Anatomy and Physiology

Reviewed by Kristine Squillace Stenlund, Biology Faculty, Dakota County Technical College on 6/10/15

Comprehensiveness rating: 4

Overall, this text is comprehensive when compared to other textbooks used in an biology : anatomy and physiology course. The first few chapters are extensive reviews of what I would consider fundamental knowledge my students should have picked up in general biology prerequisite courses. However, many textbooks will cover similar chapters in the beginning. The chapters I would start my course focus on would begin at chapter 4 (tissues). Because of the paper format (one column instead of 2 in traditional textbooks) of the text relating figures to written material is difficult at times when the figure mentioned in found a page or two later. The organization seems similar to the process I use when teaching the 11 systems of the body. The glossary is nicely found at the end of the chapters instead of scrolling all the way to the end of the text.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Overall, the information presented is accurate and seems unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

There are new interesting comments along the way that even I have not read before. The interlinks are ok but I think there could be more up to date animations. The written material is straight forward making it easier to find material. However, the format may not make this easy.

Clarity rating: 4

The overall written material is clear. However, there are many visual figures that should be added for students to grasp a clear understanding of the material. For example, more histology images should be added when discussing tissues! Drawings are great but students really struggle with the "real picture" images. This is something this textbook seriously lacks in the epithelial section. The interactive links to quizzes is GREAT but we would need to require students to do them some how.

Consistency rating: 4

Overall consistent throughout the text. However the format is difficult to connect the written material to the figures due to the scrolling needed!

Modularity rating: 4

The modular piece of this is done just fine. However, student are drawn to visuals. I would like to see more images linking the material to current issues to the topics. Many of the modules lack a visual.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The material is organized. However, it lacks more visuals and is difficult to navigate due the the constant scrolling as mentioned above.

Interface rating: 3

There is to much scrolling needed due to the format (one column paper style instead of 2 column textbook style). The figures are often mentioned on separate pages where you have to scroll to the next to see them. Some readers may have a hard time reading this text seriously due to the paper like presentation. However, this style may also engage student who otherwise are turned off from the more formal science textbook presentation, I would like to see more visual images embedded in this text. The interactive links are nice. Some may need a more updated look. As I read more into the later chapters this does get better.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Overall, there are some but few issues here.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

No issues

My only real issue is scrolling and more engaging images.