Anatomy and Physiology for Health Professionals 3rd Edition

Book Preface

In 35 years of teaching anatomy and physiology, I have utilized numerous books related to the subject. Some were very high level while others were very low level, and I could not find a “middle ground” book that real-ly taught the subject to allied health students; surpris-ing, given that this is a time when the field is growing exponentially. Therefore, I undertook the writing of this book for all allied health professionals. Anatomy and physiology are two of the major core subjects for almost all allied health professionals—they must un-derstand the structures and normal functions of the body in the simplest possible terms. This book strives to make that possible.
Organization of This Text
This text is based on levels of organization within the body and becomes more multifaceted as the student incorporates the understanding of basic, then inter-mediate, and finally more complex subjects.

In total, the text consists of six units:

■ Unit I, Levels of Organization: This unit begins by providing a general introduction to human anat-omy and physiology along with the organization levels through which the body is understood. It then delves into the atomic, molecular, and chem-ical interactions on which life is based before moving on to discussions of the cells and tissues that comprise the body.
■ Unit II, Support and Movement: This unit focuses on the body systems that support the body and allow for a range of motion. It first considers the integumen-tary system, composed of the skin and its accessory structures; these are the body’s first line of defense against the environment. The text then approaches the bones and joints that comprise the skeletal sys-tem before discussing the muscular system.

■ Unit III, Control and Coordination: This unit ackles the critical components of the body that control all body functions. The text considers the all-important nervous system across four chapters on neural tissue, the central nervous system, the peripheral nervous system, and the senses. The unit then ends with a chapter on the endocrine system, which works along with the nervous sys-tem to regulate the functions of the human body to maintain homeostasis.

■ Unit IV, Transport: This unit focuses on the car-diovascular and lymphatic systems, which keep the body running. The first three chapters discuss the major components of the cardiovascular sys-tem: the heart, blood, and blood vessels. The last chapter in this unit focuses on the lymphatic sys-tem. Like the cardiovascular system, it transports fluids through a network of vessels; without the lymphatic system, fluid would accumulate in tis-sue spaces.
■ Unit V, Environmental Exchange: This unit con-siders the systems and processes that balance what the body intakes with what it expels. The unit first examines the respiratory system, which intakes oxygen and removes carbon dioxide from the body, before shifting focus to the uri-nary system, which eliminates wastes and main-tains homeostatic regulation of the volume and solute concentration of blood plasma. The text then surveys fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base balance before moving on to the digestive sys-tem, which in simplest terms supplies nutrients for body cells.

■ Unit VI, Continuity of Life: In this unit, the focus shifts to the male and female reproductive sys-tems, which, while not essential to the survival of an individual, are needed to ensure the continued existence of the human species. The final chapter, then, discusses pregnancy before delving into a brief discussion of genetics.
In addition to the recurring features that guide the student through each chapter (of which an overview is given in the “How to Use This Book” section), the body systems chapters contained in this text address the effects of aging on each specific system, information that is especially critical at a time when the number of older adults is on the rise.