Writing for engineering students concerned with the building of machines for anesthesiology, the author describes techniques for monitoring (in the sense of observing and controlling) patients' electric potentials, pressures of fluids (blood and respiratory gas), flows and volumes of liquids and gases, composition of fluids, frequencies of heartbeat and the respiratory cycle, and body temperatures. The author describes how these techniques are integrated into the design of machines. No medical or biological knowledge is assumed. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR