B 



Nerve and Muscle 



Introduction to Part B 



The following six chapters are' devoted to biophysical 

 studies of nerves and muscles and to the interpretation of 

 other phenomena in terms of the properties of these two 

 tissues. The first chapter of this part (Chapter 4) con- 

 tains a discussion of the conduction of information by 

 nerve fibers in the form of electrical impulses. Several 

 concepts of basic electrical theory, needed in various 

 chapters throughout the text, are summarized in Appendix 

 C ; it is hoped that readers unfamiliar with these terms will 

 read that appendix. 



In Chapter 5, "Electrical Potentials of the Brain," the 

 so-called "electroencephalographic waves" are described. 

 Their interpretation and relationship to nerve impulse 

 conduction is also discussed. Chapters 6 and 7 discuss the 

 neural mechanisms associated with hearing and vision, 

 respectively. The ideas presented in Chapters 1 through 

 5 are used in these two chapters about the neural aspects 

 of hearing and vision. 



The physical and chemical nature of muscular con- 

 traction forms the basis for Chapter 8. Some biochemical 

 concepts, presented more fully in later chapters, are intro- 

 duced in order to restrict the discussion of muscles to 

 Chapter 8. Finally, the last chapter in Part B, 

 "Mechanical and Electrical Character of the Heart Beat," 

 applies many of the ideas presented in Chapters 4 and 8 

 to the mammalian heart. 



The molecular description of the action of nerve axons 

 is deferred to Chapter 24 following discussions of thermo- 

 dynamics and active transport. 



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