Cardiac Muscle: The Regulation of Excitation and Contraction is a 12-chapter text that covers the research studies on characterizing the ionic and molecular mechanisms that regulate excitation and contraction of cardiac muscle. This book describes first the ionic currents underlying diastolic depolarization and pacing of the heart. The discussions then shift to the mechanisms of action of calcium-channel antagonists; the regulation of calcium influx by indigenous factors, such as voltage- or calcium-mediated inactivation; the identification of fixed negative charges on the surface of the sarcolemma; and the regulation of gating and permeability of ion channels by these charges. These topics are followed by examining the molecular and ionic mechanisms that underlie the electrophysiologic actions of adrenergic and cholinergic neurotransmitters and peptide hormones. This text further explores the theoretical and experimental studies of the sodium-calcium exchange process, its stoichiometry, and how the exchanger might contribute to current flow during or after the action potential. Other chapters consider the mechanism of twitch and tonic tension regulation by cardiac glycosides and intracellular sodium and how toxic concentrations induce cardiac arrhythmias. A chapter highlights the identification of sarcolemmal binding sites for calcium, the likelihood that such binding or the release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum plays a role in the regulation of contraction and the release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The remaining chapters deal with the structural similarities among calcium-binding proteins of the contractile apparatus and the calcium channel, and the regulation of contraction by calcium-binding proteins. Physiologists, pathophysiologists, clinicians, researchers, and students who are interested in heart's function will find this book invaluable.