West's Respiratory Physiology

This book argues that early American history is best understood as the story of a settler-colonial supplanting society—a society intent on a vast land grab of American Indian space and driven by a logic of elimination and a genocidal imperative to rid the new white settler living space of its existing Indigenous inhabitants.

Breathing is usually automatic and without conscious effort; yet our breathing is a complex motor function requiring the coordinated activation of a number of respiratory muscles that span from our heads to our abdomen. Some of our respiratory muscles serve to pump air into and out of our lungs (ventilation). These pump muscles act on the thoracic and abdominal walls and are all skeletal muscles. Other respiratory muscles in our bodies control the caliber of the passageway for air to enter our lungs. These airway muscles include skeletal muscles of the head (e.g., tongue and suprahyoid muscles) and neck (infrahyoid, pharyngeal and laryngeal muscles), as well as smooth muscles that line our trachea and bronchi down to the alveoli where gas exchange occurs. This book provides an overview of the anatomy and physiology of our respiratory muscles, including their neural control.

Sleep disorders represent a major portion of the chief complaints seen by pulmonologists and other physicians. Sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome for example, are common disorders with significant adverse health consequences.

Completely revised, the 4th Edition of this authoritative reference delivers a wealth of new information that enables readers to identify, treat, and manage a full range of respiratory disorders more easily than ever.