Review by Choice Review
A truly interdisciplinary book illustrating the use of mathematics to construct and analyze models in the life sciences and medicine. The first four chapters deal with the mathematics of populations, with examples of models of population growth under various conditions, of inheritance, of the development of epidemics, and of the spatial distribution of organisms. The remainder of the book concentrates on models of distinct physiological systems. Included are models of the heart and blood circulatory system, the gas exchange in the lungs, the control of cell volumes via electrical and osmotic effects, the function of the kidneys, and muscle mechanics. The emphasis throughout is on modeling techniques and on using mathematical models to help make predictions and to aid in understanding observations. The authors assume a knowledge of calculus, elementary differential equations, and some matrix theory. There are a large number of exercises with solutions. This book has a place in every good undergraduate mathematics-statistics library. F. Giesbrecht; North Carolina State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
