Elementary Medical Biophysics

Elementary Medical Biophysics deals with the basic principles involved in the physical sciences, such as the application of mathematical methods involving scientific problems, the production of electricity in electrical and living cells, as well as light, sight, and radioactivity. The book reviews the graphical and mathematical representation of scientific problems, and the use of units to measure temperature, time, force, energy that are commonly employed in experiments and research work. The text describes the forces involved in diffusion and osmosis that occur during the movement of molecules or other particles when these are unevenly dispersed in a fluid medium. The force in diffusion causes a particle to move from an area of high concentration of particles into one with a low concentration, until there is equilibrium. Osmosis involves the force or movement of a solvent from an area of low concentration of the solute to an area with a high concentration of the solute. The book also explains the production of electricity in living cells of the body, as well as the possible special affinity or preference that tumors or cancerous cells can have with radioactive substances. The text is intended for nursing and paramedical students with courses in physiology, biophysics, and other programs related to the medical sciences.