Anatomy and Physiology

Reviewed by Chris Aiken, Professor, Smith College on 2/26/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4

In general I think that the book is very well done and is comprehensive in its scope. However, there are two areas that I think it could be improved on. The first has to do with the connective tissue/fascial system. Although there is a brief discussion of the fascia in the micro description of the muscle fibers, there is no overview of the importance of the fascia both as a force transmission system (i.e. biotensegrity), but also as the medium for haptic perception and interception. Also, in the attachment description of muscles it does not make clear that the muscles attach to tendons (it's says this elsewhere, but not when the orgin and attachments are described. This is a common error.

Also, in the description of muscle function there's no description of muscle function. Perhaps that's outside the scope of this book, but it would seem that some description of types of muscle contractions, phasic/tonic, etc would be helpful.

Of the two comments, the former is far more important. The fascia is everywhere in the current physiology research. This is an oversight.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

See above

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

I think with the addition of the fascia section it could last for awhile.

Clarity rating: 5

I think the book is very well written and the videos are a nice addition.

Consistency rating: 5

The logic of the book is consistent and easy to follow. I like the questions at the end.

Modularity rating: 5

See my comment above. Other than that, it's good.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I found it easy to follow.

Interface rating: 5

I had no problems navigating the book.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I have not encountered grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I liked how the authors attempted to make the anatomical bodies diverse.