Book excerpt: This book covers the proceedings of the 32nd scientific meeting of the International Society on Oxygen Transport to Tissue (ISOTT) in Bari, Italy, August 21-26, 2004. It covers all aspects of oxygen delivery to tissue, including blood flow and its regulation as well as oxygen metabolism. Special emphasis is placed on methods of oxygen measurement in living tissue and application of these technologies to understanding physiological and biochemical basis for pathology related to tissue oxygenation. The event hosted was a multidisciplinary meeting designed to bring together experts and students from a range of research fields.