The regulatory role of calcium in striated muscle.

Calcium plays numerous roles in striated muscle, including excitation-contraction coupling and the stimulation of substrate oxidation by the mitochondria. These two topics are considered in this symposium. The purpose of this introductory paper is to present a conceptual framework about the control of calcium movements in striated muscle. Additionally, we provide a brief historical perspective regarding the key research observations leading to our current understanding of the various cellular systems controlling calcium flux in the muscle cell.