membrane.- 1.3 The Action Potential.- Time Courses of Action Potentials.- The Origin of the Action Potential.- Kinetics of Ionic Currents during Excitation.- The Inactivation of the Na + System.- Ion Currents during the Afterpotentials.- 1.4 Extracellular Space and Neuroglia.- 1.5 Electrotonus and Stimulus.- Electrotonus in the Case of Homogeneous Current Distribution.- Electrotonus in Elongated Cells.- Stimulus and Threshold.- Threshold Shifts; Accommodation.- 1.6 Propagation of the Action Potential.- Measurement of Conduction Velocity.- Mechanisms of Conduction.- 1.7 The Generation of Excitation in Receptors.- The Receptor Potential.- Transformation of the Receptor Potential into Excitation.- Adaptation.- Coding of Stimulus Amplitude as Impulse Frequency.- 1.8 Axonal Transport.- Rapid Axonal Transport.- Retrograde Transport.- Mechanism of Transport.- Axonal Transport and Pathological Conditions.- 1.9 References.- 2 Muscle.- 2.1 The Molecular Mechanism of Contraction.- Sliding-Filament Theory.- The Chemomechanical Energy Transformations.- 2.2 The Regulation of Muscle Contraction.- Excitation-Contraction Coupling.- Regulation of Muscle Force in the Human Body.- 2.3 Muscle Mechanics.- Isometric Contractile Force and Muscle Length.- Relation between Load and Shortening of the Muscle.- Relation between Contraction Velocity and Force (Load).- 2.4 Muscle Energetics.- 2.5 Smooth Muscle.- 2.6 References.- 3 The Transmission of Excitation from Cell to Cell.- 3.1 The Neuromuscular Junction: A Chemical Synapse.- Structural Elements of the End Plate.- The End-Plate Potential.- The Release of Transmitter Substance.- The Transmitter Acetylcholine; Its Subsynaptic Receptors.- Neuromuscular Blockade.- 3.2 Central Excitatory Chemical Synapses.- The Excitation of the Motoneuron.- EPSPs in Other Nerve Cells.- 3.3 Central Inhibitory Chemical Synapses.- Postsynaptic Inhibition.- Presynaptic Inhibition.- 3.4 The Transmitters at Chemical Synapses.- Absence of Transmitter Specificity.- Acetylcholine as a Transmitter Substance in the Nervous System.- Adrenergic Transmitter Substances.- Amino Acids.- Other Possible Transmitters.- 3.5 Electrical Synapses.- 3.6 References.- 4 Physiology of Small Groups of Neurons; Reflexes.- 4.1 Typical Neuronal Circuits.- Divergence and Convergence.- Temporal and Spatial Facilitation; Occlusion.- Simple Inhibitory Circuits.- Activity-Enhancing Circuits and Mechanisms.- Synaptic Depression.- 4.2 Reflexes.- Components of a Reflex Arc; Reflex Time.- The Monosynaptic Reflex Arc.- Polysynaptic Reflexes.- 4.3 References.- 5 Motor Systems.- 5.1 Survey of the Neural Control of Posture and Movement.- 5.2 Spinal Motor Systems.- Receptors for the Spinal Sensory and Motor Systems.- Functions of the Muscle Spindles and Tendon Organs.- Polysynaptic Motor Reflexes.- Functions That Persist in the Isolated Spinal Cord.- 5.3 Motor Functions of the Brainstem.- Functional Anatomy of the Brainstem Motor Centers.- Motor Function in Decerebrate Animals.- Motor Functions of the Midbrain Animal.- 5.4 The Cerebellum.- Functional Anatomy of the Cerebellum.- The Cerebellar Cortex.- Afferent and Efferent Connections of the Cerebellum.- Functions of the Cerebellum.- Pathophysiological Aspects.- 5.5 Functions of the Motor Cortex and the Basal Ganglia.- Which Are the Motor Areas of the Cortex?.- Functional Organization of the Motor Cortex.- Efferent Connections of the Motor Cortex.- The Basal Ganglia.- Motor Cortex, Thalamus, Basal Ganglia and Movement.- The Drive to Act and the Movement Design.- 5.6 Pathophysiology of Motor Systems.- Peripheral Paralysis.- Pathophysiology ofthe Basal Ganglia.- Pathophysiology of the Motor Cortex and its Efferents.- 5.7 References.- 6 The Autonomic Nervous System.- 6.1 The Peripheral Autonomic Nervous System.- Anatomical Subdivisions.- The Actions of Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Fibers on Effector Organs.- Neurohumoral Transmission in the Peripheral Autonomic Nervous System.- The Adrenal Medulla. The Systemic Actions of Adrenalin and Noradrenalin.- Synaptic Organization of the Peripheral Autonomic Nervous System.- 6.2 Central Organization of the Autonomic Nervous System in Spinal Cord and Brainstem.- Resting Activity in the Autonomic Nervous System.- Autonomic Reflexes of the Spinal Cord.- Autonomic Capabilities of the Brainstem.- 6.3 Micturition and Defecation.- Neuronal Control of Bladder Evacuation.- Neuronal Control of Bowel Evacuation.- 6.4 Genital Reflexes.- Genital Reflexes in the Man.- Genital Reflexes in the Woman.- Extragenital Reactions during the Sexual Response Cycle.- 6.5 Functions of the Hypothalamus.- Functional Anatomy of the Hypothalamus.- The Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System.- Hypothalamus and Cardiovascular System.- Hypothalamus and Behavior.- 6.6 Limbic System and Behavior.- Elements of the Limbic System.- Functions of the Limbic System.- Emotions and the Limbic System.- Monoaminergic Systems and Behavior.- 6.7 References.- 7 Integrative Functions of the Nervous System.- 7.1 General Physiology of the Cerebral Cortex.- Functional Histology of the Cerebral Cortex.- Electrophysiological Correlates of Cortical Activity.- The Electroencephalogram (EEG).- Cerebral Activity, Metabolism and Blood Flow.- 7.2 Waking and Sleeping.- Circadian Periodicity as the Basis of the Waking/Sleeping Rhythm.- Phenomenology of Waking and Sleeping.- Mechanisms of Waking and Sleeping.- 7.3 Neurophysiological Correlates of Consciousness and Speech.- Consciousness in Humans and Animals.- Functional and Structural Prerequisites for Consciousness.- Neurophysiological Aspects of Speech.- 7.4 Learning and Memory.- Human Memory.- Disturbances of Memory.- Neuronal Mechanisms.- Biochemical (Molecular) Mechanisms of the Engram.- Learning in the Autonomic Nervous System.- 7.5 The Frontal Lobes.- Inferences from Frontal-Lobe Lesions in Humans.- Frontal-Lobe Symptoms in Animal Experiments.- 7.6 References.- II. Sense Organs.- 8 General Sensory Physiology.- 8.1 Basic Concepts.- Objective and Subjective Sensory Physiology.- Basic Dimensions of Sensation.- 8.2 General Objective Sensory Physiology.- Specificity of Sense Organs.- Neuronal Connectivity in the Sensory System.- Receptive Field.- Intensity/Response Relationships.- 8.3 Stimulus and Behavior.- Conditioned Reflex and the Conditiorung Process.- Measurement of Dark Adaptation by O…