In the Preface to the first edition, we commented on the benefits and drawbacks of interdisciplinary research; the contributions of specialists to advance our understanding and the difficulty for the non-specialist in understanding these advances. We were thinking particularly about the mechanics of the circulation and the contributions that had been made by engineers, physicists and mathematicians working in collaboration with physiologists and medical doctors. Our goal in writing the book was to alleviate the problem of understanding these advances by providing an introductory text on the mechanics of the circulation that was accessible to physiologists and medical practitioners.

The three decades since the book was published have seen an explosive growth in research on the cardiovascular system. In 1978, bioengineering did not exist as a separate academic discipline and the field of cardiovascular mechanics was relatively small, although it had a long and distinguished history extending over more than three centuries. Today, bioengineering is widely recognized as an academic discipline and interdisciplinary research is generally accepted as essential to progress.

Our understanding of the circulation is immeasurably greater today than it was in 1978, but many problems remain unsolved and cardiovascular disease is still the largest single cause of death world-wide. Again, however, these advances have brought increased difficulty in understanding. We believe that the need for an introductory text on the mechanics of the circulation that is accessible to the non-specialist is even greater now than it was when the book was first published.