Chemistry of Muscular 

 Contraction 



SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED 



By A. Szent-Gyorgyi 

 1951, 162 pp.. 55 illustrations, $150 



The first edition of this book stirred scientific imagination, was the 

 subject of heated discussions, and opened new vistas for our understanding 

 of muscular contraction. The experimental observations published in 1947 

 are now the generally accepted foundation of a new muscle physiology. 

 These observations, made under the unfavorable conditions of war and 

 political persecution, have been sifted and greatly extended by the author 

 in the United States. They are now incorporated into the completely re- 

 written and enlarged edition, featuring entirely new lines such as electron 

 microscopy and thermodynamics. Attempts also have been made to corre- 

 late the chemistry and function of muscle. 



The driving force underlying the work is a craving to understand life, 

 the basic plan of the living machine. Using muscle a5 experimental mate- 

 rial. Professor Szent-Gyorgyi once more demonstrates his rare gift of pre- 

 senting intricate problems in a refreshingly vigorous style. 



CONTENTS: 



Introduction Actin and Myosin in Muscle 



The Structure of Muscle Thermodynamics 



Whole Muscle Energetics and Mechanics 



The Physical Disintegration of xhe Contraction Cycle 



Muscle 



Smooth Muscle and Heart ^iuscl^ 

 The Chemical Disintegration of 



Muscle "^^^^ Continuum Theory 



Myosin Water and Viruses 



Actin Appendix 



Actomvosin References, 



