This uniquely readable, compact, and concise monograph lays a foundation of knowledge of the underlying concepts of normal cardiovascular function. Students welcome the book's broad overview as a practical partner or alternative to a more mechanistically oriented approach or an encyclopedic physiology text. Especially clear explanations, ample illustrations, a helpful glossary of terms, tutorials, and chapter-opening learning objectives provide superb guidance for self-directed learning and help fill the gap in many of today's abbreviated physiology blocks. A focus on well-established cardiovascular principles reflects recent, widely accepted cardiovascular research. The supplemental CD-ROM is an interactive, dynamically linked version of the book, which is organized by normal cardiovascular function and cardiac disease. Students may begin a path of questioning with, for example, a disease condition and then pursue background information through a series of links. Students can also link to the author's regularly updated Web site for additional clinical information.