Fractal Physiology (Methods in Physiology)

Introduction: Fractals Really Are Everywhere -- Fractals Are Everywhere -- Structures In Space -- Processes In Time -- Meaning Of Fractals -- Properties Of Fractals And Chaos -- Properties Of Fractal Phenomena In Space And Time -- Self-similarity: Parts That Look Like The Whole -- Scaling: The Measure Depends On The Resolution -- Fractal Dimension: A Quantitative Measure Of Self-similarity And Scaling -- Surprising Statistical Properties Of Fractals -- Fractal Dimension: Self-similar And Self-accline Scaling -- Branching In The Lung: Power Law Scaling -- More Complex Scaling Relationship: Weierstrass Scaling -- Branching In The Lung: Weierstrass Scaling -- Fractal Measures Of Heterogeneity And Correlation -- Dispersional Analysis -- Rescaled Range Analysis: The Hurst Exponent, H -- Correlation Versus Distance -- History Of Fractal Correlation Analysis -- Generating Fractals -- Mandelbrot Set -- Line Replacement Rules -- Area And Volume Replacement Rules -- Logistic Equation -- Iterated Function Systems -- Collage Theorem -- Lindenmayer Systems -- Cellular Automata -- Cellular Growth Processes. (cont) Generating One-dimensional Fractal Time Series -- Properties Of Chaotic Phenomena -- Fractals And Chaos Share Ideas And Methods But They Are Not The Same Thing -- Defining Properties Of Chaos -- Additional Features Of Chaos -- Change In Perspective -- From Time To Topology: Is A Process Driven By Chance Or Necessity -- Distinguishing Chaos From Randomness -- Methods Suggestive Of Underlying Chaos -- Phase Space And Pseudo-phase Space -- Additional Types Of Deterministic Relationships -- Capacity, Correlation And Information Dimensions -- Good News And Bad News About This Analysis -- Physiological Applications -- Ion Channel Kinetics: A Fractal Time Sequence Of Conformational States -- Patch Clamp -- Models Of Ion Channel Kinetics -- Comparison Of Markov And Fractal Models -- Uncovering Mechanisms Giving Fractal Channel Kinetics -- Fractals In Nerve And Muscle -- Spread Of Excitation -- Fractal Heart -- Fractal Neurons -- Spatiotemporal Organization -- Intraorgan Flow Heterogeneities -- Methods Of Measuring Regional Flows -- Estimating The Fractal D For Flow Heterogeneity. (cont) Fractal Vascular Anatomy -- Dichotomous Branching Fractal Network Models For Flow Heterogeneity -- Scaling Relationships Within An Organ -- Scaling Relationships From Animal To Animal -- Do Fractal Rules Extend To Microvascular Units -- Fractal Flow And Fractal Washout -- Fractal Growth -- Primitive Growth Patterns -- Influences Of Matrix Structure On The Form -- More General Types Of Aggregation Processes -- Neuronal Growth Patterns -- Algorithms For Vascular Growth -- Patterns Of Vascular Branching -- Phylogeny Versus Ontogeny -- Mechanisms That Produce Fractals -- Fractals Describe Phenomena And Give Hints About Their Causes -- Single Process Or Many Processes -- Single Causes That Spread Across Many Scales -- Different Causes That Become Linked Across Many Scales -- Chaos In Physiological Systems -- Cardiovascular Chaos -- Metabolism -- Chaotic Brain -- Physiological Advantages Of Chaos -- Special Situations. James B. Bassingthwaighte, Larry S. Liebovitch, Bruce J. West. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 328-354) And Index.