Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach, Global Edition

Book Preface

As you begin your study of the human body, one of your main tasks will be to construct for yourself a global view of the body, its systems, and the many processes that keep the systems working. This “big picture” is what physiologists call the integration of systems, and it is a key theme in this book. To integrate information, however, you must do more than simply memorize it. You need to truly understand it and be able to use it to solve problems that you have never encountered before. If you are headed for a career in the health professions, you will do this in the clinics. If you plan a career in biology, you will solve problems in the laboratory, field, or classroom. Analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information are skills you need to develop while you are in school, and I hope that the features of this book will help you with this goal.

One of my aims is to provide you not only with information about how the human body functions but also with tips for studying and problem solving. Many of these study aids have been developed with the input of my students, so

I think you may find them particularly helpful. On the following pages, I have put together a brief tour of the special features of the book, especially those that you may not have encountered previously in textbooks. Please take a few minutes to read about them so that you can make optimum use of the book as you study.

In this edition, we have added some new features to help you study. Each chapter now begins with a list of Learning Outcomes to guide you as you read the chapter. We have also added Video Tutors, online video clips that I created with the assistance of some of my students. Look for the QR codes in the figures with associated Video Tutor clips, and watch Kevin and Michael as they demonstrate physiology in action.

Pattern recognition is important for all healthcare professionals, so you can begin to develop this skill by learning the key concepts of physiology that repeat over and over as you study different organ systems. Chapter 1 includes two special Focus On features: one on concept mapping, a study strategy that is also used for decision-making in the clinics, and one on constructing and interpreting graphs. The Chapter 1 Running Problem introduces you to effective ways to find information on the Internet.

Be sure to look for the Essentials and Review figures throughout the book. These figures distill the basics about a topic onto one or two pages, much as the Anatomy Summaries do. My students tell me they find them particularly useful for review when there isn’t time to go back and read all the text.

We have also retained the four approaches to learning physiology that proved so popular since this book was first published in 1998