The Human Body: A Visual Guide - Softcover

Beverley McMillan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0276440900 ISBN 13: 9780276440908

Publisher: Readers Digest, 2006

Synopsis

In this comprehensive and authoritative guide, the amazing human body is revealed in all its intricacy and beauty. You'll learn about the structure and function of all the systems that make up the human being: the circulatory, respiratory, digestive and nervous systems, bones, muscles, skin and the amazing workings of the brain and internal organs. Compelling images clarify the complex workings of our body and amazing advances in surgery and prosthetics are examined in fascinating detail. You'll also find out more about modern medical procedures, such as reproductive technology, imaging techniques, transplants and cosmetic surgery. With more than 300 pages of vibrant new illustrations and authoritative and accessible text, this guide provides the latest information on the human body in a dynamic and visual style which will enthrall and captivate readers.

About this title

About the Author

Beverly McMillan is a U.S.-based writer whose special interest is in making human biology and natural history accessible to the general reader. She is the co-author of a best-selling college text on human biology, and her published work also includes books on sharks and other ocean creatures, the Titanic and a children's book on Apollo astronaut Alan Bean.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

The human body is a natural wonder. Its unique blend of bones and muscles, nerves and sense organs, skin and linings, and many other components make up a whole that far exceeds the sum of its parts. These parts are integrated and interconnected, with individual cells organized into tissues, tissues into organs, and organs into organ systems, such as the heart and blood vessels or the lungs and airways. In all, it takes the coordinated functioning of eleven organ systems simply to keep each of us alive. Much of the responsibility for managing these activities falls to the human brain, dazzling in its complexity, as it also bestows capacities such as complex reasoning, memory, emotions and self-expression through language and creativity. Exactly how the brain accomplishes these feats continues to be one of the enduring mysteries of human existence.

Another marvel is deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which provides in chemical code the instructions needed to build and operate each individual. The stuff of our genes, DNA is the foundation both for day-to-day functioning of tissues and organs and for the inner and outer features that make each person biologically unique.

The ebb and flow of life-sustaining processes -- breathing, the heart's rhythmic pumping, digesting food and eliminating wastes, fighting off microbes -- take place in a state of dynamic balance called homeostasis. Every sniffle, ache, or more serious illness or disorder reflects a short- or long-term shift away from some aspect of this balance.

Balance, astonishing complexity, intricately choreographed activities of its parts -- this is the remarkable universe of the human body.

Edition details

• Publisher: Readers Digest
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0276440900
• ISBN 13: 9780276440908
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304