This major new edition fulfils the need for a single-volume, up-to-date information resource on the etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of skeletal muscles, including the muscular dystrophies, mitochondrial myopathies, metabolic myopathies, ion channel disorders, and dysimmune myopathies. As background to the clinical coverage, relevant information on advances in molecular and developmental biology, immunopathology, mitochondrial biology, ion-channel dynamics, cell membrane and signal transduction science, and imaging technology is summarized. Combining essential new knowledge with the fundamentals of history-taking and clinical examination, this extensively illustrated book will continue to be the mainstay for practising physicians and biomedical scientists concerned with muscle disease. Regular updates on the clinical and basic science aspects of muscle disease - written mainly by rising stars of myology - will be published on an accompanying website.