This compact and concise monograph lays a foundation for the understanding of normal cardiovascular function. Students welcome the book as a practical partner or alternative to a more mechanistically oriented approach or an encyclopedic physiology text. Especially clear explanations, ample illustrations, clinical cases and problems, and chapter-opening learning objectives provide guidance for self-directed learning and help fill the gap in many of today's abbreviated physiology blocks. A focus on well-established cardiovascular principles reflects recent, widely accepted research.