ABSTRACT
Before considering disorders of the cardiovascular system and the use of drugs in their treatment, it is important to understand its normal physiology. It is beyond the scope of this text to review the physiology of the cardiovascular system comprehensively, the reader is therefore referred to textbooks of physiology; however, those features that must be appreciated before the actions of drugs can be understood will be described. The basic physiology of the cardiovascular system will be described in two sections: first the physi ology of the heart, and secondly the physiology of the vasculature.
