Prefatory Chapter: Muscular Contraction
1988; Annual Reviews; Volume: 50; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1146/annurev.physiol.50.1.1
ISSN1545-1585
Autores Tópico(s)Muscle Physiology and Disorders
Resumo=Since 1950 each issue of the Annual Review of Physiology has opened with an article by a well-known physiologist reviewing aspects of the history of the subject or of his own life and work. The Editor invited me to write this year's prefatory chapter but proposed that this, the fiftieth issue, should be the first in which there should be a different emphasis. He proposed that the new format present perspectives on topics by experts in the field ... We would hope that the author would summarize the key background material, provide a state-of-the-art view of the subject, pose the important unanswered questions (as well as the approaches to possible solutions), and speculate a bit about future developments. He asked me to write on muscle, adding in a parenthesis could include cardiac and smooth too, if you so desire. I do not so desire, for two good reasons: First, I am not familiar enough with either of those rapidly expanding fields, and second, to do so would expand the topic far beyond what could be dealt with in the space I was offered. For the same two reasons, I shall not aim to cover the whole field of skeletal muscle but shall restrict myself to an aspect on which I have myself been engaged, namely, the actual mechanism by which force and shortening are brought about. I shall not touch on the metabolism, excitation, excitation contraction coupling, structure, development, or disease of muscle. Again, for the same two reasons I shall not aim to be comprehensive but will take this as an opportunity to present a personal viewpoint, concentrating on ex perimental work on the intact contractile system rather than biochemical or
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