Pharmacology of Neuromuscular Function

Pharmacology of Neuromuscular Function, Second Edition provides information pertinent to drugs that affect membrane potentials of the conduction of action potentials in nerve endings and muscle fibers. This book reviews, in a general way, some of the properties of excitable membranes. Organized into seven chapters, this edition begins with an overview of innervation of striated muscles by somatic efferent nerve fibers. This text then explains the transmission from nerve to muscle, which is mediated by acetylcholine that is synthesized and stored in the axon terminals. Other chapters consider the different steps in the transmission process that occur in the nerve endings, which may be modified by the actions of drugs and toxins. This book discusses as well the primary action of neuromuscular-blocking agents. The final chapter deals with the cytoplasm of a muscle cell or fiber that contains all the usual subcellular organelles, including mitochondria and nuclei. This book is a valuable resource for pharmacologists and anesthetists.