A proper understanding of the physiology of membrane potentials and conduction of nerve impulses remains elusive to those without a working knowledge of mathematics and physics. For those not mathematically inclined this book has attempted to provide literal explanations to some of the fundamental concepts of. Nerve-muscle physiology that are rooted in mathematical physics.
Portals takes advantage of its modular format to give both the simplified version of a topic and a glimpse of its deeper foundations. Thus each chapter gives a simplified overview followed by detailed step-by-step elucidation of intricate concepts. This strategy which has been uniformly followed is specially discernable in the chapters on Resting Membrane Potential and Conduction of Nerve Impulses. Several common misconceptions have been specifically addressed e.g. the role of Na+-K+ pump in membrane potential effect of hyperkalemia on membrane potential ephaptic conduction across neurons and effect of temperature on muscle twitch. The discussion on compound action potential has been shifted to its proper context of electroneurography and students have been introduced to the elementary concepts of electromyography and some disorders of muscle contraction and relaxation. The chapter on the history of nerve & muscle physiology should delight postgraduate students of physiology.
Dr. Sircar is a perceptive teacher of medical physiology who has endeared himself to students at three premier medical colleges in India-Maulana Azad Medical College Delhi; Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College AMU Aligarh; and finally at the University College of Medical Sciences Delhi. Dr. Sircar also served on the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin as a Lecturer in Human Physiology and was rated well above average. Dr. Sircars ideas and innovations in physiology teaching are documented in international journals like the Medical Teacher and American Journal of Physioloqy (Advances in Physiology Education) in which he has several publications. He is a Member of the National Academy of Medical Sciences India and a Fellow of the International Union of Physiological Sciences. The prestigious IUPS fellowship is awarded to a single physiology teacher each year from the third world. Dr. Sircars research interest is in the area of electrophysiology of mental abilities an area not far removed from educational psychology or his passion for teaching. Dr. Sircar was probably the first in Indi to develop Computer Assisted Learning modules in physiology including an award-winning one in the eighties. His present work too replete with hyperlinks is evidently multimedia-compatible.
