Human Biology

Product Information

Content is least accurate in the realm of Anatomy. There are a number of minor errors that are perhaps just more distracting than of major impact. However, these are most noticeable in:

I like that it is spaced out well. I like the bold words, pictures, videos, tables, etc. I believe a student could follow along and read it without difficulties. The Human Biology course that I teach mostly consists of non majors so that is my lens.Development and Aging is an area that is not treated in this book, including embryogenesis, placental structure and function, the human life cycle, life span, and congenital malformations; Principles of Evolution chapter in which one would have desired to have a discussion of the important topic of individual variation in anatomy and physiology within populations, effects of natural selection, especially as related to health and disease, biogeography, and the origins of life and the human lineage; Updated Boxed Readings Throughout --Human Biology features three different types of boxed readings. Theses readings have been thoroughly updated by Dr. Mader, as well as experts in the field, throughout the book to remain current.

Reviewed by Jessica Daniels, Biology Instructor, Minnesota State Community and Technical College on 6/28/21 I thought the textbook was really clear and simplistic. I believe it would be easy for a student to follow along. There is a logic to the organization of organic levels in the text, particularly the initial chapters on molecules and cells which are clearly the simplest levels. The rationale of why the digestive system is the first system to be discussed (Chapter 5) is less obvious but each system is largely treated by itself so the sequence of systems was probably considered not of great concern. I was surprised somewhat to come upon a chapter on Mitosis and Meiosis (Chapter 13), at the the cellular level, in between chapters on the Urinary and Reproductive organ systems, until I realized there was a reproductive connection.This book is quite modular in that the chapters can stand by themselves. The sequence that systems are taught in a particular course could readily use most chapters in a different arrangement. Would like to see even a short section on human evolution. As well, I don't see coverage of integumentary system or development. Lymphatic system is with immune system, which is fine but perhaps change title for Ch 20 to "Immune System and Lymphatic System." I like how that the author highlights the careers from the specific organ system. The information seemed pretty up-to-date. This book is perfect for those who want to delve deeper into the microscopic world of cells and tissues. With its concise and informative content, "Waugh & Grant's Essentials" provides an excellent foundation for understanding cellular structure and function. From cell division to tissue organization, you'll find everything you need to know in this handy resource. 3. "Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach" by Dee Unglaub Silverthorn In general the writing is clear, concise, and accessible. There is good use of analogy to get concepts across. I thought using ATP "dollars" to pay the cell's "energy bill" was effective. Difficult concepts such as acid-base balance in Chapter 3 and glycolysis and the Krebs Cycle in Chapter 7 were well done.

Analogy: Vander's book is like a Swiss Army knife, offering a versatile and practical approach to human physiology. Chapter 16 on the Skeletal System figures the "metaphysis" of long bones but leaves this important structure out of the text. The topics that are covered can be uneven. For example, there are in-depth details given on the Scientific Method, on Myocardial Infarction, and in lengthy topic boxes on selected careers in health care, while many applications to contemporary research issues in Human Biology, normal heart innervation in physiological adaptation, and other career options that also draw upon Human Biology are not included.Real-world example: Marieb and Hoehn's book is like a GPS, guiding you through the intricate landscape of human anatomy and physiology. I like the way it is organized within the topics. I would move immune system up and reproductive to the end with nervous and special senses. I tend to do digestive and urinary together so I would have them by each other. In my current textbook, I have to jump around so that is not an issue for me. Most content covered is up-to-date. One exception was the use of the old term "solar plexus" in Chapter 18 in relation to the sympathetic nervous system, but the conceptual context is appropriate and the term can be readily corrected. The text does not deal as thoroughly with Genomics as one would like even though there are lengthy discussions of the traditional genetic topics of mitosis and meiosis and DNA replication. These sections could be revised to include more recent research findings, for example, on oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and homeobox genes. Instructors consistently ask for a human biology textbook that helps students develop an understanding of the main themes of biology while placing the material in the context of the human body. Mader Human Biology was developed to fill this void.

Principles of Ecology are not touched upon here, including structure of human populations, effects of population growth, effects of air and water quality on human health, human land use and biology, and human effects of the loss of global biodiversity. As stated in another review, there are differences in how things are referenced in the text and how words are chosen to bold (or not), and other subtle editing choices. Overall, though, I don't think a student would find each module distracting; just the overall book as a whole if one were to read it from cover-to-cover.

Table of Contents

For this level of class, I don't think being "up-to-date" is necessarily the most critical of discussions. The basic physiology and anatomy of the human body presented here should be fine for most teachers in the foreseeable future. Any areas that might need adjustment over time, such as the genetics topics, can easily be changed out due to the modular nature of the book. The topics (chapters) are broken down into discrete modules so a teacher could alter or substitute a module to match current updates or to stress an aspect of that topic that isn't part of the current text. For my classes, I could see myself adding a module in the immunity section over allergies and tolerance and in the genetics section on epigenetics. I found the book to be comprehensive over the topics normally covered in a one-semester human biology class for certain allied health majors such as medical assistant. This book could also serve as a "basic science" text for a science class that also on human biology. I found the book accurate in most of the topics I looked at. Topics that most of us as teachers would likely cover are accurate in what they present and at the level this book targets. My reason for only giving it a three is partly because I didn't read every topic in depth, so I can't guarantee how accurate certain topics may be. Also, accuracy depends somewhat on the level of detail and discussion, and because that varies by chapter, it's hard to pinpoint how accurate a paragraph would be if the topic was elaborated on a bit more. Here's an example from the urinary system chapter: "GFR is regulated by multiple mechanisms and is an important indicator of kidney function." Is that accurate at face value? Yes. However, you could argue it's not a complete answer-- e.g., why is it important? Why mechanisms are there? -- and so it's a bit hard to qualify the overall accuracy if the statements are sometimes a big vague. I thought it was comprehensive. I teach Anatomy & Physiology and the textbook gets into enough detail for my Human Biology class. Personally, I would have liked to have more on diseases.