SMOOTH MUSCLE SPONTANEOUS ACTIVITY. PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL MODULATION

1. Spontaneous Electrical Activity and Rhythmicity in Gastrointestinal Smooth Muscles
2. Generation of Spontaneous Tone by Gastrointestinal Sphincters
3. Pacemaker Mechanisms Driving Pyeloureteric Peristalsis: Modulatory Role of Interstitial Cells
4. Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Ureteric Smooth Muscle: Mechanisms Driving Ureteric Peristalsis
5. Spontaneous Activity and the Urinary Bladder
6. Spontaneous Activity in Urethral Smooth Muscle
7. Ion Channels and Intracellular Calcium Signalling in Corpus Cavernosum
8. Generation and Regulation of Spontaneous Contractions in the Prostate
9. Mucosa-Dependent, Stretch-Sensitive Spontaneous Activity in Seminal Vesicle
10. The Myometrium: From Excitation to Contractions and Labour
11. Myosalpinx Contractions Are Essential for Egg Transport Along the Oviduct and Are Disrupted in Reproductive Tract Diseases
12. Cellular and Ionic Mechanisms of Arterial Vasomotion
13. Venous Vasomotion
14. Role of Pericytes in the Initiation and Propagation of Spontaneous Activity in the Microvasculature
15. Lymphatic Vessel Pumping
16. Regulation of Airway Smooth Muscle Contraction in Health and Disease

This book presents the commonality and heterogeneity of the mechanisms underlying smooth muscle spontaneous activity in various smooth muscle organs and in addition discusses their malfunctions in disease and their potential as novel therapeutic targets. To facilitate understanding, the volume is divided into five parts and covers 16 organs: airways, gastrointestinal tract (phasic muscle, tonic muscle), renal pelvis, ureter, urinary bladder, urethra, corporal tissue, prostate, uterus, oviducts, seminal vesicle, artery, vein, microvasculature, and lymphatic vessels. This structure will help readers to comprehend the most up-to-date information on the similarities and differences in the contractile mechanisms driving various smooth muscles as well as their potential manipulations in particular visceral organ pathologies. The vast advancements in gene, electrical recording, and imaging technologies in this field are also discussed, with review of past achievements and consideration of likely future developments. This book will be of worldwide interest to clinicians, students, and researchers alike.

Features
• Detailed, up-to-date information on smooth muscle function
• Systematically organized by body systems and organs
• Explanation of commonalities and differences between organs
• Clarification of the role of smooth muscle in disease
• Exploration of contractile mechanisms as therapeutic targets