Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology
As the science and arts of medicine and health care become increasingly complex, so too does the education of those who pursue careers in nursing and other healthrelated fields. Human anatomy and physiology is often a first course in many education programs, and is the basis for so many of the more specialized courses. Teachers of introductory anatomy and physiology thus take on a special challenge: We must distill and express the complexities of human structure and function in a simple way, without losing the essence and meaning of the material. That is the goal of this textbook: to make this material readily accessible to students with diverse backgrounds and varying levels of educational preparation
A fifth edition of is very gratifying, and again we have the pleasure of thanking all of our colleagues in teaching who continue to use our textbook and of welcoming new teachers and students. Changes have been made in the content of the book to keep the material as current as possible. Most of these are small changes, such as a new cell organelle, the proteasome, in Chapter 3; a clarification of blood cell production in Chapters 4, 11, and 14; and the addition of concentric and eccentric contractions to Chapter 7. The most extensive revision is in Chapter 14: The section on immunity has been rewritten using the categories of innate and adaptive immunity. New illustrations in this edition include positive and negative feedback mechanisms in Chapter 1, cellular transport mechanisms in Chapter 3, hormones that affect blood pressure in Chapter 13, innate immunity in Chapter 14, and synthesis uses of foods in Chapter 17. Illustrations that have been revised include protein structure, active site theory, and DNA and RNA structure in Chapter 2, blood cells in Chapter 11, and adaptive immunity in Chapter 14. Also new to this edition are illustration questions. Each figure legend is followed by a question for the student; the answers are in Appendix G. As always, your comments and suggestions will be most welcome, and they may be sent to us in care of the publisher: F. A. Davis Company, 1915 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103