Basics of medical physics

The textbook Basics of Medical Physics describes the basics of medical physics and the clinical and experimental methods which a physician can be frequently encountered with. Medical physics is specific in dealing with the application of physical methods on a living organism. Therefore, it represents an interdisciplinary scientific discipline that combines physics and biological sciences. The presented textbook covers a broad range of topics; it contains eight chapters: Structure of Matter; Molecular Biophysics; Thermodynamics; Biophysics of Electric Phenomena; Acoustics and Physical Principles of Hearing; Optics; X-ray Physics and Medical Application; Radioactivity and Ionizing Radiation. The text is supplemented by many figures, which help to facilitate the understanding of the phenomena. Methods, which are explained in the book, are based on the different physical principles. Some of these methods, e.g. using optical magnifying lenses or X-rays, have been known for more than 100 years, while others are more recent such as magnetic resonance imaging or positron emission tomography. After reading this book, the readers should get a comprehensive overview of the possibilities of using various physical methods in medicine. They should be able to understand to the mentioned physical relations in the broader context.