Includes bibliographical references and index.

Section I. Skeletal muscle morphology. Human body composition and muscle mass / Krzysztof Duda, Joanna Majerczak, Zenon Nieckarz, Steven B. Heymsfield and Jerzy A. Zoladz ; Functional morphology of the striated muscle / Wincenty Kilarski ; Mechanisms of muscle contraction and relaxation / Jonathan P. Davis, Svetlana B. Tikunova and Paul M.L. Janssen ; Motor units and muscle receptors / Jan Celichowski and Piotr Krutki -- Section II. Muscle energetics and its performance. Muscle energetics / Graham J. Kemp ; Efficiency of skeletal muscle / Chris J. Barclay ; Muscle function : strength, speed, and fatigability / Roger M. Enoka and Jacques Duchateau ; Critical power : possibly the most important fatigue threshold in exercise physiology / Jesse C. Craig, Anni Vanhatalo, Mark Burnley, Andrew M. Jones and David C. Poole ; Energy cost of human locomotion on land and in water / Pietro E. di Prampero and Cristian Osgnach -- Section III. Muscle metabolism and exercise physiology. The coupling of internal and external gas exchange during exercise / T. Scott Bowen, Alan P. Benson and Harry B. Rossiter ; Carbohydrate metabolism during exercise / Kelly M. Hammond, Marc J. Fell, Mark A. Hearris and James P. Morton ; Muscle lipid metabolism / Adrian Chabowski and Jan Górski ; Muscle as an endocrine organ / Grit E. Legård and Bente K. Pedersen ; The role of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in skeletal muscle / Zsolt Radak and Erika Koltai ; Exercise, immunity, and illness / Arwel Wyn Jones and Glen Davison -- Section IV. Body adaptation to exercise. The evolution of skeletal muscle plasticity in response to physical activity and inactivity / Kenneth M. Baldwin and Fadia Haddad ; Muscle blood flow and vascularization in response to exercise and training / Bruno Tesini Roseguini and M. Harold Laughlin ; Metabolic transitions and muscle metabolic stability : effects of exercise training / Jerzy A. Zoladz, Zbigniew Szkutnik and Bruno Grassi ; Human ageing : impact on muscle force and power / Hans Degens ; The role of exercise on fracture reduction and bone strengthening / Wolfgang Kemmler and Simon von Stengel -- Section V. Heart muscle and exercise. Functional morphology of the cardiac myocyte / Nicholas J. Severs ; Exercise and the coronary circulation / Dirk J. Duncker, Robert J. Bache, Daphne Merkus and M. Harold Laughlin ; Cardiac energetics / June-Chiew Han, Kenneth Tran, Andrew J. Taberner, Brian Chapman and Denis S. Loiselle ; Regulation of heart rate and blood pressure during exercise in humans / James P. Fisher and Niels H. Secher ; Sympatho-excitation in heart failure : contribution of skeletal muscle reflexes and the protective role of exercise training / Hanjun Wang, Lie Gao and Irving H. Zucker.