Introduction: To the Love of Physiology

We begin this introduction to Cardiopulmonary Monitoring: Basic Physiology, Tools, and Bedside Management with a statement of bias. We love physiology. It is why we are intensivists. Physiology is at the core of our approach to management of our critically ill patients, and managing critically ill patients provides continuous feedback for our understanding of physiological processes. It is for this reason that physiological considerations are the central part of this book.