Anatomy and Physiology for Dummies (For dummies)

It uses lots of every day examples to make things easier to understand and remember. For example it likens the negative and positive feedback systems within the body to a thermostat like you might have in your home which will only make changes if the environmental temperature changes.

Makes anatomy & physiology very accessible.


Ain't the body great?   December 21, 2006
Paul Baldry (Ashington, Northumberland United Kingdom)
23 out of 23 found this review helpful

This book is really good at getting someone from basic biology to understanding how the body works. The book flows through from cells to organs and then onto how the organs work together, just so that you can still be alive to read this review!

It does try to make light of things, with jokes here and there (you may even giggle at some of them too) and also lots of examples to help things sink-in.



Superb   April 12, 2007
Mr. S. Hollins
23 out of 23 found this review helpful

As with all Dummies books, this one is excellent. Covers all areas of Anatomy and Physiology from A'Level and through to at least 2nd Year Degree level. Physiological Systems and Anatomy are explained in a humorous way with many well thought out analigies to really give you a understanding of complex subjects. once again if you are doing A'Level or starting a degree in any human based science then this is a must have. Superb


Comprehensive, but with some minor annoyances   October 29, 2008
S. Melnikoff (UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is a very interesting book, and certainly succeeds in providing a good introduction to the wonders of the human body.

The previous reviewers on here seemed to love this book, and while I found it a good read, I would like to mention a few minor annoyances that prevented it from earning a top rating from me.

Firstly: anatomy books need to have a lot of pictures or diagrams. While this book does have some, I felt that there weren't nearly enough. More often that not, the uninitiated reader is given a text description, and left to draw a picture in their head (or look it up somewhere else).

Secondly, the book has far, far too many cross references, in the form of text in brackets referring the reader to an earlier/later chapter/section/paragraph. Though the author states at the start that the book is designed to be read in any order, this overuse of references really breaks up the flow - and is, in any case, not necessary, as there is perfectly good table of contents at the front, and an index at the back!

Thirdly, terms are sometimes used before they're defined, which can be a little confusing.

Finally, the author tries to lighten the mood by use of puns and jokes. I'm sure that lots of readers will enjoy her sense of humour. I, regrettably, found it quite annoying.

So to summarise: a comprehensive beginners' guide to the human body, let down by some minor annoyances.