Excitation-contraction coupling and cardiac contractile force by Donald M. Bers. Introduction by W. J. Lederer. This book provides an overview of calcium regulation in cardiac muscle cells, focusing on excitation-contraction coupling and the control of cardiac contractile force. It is intended for students and researchers in various disciplines, including physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, and pathophysiology. The book includes numerous illustrations and tables to help integrate results from various studies. It also presents key findings from important papers. The author draws on his personal experience in the field over the past 15 years to maintain continuity of thought. The book is up-to-date and includes discussions of exciting questions in the field. It also addresses species differences in cardiac contraction regulation. The book covers major cellular structures involved in excitation-contraction coupling, including the sarcolemma, transverse tubules, extracellular space, sarcoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and myofilaments. It discusses the role of myofilaments in excitation-contraction coupling, the sources and sinks of activator calcium, calcium influx via sarcolemmal calcium channels, the sodium-calcium exchange and sarcolemmal calcium pump, sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium uptake, content, and release, and excitation-contraction coupling. The book also discusses the control of cardiac contraction by sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium release and sarcolemmal calcium fluxes, cardiac inotropy and calcium overload, and other topics. The book includes a table of contents, a table of figures, and a table of tables. It is a comprehensive resource for researchers and students in the field of cardiovascular medicine.Excitation-contraction coupling and cardiac contractile force by Donald M. Bers. Introduction by W. J. Lederer. This book provides an overview of calcium regulation in cardiac muscle cells, focusing on excitation-contraction coupling and the control of cardiac contractile force. It is intended for students and researchers in various disciplines, including physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, and pathophysiology. The book includes numerous illustrations and tables to help integrate results from various studies. It also presents key findings from important papers. The author draws on his personal experience in the field over the past 15 years to maintain continuity of thought. The book is up-to-date and includes discussions of exciting questions in the field. It also addresses species differences in cardiac contraction regulation. The book covers major cellular structures involved in excitation-contraction coupling, including the sarcolemma, transverse tubules, extracellular space, sarcoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and myofilaments. It discusses the role of myofilaments in excitation-contraction coupling, the sources and sinks of activator calcium, calcium influx via sarcolemmal calcium channels, the sodium-calcium exchange and sarcolemmal calcium pump, sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium uptake, content, and release, and excitation-contraction coupling. The book also discusses the control of cardiac contraction by sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium release and sarcolemmal calcium fluxes, cardiac inotropy and calcium overload, and other topics. The book includes a table of contents, a table of figures, and a table of tables. It is a comprehensive resource for researchers and students in the field of cardiovascular medicine.