Anatomy and Physiology 2e
This text covers all the required topics for a two-semester anatomy and physiology course. The sequence of units and chapters flow in a logical manner. The index is adequate, however it is missing some terms/concepts. For example, mitosis is included but not meiosis. There isn't a glossary but a key terms section at the end of each chapter. It is easier to search for terms in a glossary at the end of the textbook. However, the "Search this book" search box makes it convenient to look up a term. Topics are appropriate for a 2000 level course. These would be freshmen and sophomores taking this as their first science course. Although the topics are simple to understand, there are some which require more elaboration as some students may be missing a general biology background. The images, figures and tables are easy to understand and logically placed. However, since anatomy and physiology is a visual heavy course, there should be more additions.
I find the content to be accurate and unbiased.
This textbook is up to date as anatomy and physiology do not come across major changes year-to-year. Perhaps the figures of diagnostic tests will be changed for new medical technology that becomes available. However, the gold standard exams and laboratory values are already included in the book. An important consideration is that links to external sources and videos should still be active in the future. Over the years YouTube videos may be taken down.
Learning outcomes are listed at the start of each chapter. Explanations are clear and easy to understand. Tables and figures are used to clarify terms and concepts. Alternate terms for cells and structures are included. For example, it is stated that another name for Leydig cells are interstitial cells because of their location in the testes. It would be helpful to students if answers to Review and Critical Thinking questions were made available at the end of each chapter. Although the book does not go deep into explaining some topics, it is an opportunity for the instructor to add to the information in their notes/lectures. It is also a good idea to use videos to complement the explanations in the text.
Throughout the text there are gray boxes that feature videos, diseases and clinical connections which help students learn by connecting topics to real-life situations. There is a good balance of figures, tables and pictures. Some figures would benefit from more color since they are mainly black, white and gray. Most tables are complete, however some offer vague summaries of terms/concepts (for example, the Summary of Ventilation Regulation table does not clearly summarize the functions of each respiratory system component). Some features, such as development of the lymphatic and digestive systems are missing and are present for other chapters.
Sections are well organized with proper units, chapters and subsections. Some pages are longer than others and having to scroll down a long page of test is off putting. This may not be due to the explanations being longer, however there are more gray box discussion for some sections.
Topics are organized in a logical fashion. The first three sections (Levels of Organization, Support and Movement, and Regulation, Integration and Control) can be covered in the first semester of a two-semester course. Adding more images to this this textbook would help students find the text they are looking for as many students in anatomy and physiology are visual learners. However, figures and tables are labeled with a number. It would help if subsections of each chapter were identified with numbers, for example Ch. 14.1 covers Sensory Receptors and Ch. 14.2 covers Sensory Modality, etc.
The interface works well. Although images are not distorted, the size of images are not consistent. Some figures are very large in the page while others are small making the structures and labels hard to read. An example of small figures that should be made larger are the external and internal heart structures.
Grammar is not a concern. Singular and plural forms of terms are included, for example "corpus cavernosum (plural = corpora cavernosa)."
The text is not insensitive or offensive. Improvements could be made by adding a discussion on biological gender and chosen gender in the section on the reproductive system.
This textbook is an excellent alternative to a high-price publisher textbook. It covers the same topics and in the same sequence. Improving figures and tables would really help this book compete with those other books. If the instructor can pair it with an online homework system (and there are some from McGraw-Hill, Macmillan and VisibleBody for a cost to students), students can benefit from a well-rounded pairing of text, lecture/instructor-provided materials and homework assignments.