Preface

It is an honor to serve as a primary author of such a well-written text that appropriately clarifies the concepts of cardiovascular physiology. I have nothing but gratitude to the founding authors, Drs. Mohrman and Heller, for their focus on learners not getting “lost in the forest for the trees.” I vividly remember using this textbook during my graduate education in the late 1990s and early 2000s at Temple University as I developed my love for cardiovascular physiology. Thank you to them for helping me to share the passion with future learners.

The cardiovascular system is simple in a conceptual nature as its function is to establish a pressure gradient to ensure perfusion throughout the body and ultimately the brain. On the other side, the cardiovascular system is complex in design as it consists of multiple components that students learn separately until they eventually discover that the variables are dependent on each other. Despite the cardiovascular system being challenging, certain concepts transcend across the system (Ohm’s Law) and as students learn them, they are able to better understand pathologies and disease states of the cardiovascular system and the related clinical signs and symptoms.

The tenth edition focuses on ensuring that mechanisms are the most up-to-date. Additionally, questions have been updated and clarified to help learners gauge their understanding.

Foremost, I thank my wife Renata and my two daughters, Isabella and Alicia, for their support and loving me even on my “worst” days. I would also like to thank my mentors, colleagues, and learners for what they have taught me over the years through various conversations and sessions.