Cerebral Blood Flow

Cerebral Blood Flow: Quantifying Consciousness Although the heart may be the source of energy needed to generate blood flow,and other organs absolutely essential for normal living,the brain is the reason we are alive. This volume covers the most important aspects of cerebral blood flow (CBF) from bench to bedside. It first defines the basic physiology of CBF, those qualities that make it unique or are shared with other organs and their clinical implications. There follows a section on CBF pathophysiology that explores many of the known and proposed mechanisms of cerebral ischemia in stroke and trauma states. The third section describes the numerous and powerful means available to measure blood flow, tissue function and overall perfusion. These are essential measures if one is to assess the effectiveness of therapies aimed at preventing or reversing cerebral ischemia. The final section describes the interesting and often successful recent clinical trials aimed at preventing or reversing cerebral ischemia. This collection of multicenter trial data and their implications in one volume is unique in this field. This book addresses all the major aspects of CBF from basic issues to clinical practice.