Anatomy and Physiology 2e - 2e
J. Gordon Betts, Tyler, Texas
Kelly A. Young, Long Beach, Califronia
James A Wise, Hampton, Virginia
Copyright Year:
ISBN 13: 9781938168130
Publisher: OpenStax
Language: English
Formats Available
Conditions of Use
Attribution
CC BY
Reviews
The textbook offers a comprehensive exploration of A & P, with a wide array of topics tailored specifically for students embarking on a rigorous course. Its content is meticulously designed to cater to the needs of majors of this field,... read more
The textbook offers a comprehensive exploration of A & P, with a wide array of topics tailored specifically for students embarking on a rigorous course. Its content is meticulously designed to cater to the needs of majors of this field, serving as an invaluable resource, equipping students with the deep understanding to navigate the complexities of A&P effectively. The textbook serves as a friendly companion, facilitating a deep grasp of basic concepts essential for success in their future professional careers.
The provided content is accurately reflecting a thorough and unbiased assessment. It has been meticulously collected in a way with clarity and transparency. Each aspect of knowledge points has been carefully scrutinized with precision and integrity. Furthermore, the impartiality of the information underscores its credibility with free from bias without compromising accuracy. Thus, the feature of accuracy and impartiality of textbook are essential attributes that uphold its integrity as a valuable resource for A & P.
With its profound focus on key principles in A & P, the addressed textbook provides fundamental knowledge that will retain relevance for many years to come. The segments addressing practical applications, such as real-world connections and end-of-chapter questions, offer flexibility for future updates if necessary. Additionally, interactive video links accompanying each topic enhance students' comprehension and engagement with the material, ensuring its longevity as a foundational resource for health science students and professionals
The book's clarity is truly commendable, as it effectively conveys complex ideas in an easy manner that is understandable to students with various backgrounds. Particularly, the book achieves this goal by crafting straightforward language that breaks down sophisticated processes into digestible knowledge, thus enhancing comprehension. Moreover, the judicious usage of terms ensures that the reader is adapted to related terminology without feeling overwhelmed by jargon. This balance between technicality and simplicity ensures readability and high-yield value of the book.
The book maintains consistency with each chapter situated in alignment with learning objectives. Content is well-organized into an effective way facilitating the comprehension of complex points. Furthermore, the input of key terms, chapter reviews, interactive link questions, and critical thinking prompts improve the learning experience for students. The consistency is also boosted with application of diversifying question formats and including more knowledge-check points throughout the text to enrich the learning process. This wide range of question styles would not only assess comprehension but also foster deeper engagement with the material, encouraging critical thinking among students, and promoting a more holistic understanding of the A & P content.
Within the structure of the book, each chapter undergoes meticulous organization, subdividing into a series of subchapters that gives a focused exploration of specific themes. These subchapters, in turn, delve further segmentation into concise sections, each serving as a unit of study sessions. This layered strategy of organization makes intricate topics with clarity and coherence.
While the overall text formatting of the book is well-arranged to facilitate learning, there is room for improvement in the visibility of labeled pictures. Improving the visibility of labeled pictures not only facilitates understanding but also promotes active engagement with the material. When students can easily read and interpret labels within images, they are more likely to actively integrate visual information with textual content, thereby reinforcing their comprehension and retention of key concepts.
While the current interface of the textbook is effective for g learning, there is an opportunity to enhance the visibility and clarity of labeled pictures.
No obvious grammar errors are observed.
The inclusion of diverse images aligns with societal efforts to promote equity and inclusivity in education by presenting individuals from diverse backgrounds in anatomy and physiology.
By prioritizing clarity and conciseness, overall, the textbook ensures that students can readily digest key concepts without being inundated with unnecessary information, allowing readers with diverse background to focus their attention on the core parts related to each learning objective.
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... read more
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.
See above
I think with the addition of the fascia section it could last for awhile.
I think the book is very well written and the videos are a nice addition.
The logic of the book is consistent and easy to follow. I like the questions at the end.
See my comment above. Other than that, it's good.
I found it easy to follow.
I had no problems navigating the book.
I have not encountered grammatical errors.
I liked how the authors attempted to make the anatomical bodies diverse.
The textbook extensively explores anatomy and physiology topics designed for students undertaking a two-semester course. It is crafted for majors in biology and health-related fields like nursing, pharmacy, and pre-med, providing crucial... read more
The textbook extensively explores anatomy and physiology topics designed for students undertaking a two-semester course. It is crafted for majors in biology and health-related fields like nursing, pharmacy, and pre-med, providing crucial foundational knowledge in this domain.
The information is accure and impartial.
Since it imparts fundamental knowledge in physiology and anatomy, the book's content will remain relevant for numerous years. The sections dedicated to applications, such as everyday connections or end-of-chapter questions linking concepts to the real world, can be readily updated in the future if necessary.
I appreciate the textbook's use of clear and accessible language that makes it easily understandable for everyone, even without prior background knowledge. It employs simple language to simplify complex processes, enhancing comprehension. The inclusion of appropriate technical terminology is used judiciously without overloading the reader.
The text maintains internal consistency, aligning chapter objectives, content (organized into subdivisions), and concluding each chapter with key terms, a chapter review, engaging interactive link questions, and thought-provoking critical thinking questions. While the multiple-choice format dominates the review questions, diversifying the question formats and incorporating more knowledge-check points throughout the text could be beneficial. Despite a greater emphasis on applying knowledge rather than testing it, this approach encourages student engagement with the content.
Each chapter is divided into subchapters, and each subchapter is further broken down into concise sections.
The content in the text is organized in a clear and logical manner.
The interface and text formatting are suitable. Perhaps, the font size for labeling pictures could be increased for better visibility.
I observed no grammatical errors.
The textbook includes images that represent a diverse range of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.
I find this textbook and its accompanying resources, including interactive link questions, PowerPoint slides, testable images, and the instructor answer guide, to be highly beneficial.
The simplicity of the book's pictures focuses on essential details without excessive labeling, preventing distraction or overwhelming students with too much information.
This textbook can serve as a "pre-reading" assignment before class because the concepts are presented in a straightforward manner, eliminating the need for extensive prior knowledge to comprehend the text. This sets it apart from more complex books that cover an excess of material, that serve well as reference materials but often leave students feeling overwhelmed by intricate ideas and an extensive array of medical or anatomical terminology, leading to more frustration than active engagement with the material. This approach promotes a more in-depth analysis of the topics in class, enriched by supplementary visuals and learning activities.
This book encompasses a variety of topics similar to what you would find in a textbook sold commercially. Additionally, it provides relatable examples that students can easily understand. read more
This book encompasses a variety of topics similar to what you would find in a textbook sold commercially. Additionally, it provides relatable examples that students can easily understand.
I can confirm that the book is accurate, as I did not encounter any issues with its accuracy.
The examples provided are applicable even in our fast-changing world and are relevant to the context.
The textbook is written in a way that is understandable for humans, but some phrases could still be simplified.
Each section of the textbook is consistent in its content and structure.
The textbook is well-organized into distinct modules.
The textbook's organization is suitable and follows the format of commercially available A&P textbooks.
For the most part, the interface is fitting, and the images are appropriate.
The text was found to be free of grammatical errors.
The book provides a variety of health-related examples and avoids offensive content. Additionally, it demonstrates sensitivity towards issues of race.
By hyperlinking vocabulary to its original meaning, the textbook can assist in improving the recall of several vocabulary meanings. This feature is particularly useful for anatomy students who may find it tedious to constantly go back and forth to recall vocabulary meanings.
The book covers most chapters that one would expect in A&P with sufficient detail. The electrophysiology sections could do a better job of connecting channel activity to cellular processes but an instructor can fill in the blanks for students. read more
The book covers most chapters that one would expect in A&P with sufficient detail. The electrophysiology sections could do a better job of connecting channel activity to cellular processes but an instructor can fill in the blanks for students.
I checked several of the most difficult sections and did not find any issue with accuracy.
Information is up-to-date and pathologies chosen are appropriate for undergraduate-level A&P.
Everything written is clear. The book chooses brevity at times when a little more detail or examples would be helpful to students. More pictures would be helpful in addendum to the text, as well.
The book is consistent in terminology and framework throughout.
The book is easy to navigate. Sub-headings are clear, and the search bar helps find detailed content as needed.
The book's organization is in alignment with most standard paid A&P textbooks on the market.
The interface is clear. All images are visible.
No grammatical errors visible during my readings of the book.
The book uses diverse examples in health on part with what one would find in a paid textbook.
In my opinion, this book is strong as a stand-alone classroom resource. Unfortunately, the associated PowerPoints do not include text or challenge questions so should only used by the strongest of instructors.
This textbook covers all the topics in anatomy and physiology that are necessary for a regular undergraduate degree. These topics range from the structure and function of individual cells to the many systems of the body. Each chapter gives a... read more
This textbook covers all the topics in anatomy and physiology that are necessary for a regular undergraduate degree. These topics range from the structure and function of individual cells to the many systems of the body. Each chapter gives a summary of the most important principles and contains illustrative tools, such as diagrams, charts, and pictures to better explain the material. In addition, an online review guide that features supplementary information and practice questions is included as a supplement to the textbook. The glossary that is relevant to each chapter is beneficial, and it will be especially helpful for students who are not familiar with the terminology. The index is clearly arranged and offers a synopsis of the anatomy, physiology, and diseases discussed in each individual chapter. This book is comprehensive and covers all of the fundamental facts one needs to know to have a solid foundation in anatomy and physiology. Because it covers so much information, students are practically assured of picking up all of the essential concepts and knowledge for their class from the textbook.
The texts presented in the textbook are accurate and free of any blunders or mistakes. The information is laid out in an organized and systematic fashion, which makes it easier to comprehend. The text seems to take a neutral stance and does not promote any particular point of view. Since the content has been appropriately referenced, students can trust this resource.
The content in this book is up-to-date with the current state of knowledge in anatomy and physiology. In addition, the textbook includes the latest research examples to illustrate key concepts, facilitating student comprehension. To maintain the textbook's credibility, accuracy, and applicability for future students, however, it will be necessary to incorporate new data and research.
The texts are written in an easy-to-understand manner that facilitates comprehension. The text also has a large variety of figures and charts, which help to explain the topic being discussed. Keywords and their definitions are highlighted and defined when they are either important or unique.
The text presents information in a consistent fashion. The organization of the chapters and the flow of material are logical and easy to follow.
The textbook is divided into individual chapters organized in a coherent way that makes sense in terms of the book's overall structure. The material is structured in an easy-to-understand fashion, and the text's transition from one chapter to the next is seamless.
The textbook sequence is organized in a way that is straightforward and thorough. It is well organized and follows a logical progression, covering all the important aspects of anatomy and physiology. The students can swiftly access the information they need based on their class objectives and the course.
This textbook has an easy-to-navigate and time-saving user interface. It is simple to search using keywords and subjects and easy to navigate to the glossary and index. In addition, drawings, graphs, and tables are contained within the book, all of which contribute to a better understanding of the subject matter.
None noticed.
The content of the textbook is culturally relevant. Throughout the book, examples are given to help students comprehend the breadth of human anatomy and physiology and create links between those examples and real-world scenarios. This facilitates students understanding and retention of the subject matter. This also assists students in comprehending how their knowledge may be useful to everyday life.
In conclusion, the Anatomy and Physiology Open Textbook by OpenStax is an indispensable resource for any student studying this difficult topic. Not only does it provide a comprehensive overview of human anatomy, but it also contains illustrations, drawings, and slides to assist students visualize the material. Additionally, it is organized in a way that facilitates navigation. This free textbook is an excellent resource for anatomy and physiology students due to its well-defined structure, logical organization, and detailed explanations of intricate concepts.
The Index is comprehensive and includes links to the appropriate location in the text. The Chapters on the Cardiovascular (CV) system were of higher quality and more comprehensive than the Muscle tissue chapter and the number and clarity of the... read more
The Index is comprehensive and includes links to the appropriate location in the text.
The Chapters on the Cardiovascular (CV) system were of higher quality and more comprehensive than the Muscle tissue chapter and the number and clarity of the figures was superior in CV. As examples, in the Muscle chapter comprehensiveness was lacking in the discussion of excitation-contraction coupling, description of the zones of the sarcomere and proteins in the sarcomere, the force-frequency relationship, and muscle fiber types. However, an instructor could add these details. There were numerous helpful tables in the CV sections; however, there were no tables in Muscle tissue and in several cases would add clarity and break up large blocks of text. It would be helpful to have the following tables: Comparison of muscle fiber types and types of muscle. Some of the figures also lacked important details such as 10.8 and 10.16. While the number of figures, tables, was greater in the CV chapters, there were some omissions such as a graph of the Frank-Starling curve and shifts in the curve with changes in contractility. This is considered one of the hallmark figures of CV physiology and it is difficult for students to understand this relationship without a graph. The Key terms section more accurate and comprehensive than Muscle tissue.
Similar to comprehensiveness, the accuracy of the CV chapters is better than the Muscle Chapter. In the Muscle Chapter there are several instances of lack of important details that leads to inaccuracies. For example, the description of eccentric contraction and treppe. Treppe is part of the force-frequency relationship and in this case, it appears to be an independent process. There is also inconsistency in the use of the term muscle alone as compared to cardiac, skeletal, or smooth muscle. This chapter is mainly about skeletal muscle and sometimes the term skeletal muscle is used while in other cases simply muscle. While it is generally obvious, there should be more consistency. An example of inaccuracy in the CV chapters is the statement that HR increases to 150 bpm in young, heathy individuals while in many cases HR rises to 180-200 bpm or near maximal HR as discussed in the subsequent section.
For a comprehensive A and P text, the material is up to date as the basic material has not changed significantly in recent years. The boxes on medical technology or diseases may need to be updated more frequently.
Overall, the writing style is clear and understandable and in most cases the material is presented in an easy-to-understand manner. In some cases, the lack of significant details improves clarity, but at the expense of important material. Clarity would be greater for students if answers were provided to the questions at the end of each chapter.
The text is internally consistent with respect to writing style, organization of the different chapters. However, the level of comprehensiveness, number/quality of figures, and tables does vary among topics.
Several sections were quite long, particularly in the Cardiovascular chapters, but in many cases the text was broken up with Figures, Tables, Application blocks, or links to videos.
This text covers all the major systems in a typical anatomy and physiology course and the sequence and organization is similar to traditional texts.
The interface was excellent in the online version, and it was easy to move among chapters and the sections within each chapter. he pdf version was also easy to navigate with all the quick links to the chapters and subchapters. All the links I tested were still active.
I did not find more than a few grammatical errors.
I did not find anything insensitive or offensive in the text.
This text covers all the major systems in a typical anatomy and physiology course and the sequence is similar to traditional texts. The level of detail is generally appropriate for an undergraduate level anatomy and physiology course; however, this may not be consistent across all systems. This review covered the overall format of the text but focused on Physiology (since Anatomy is a separate course and instructor at our university) and specifically on Chapter 10 Muscle Tissue and Chapters 19-20 The Cardiovascular System: The Heart and Blood Vessels/Circulation. All chapters include learning objectives, key terms (bolded in the text), chapter review, and various types of questions. The answers to the questions were not provided thus the student could not receive immediate feedback. It would be up to the instructor to provide a key. The Key terms section was lacking sufficient detail in several cases and several incorrect (or incomplete) definitions.
This text covers all topics required for a college Anatomy and Physiology course in a logical sequence. Each entry in the index hyperlinks to sections in the text. My only constructive criticism regarding comprehensiveness- and this applies to... read more
This text covers all topics required for a college Anatomy and Physiology course in a logical sequence. Each entry in the index hyperlinks to sections in the text. My only constructive criticism regarding comprehensiveness- and this applies to most AP and related textbooks- is that a brief treatment of ultimate explanations would aid student understanding, at least for anatomical and physiological systems in which humans are especially unique. An evolutionary context and compartive anatomical overview of humans vs. nonhuman primates provides a basis for better understanding of, for example, the human brain and metabolism.
No errors observed.
The core A+P canon that the text focuses on is unlikely to become out of date anytime soon. Inclusion of more "cutting edge" hypotheses and discoveries could aid student comprehension but may increase the need for more frequent revision.
Important or new terms are highlighted and defined. I've found the text to be accessible to a range of non-first-year biology students.
Each chapter has a similar structure and the text reads as one consistent work.
Chapter organization is appropriate for assigning homework readings.
The textbook sequence is appropriate. While I do not follow the textbook sequence entirely, each chapter is relatively stand-alone and can be presented out-of-order without extensive need for scaffolding and introduction of new concepts.
The interface is easy to use. The chapter bar on the left can be removed, creating more space for viewing the chapter text. A search bar is permanently affixed to the top header.
No grammatical issues observed.
Due to the nature of the topic, and this textbook's focus on core concepts rather than applications, the text feels (to me) culturally neutral.
This textbook is a great option to provide students. I don't feel that there's any tradeoff in quality for adoption of this freely-accessible text.
The content is thorough with a good balance of overview/summary vs. detailed explanations, and the summary section at the end of each chapter is a great feature for both student and instructor. The chapter-specific glossary of key words is... read more
The content is thorough with a good balance of overview/summary vs. detailed explanations, and the summary section at the end of each chapter is a great feature for both student and instructor. The chapter-specific glossary of key words is especially helpful.
Content seems to be error-free.
Fascia is increasingly included as a body system but is not herein and is not give much discussion. Inclusion of links to the emerging science of fascial properties, functions, human fascial dissections, etc. would be helpful.
The text itself is clearly written and provides key words in bold. The chapter-specific glossary of key words is especially helpful. The artwork is clear and the authors’ approach to minimize distracting colors or structures makes for effective graphics. Selected pathologies presented for each system enhance understanding of system function, while inclusion of how aging effects each system is especially enlightening. Another highlight is the inclusion of many practical applications and real-life connections to the anatomic or physiological concepts being described, making the material more memorable.
No inconsistencies were noted.
The materials provided are highly customizable to meet diverse course needs. The ability to reorganize relevant parts and print a low-cost text when desired is especially useful.
It’s organization by body system is typical and very logical.
The added elements, thoughtful design, and interactive links make it an exceptional resource. Some links were broken.
No grammatical errors were noted.
The intentional use of multi-cultural examples and pictures should be relevant to a diverse audience.
This textbook covers all the material covered in any traditional anatomy & physiology two-semester course. The material is organized in a logical format, starting with basic cell function and working into tissues and different organ systems.... read more
This textbook covers all the material covered in any traditional anatomy & physiology two-semester course. The material is organized in a logical format, starting with basic cell function and working into tissues and different organ systems. The index is accurate and correctly links to each chapter/section when using both the online and PDF versions of the textbook. This is a nice convenience.
The text is accurate to the content of human anatomy and physiology and appears to be unbiased in its representation.
The text is up-to-date as of 2022 and includes more inclusive imaging. However, there is no way to modify the text if new information becomes available before the next edition.
Some terms and phrases are difficult to understand. Some descriptions and analogies can be a little confusing. Overall, the text is written in a manner appropriate for this level of instruction but may need clarification from the instructor.
Terminology is consistent throughout the book and includes alternate names for structures in the body (e.g., "atrioventricular bundle" and "bundle of His"). While a nice variety of imagery is included (graphs, models, donor structures, etc.), the sizing of the images is not consistent. If using the PDF, some images may be too small for students to see effectively.
The text is very well-organized and broken into bite-size pieces. Each section includes 1-3 images with a good variety of image sources and representations.
The text is organized in a logical format following a standard two-semester anatomy & physiology course structure. The material is broken down into organized chunks allowing for easy readability and comprehension.
The textbook seems to be free from interface issues. There are interactive links included throughout the text linking to interactive quizzes and games, providing additional learning opportunities.
There are very few, if any, significant grammatical errors in the text.
In the updated edition of the text, the authors worked to make the imagery more inclusive. As a result, this is one of the only human sciences books I've found that includes anatomical images of people of all backgrounds. More human sciences material should follow what was done here.
This text is a great alternative to a higher price anatomy & physiology text often required of students. It covers the same material in the same general format as the higher-cost publications. The text includes practice quizzes and critical thinking questions throughout. It also includes links to interactive learning material to provide additional learning opportunities for students. This book would still likely need to be paired with a lab and is only suitable for a lecture course on its own.
The book contains everything one would expect for a introductory A&P text. read more
The book contains everything one would expect for a introductory A&P text.
Upon review the information is accurate and free of errors.
The text appears to be relevant and up to date.
The terminology used is appropriate for this level of textbook.
The text is consistent of its use of terminology as well as the level of terminology used.
The text is arranged in a student friendly manner.
For this level of textbook the organization is appropriate.
The interface is free of issues and obstacles for the student.
Grammatical errors were not found.
The text was not found to be offensive.
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... read more
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.
This textbook covers all the pertinent systems of the body in a comprehensive and palatable matter. The textbook also does an excellent job of relating the anatomy and physiology to the student in practical, medical, and real-life healthcare... read more
This textbook covers all the pertinent systems of the body in a comprehensive and palatable matter. The textbook also does an excellent job of relating the anatomy and physiology to the student in practical, medical, and real-life healthcare situations. The continuity between the chapters is excellent.
I have a doctorate degree in healthcare and have been teaching anatomy & physiology for over 15 years. I reviewed each chapter of the book with accuracy in mind. The textbook is accurate and concise in all chapters.
The textbook brings the reader into the world of A & P through not only the anatomy and physiology but also through real-life connections of how this information is used in the daily lives of healthcare workers. There is also interactive videos which can be easily accessed on a cell phone. Wonderful addition to textbooks.
Clarity, was perhaps my favorite part of the book. To teach my students I go to great lengths to present information clearly without all the excess detail that seems to seep its way into textbooks.
The book is developed and laid out similarly to all other A & P textbooks. I found the language utilized in the book to be easily read by most students. Some science books or an impossible read for undergraduate student but this one does flow nicely and will keep the student engaged.
This textbook breaks down each area of the human anatomy and physiology quite nicely. Each chapter has well packaged, easily consumable, sections of the most important information regarding that particular body system.
The textbook flows nicely, not atypical for in A & P text. The best part of the textbook is how the usable real life situations are introduced and the accessible videos. The student can read a section, comprehend, and then apply the information.
I found no problems with the texts interface or links.
None
The text is not offensive in any way. There are no historical references to races that would be inappropriate or microaggressive.
The quality of this textbook is excellent. My students are spending over $300 for a textbook similar to this. I am delighted that this excellent quality textbook is available to students for free.
The textbook provides good foundational content using a systems approach to for Anatomy and Physiology . There is consistency throughout the book and within each chapter. Each section has learning objectives listed. Support materials are also... read more
The textbook provides good foundational content using a systems approach to for Anatomy and Physiology . There is consistency throughout the book and within each chapter. Each section has learning objectives listed. Support materials are also available to students at the end of each chapter. These include interactive links for further study, chapter reviews, and other content. There could be further mention of homeostasis.
The textbook provides accurate content. Each topic was presented with relevant terminology and accurate descriptions.
Content is current and relevant to Anatomy and Physiology. There were very good microscopy images. However, it’s helpful to have both histological and artistic images available. Current clinical connections were included in each topic area to provide relevancy to the content. Learning objectives are clearly stated and should be universal for most instructors
The text demonstrates clarity. It is straightforward and easy to comprehend. The video animations located within the content and glossary of key terms after each chapter are also very helpful for comprehension.
There is consistent framework throughout the textbook, from the preface to the index and from chapter to chapter.
The text is easy to read and organized into modules. The material content is developed into appropriate sections and subsections and were labeled clearly. The links found throughout the book were very relevant and contribute to learning comprehension for students.
This textbook is easy to navigate and well-organized in a systems approach to A & P. The flow of the text is very smooth. Additional charts, tables, or bulleted steps could be helpful for understanding complex processes, but there are very good supplementary learning resources embedded in the content.
The book is easy to navigate, topics and information is readily located, links were operational, figures/tables were displayed easily, but images were small and sometimes difficult to view.
There were no observable grammatical errors in the text.
The text demonstrated cultural relevancy and multi-cultural anatomy is presented within the content.
This Anatomy and Physiology textbook is a reasonable, cost-effective option for students. The organization, content, support materials, links, and learning assessment were very good. I look forward to including it in my classroom.
This seems to cover most material when compared to other popular college textbooks. I usually say that all A&P textbooks have the same material, but they are just different "art books". There are certain aspects that are notable in this... read more
This seems to cover most material when compared to other popular college textbooks. I usually say that all A&P textbooks have the same material, but they are just different "art books". There are certain aspects that are notable in this book. Namely, a good explanations of medications of the Autonomic N.S. (15.4) and a great use of applying the Neural Exam (16). However, the diagrams in this book were nothing exceptional when compared to other books, in fact, a bit poorer than other books. Certain things that were missing, but should have been added were some images (i.e.: No images for Areolar & Bone histology (4.3)) and no mention of Dense Elastic C.T. There should be a diagram for thyroid hormone synthesis (17.4). Just paragraphs of text only on this subject will surely be harder for students to comprehend. Anther subject that was lacking with diagrams are the different reflexes (15.4). Again, a picture is worth a thousand words... No picture here though.
Seems to be error-free and unbiased of what I reviewed in it.
Good use of medical conditions throughout this book and seems to be up-to-date. However, these medical applications need to ALWAYS be reviewed annually as things change. More images of medical conditions should be placed in the book as opposed to just reading text, especially for skin disorders (5.4).
The text does flow nicely, but again, it would be good to add in a diagram or 2 to help visualize the more complex material read (i.e.: reflexes (14.3) and thyroid hormone synthesis (17.4) to name a couple).
Seems to use the same terminology throughout the book.
Some sections are manageable and broken into nice smaller "chunks" for students to gauge themselves (i.e.: Endocrinology (17)). However, certain other subjects are WAY too large of a "chunk" to manage. Lymphatics and Immunology (21) is one of the toughest subjects in A&P to comprehend, let alone teach. Each section in this subject tends to scroll down "forever". Students will be overwhelmed with material. Male A&P (27.1) and Female A&P (27.2) are also one section each and there is WAY too much in each section. Endocrinology is broken down nicely and then the Reproductive system is far from it, in terms of organization. Sensory Perception (14.1) is another subject that should be broken down into smaller sections.
I like the way this book is organized, but again, nothing special as it goes through the same order of body system as other common college A&P books (i.e.: Martini; Marieb; etc.). Also, as noted in Modularity (above), some sections (i.e.: Immunology (21), Reproduction (27), etc.) are just too long and should be broken down into smaller "chunks" for students to manage and absorb. This should be considered especially in creating a book for Online Learning. Too much scrolling will make students anxious and feel overwhelmed.
I have not seen failures of charts, figures, etc. in my review of this book.
I did not witness any grammatical errors in my review of this book.
There was nothing "offensive" that I saw. However, it is quite obvious that the publisher is adding in color diversity to the full body images. This should be consistent though in each related section of figures. It will make the learning for the reader easier to visualize and remember by using the most conducive colors to learn from. The publisher should be more concerned of labels and their lines being easily readable. For instance, Figures 1.4. and 1.5 should all be the same color as they are related to the same concept. It should be consistent. Figure 1.3 has the word "medial" in black letters and placed on a background that is dark brown. Why not have white letters on a dark background or black letters on a light background? Black label lines over a dark background is not conducive to learning, but more of a struggle to buy a pair of glasses. Also, in the Respiratory Anatomy, there are too many reds and pinks in the diagrams (Figures 22.7, 22.8 & 22.10). Students are to LEARN from these diagrams the easiest way possible. It should be something that is NOT difficult to see.
Overall, I am not a big fan of this book. There are other A&P textbooks that are much better than this one and much easier for students to learn from. Although this book seems to cover most of the TEXT material that other common college A&P books have, this book does NOT have much aesthetically pleasing diagrams and images to correspond with the text. This makes for a more difficult time for students to absorb an already challenging subject. There are other books much better than this one.
This book covers all the areas needed for a complete anatomy and physiology course. read more
This book covers all the areas needed for a complete anatomy and physiology course.
So far I have found no errors yet while reviewing the book.
The content of this book is well written and in a logical sequence. I think it is going to pair nicely with my course.
Easy to understand and great examples and graphics used to help explain the concepts that are needed to be understood.
Book has a nice consistency to it and flows well from concept to concept.
I like how you can use various chunks of the chapter and not have to use all the parts to be able to get your points across.
I think the way this book is formatted it makes a lot of sense and has a very clear defined patter it follows making the reader understand what is going on.
I have had no issues with navigational errors or image issues.
Well written with no mistakes that I can find at this time.
I find the book covers all sorts of subjects and even relates it to various ethnicities.
This is a great source for Anatomy and Physiology students. I can see the uses for this book for many types of Anatomy and Physiology courses from single semester to full year courses. I really like how nicely it pairs with the LMS system we use. I look forward to using this book more.
The book covers all of the key topics in Anatomy and Physiology. It is not as comprehensive as other standard A&P texts, particularly in the anatomy chapters. There are two caveats I would make to this. First, many other standard A&P texts... read more
The book covers all of the key topics in Anatomy and Physiology. It is not as comprehensive as other standard A&P texts, particularly in the anatomy chapters. There are two caveats I would make to this. First, many other standard A&P texts also have companion Lab Manuals. These lab manuals often provide much more detail on anatomical organization and terminology, effectively acting as supplements. Second, I believe that this a stylistic choice. I personally find that the detailed anatomical chapters distract students from the key concepts. While a subset of students are able to effectively parse the material to focus on the fundamental concepts, others get lost in the details.
I find it refreshing that this textbook tends to focus on the critical concepts without getting bogged down in minutia. I would summarize this book as a good presentation of the core material and concepts of A&P, but not a comprehensive reference.
I did not observe any errors in my review. Furthermore, the online format makes it easy to submit feedback and for errors to be corrected.
This book follows a pretty standard sequence for Anatomy and Physiology textbooks. The material is organized such a way that it can be easily updated, but I do not believe that will be necessary for the most sections. Real-world examples, concept applications and case studies are included in boxes and side bars that are very easy to expand, remove or alter without requiring significant revision to the text.
Overall, I think the book does a good job presenting the material, although it is somewhat chapter specific. For instance, the muscle chapter introduction/learning objectives section uses a lot of detailed terminology that is discussed almost immediately and defined (or refined) across multiple paragraphs. This may make the chapter hard to follow for the novice. That being said, the introductions for each chapter provide good motivation for the material and ease the transitions into different topics. I also find the writing easy to follow, with the material presented with prose that is easy to read and not too technical. There are times when terms are introduced, but seem to not be completely defined until later, or are not in bold-face when initially defined. The definitions at the end of the chapter sometimes have more or less detail than when the terms are defined in the text.
The flow of writing throughout the textbook is not entirely consistent across the book. There are some chapters or unit organizations that don't have the most logical flow / organization or where the links between chapters are a little weaker than they could be. An example of this would be in the Nervous System chapters. I like the inclusion of the Neurological Exam chapter, as I think this is an excellent framework for integrating concepts presented across the nervous system chapters. However, the way the material is presented in this chapter is not always strongly integrated or clearly linked to the material from the earlier chapters.
The authors make a clear effort to make the chapters modular and mostly succeed. However, I think that evaluating the book on this criteria is somewhat misguided. Given that the material in A&P builds on previous information, there is only so much modularity that is possible. For instance, it is impossible to effectively present muscle and nervous system physiology without repeating the same concepts (e.g. the action potential). This results in some redundancy and lack of detail in the presentation of certain concepts in at least one of the chapters.
Another example would be that the material in the basic chemistry and cellular and molecular biology chapters are critical for the rest of the material. In many cases, there are links that are provided to the early chapters, but in other cases the material is not linked. For instance, when desmosomes are mentioned in the cardiac muscle chapter it would be nice to have a reference back to where they are initially introduces (in the epithelial tissues chapter).
These concerns are somewhat mitigated by the ability to easily search the text, but having to search the text will disrupt the continuity of the reading experience.
There are ways that this could be addressed, for instance having an action potential chapter that is referenced by both muscle and nervous system chapters, but this would disrupt the organization and potentially introduce more confusion.
I think the organization is good and follows a relatively standard sequence within the field. I would personally make some different organizational choices, such as introducing nervous system physiology (e.g. action potentials) before muscle cell physiology. That being said, I understand and respect the reason for the existing sequencing and it certainly fits the overall topic organization followed in the text. Also, since it is an Open Educational Resource I am able to reorganize and/or remix it if I so desire.
I find the navigation very straightforward and effective.
I did not notice any grammatical errors.
There has been a clear effort by the authors to integrate more diversity into the images in the book. I think there is potential for more representation (e.g. in the photographs), but that clear efforts are being made to improve on this front.
I find this book is very well targeted for introductory A&P sequences. It covers the material in a way that focuses on important principles without going into too much detail. Given the incredible breadth of material covered in A&P, this can be very useful for student that are learning the material for the first time. That being said, the lack of depth in some areas makes it difficult to adapt or apply to upper-level A&P classes (which is not necessarily the target audience, but I think it is worth noting).
This text is an excellent resource for teaching our pre-nursing and pre allied health students. It satisfies all of our objectives. read more
This text is an excellent resource for teaching our pre-nursing and pre allied health students. It satisfies all of our objectives.
Appears to be accurate.
Anatomy and Physiology doesn't change much.
Very clear.
It's consistent.
Easy to digest.
This text is organized in the typical AP style. Basic terminology, cells , tissues then body systems.
Easy to navigate.
No noticeable grammatical errors.
Appears to be diverse.
I like this textbook. We've been using it for the past year in our pre-nursing and pre-allied health AP courses.
This book has a very comprehensive list of learning objectives for each chapter. This is then further broken down into learning objectives for each lesson of each chapter. This is very useful for me since I use daily learning targets in class as... read more
This book has a very comprehensive list of learning objectives for each chapter. This is then further broken down into learning objectives for each lesson of each chapter. This is very useful for me since I use daily learning targets in class as well as on our course LMS page. There is a glossary for key terms after each chapter, rather than at the end of the book. I haven't yet used this book in class, but I could see where that would make it a little more difficult for a student to use a glossary for a term that was not used in a particular chapter. Overall, the book seems to provide a comprehensive overview of anatomy and physiology that will be useful for teaching a 100 level college class.
I have not noticed any issues with the accuracy of the information provided in this book.
This text appears to be sectioned well, such that updates will be easy to add.
New terms are highlighted in bold to help students identify new vocabulary and the text appears easy to understand.
The text in consistent in its organization. There is an introduction to every chapter where all the the learning objectives are laid out. Each lesson within a chapter has learning targets that are designed to help the student reach the chapter learning objectives. All terminology is bolded and then a list of key terms is provided at the end of each chapter. Between chapters, the organization appears to be the same which is helpful for both learners and educators.
The Moodle cartridge that comes with this textbook makes it very easy to break this book up into many different modules to easily assign different parts to students at different points during the course.
The topics in this text appear to be presented in a logical, clear fashion. There are some topics that I wouldn't have thought would be in an introductory anatomy and physiology course text, but overall the topics in this text are relevant and in a logical order.
I have yet to notice any significant interface issues. This book comes with a Moodle package with is very useful since Moodle is our LMS.
I have not noticed any grammatical errors.
The text uses examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.
This textbook is very comprehensive and covers a wide array of human anatomy and physiology concepts required for two- or four-years colleges. The topics are organized in sections which are aligned with levels of organization. The content list is... read more
This textbook is very comprehensive and covers a wide array of human anatomy and physiology concepts required for two- or four-years colleges. The topics are organized in sections which are aligned with levels of organization. The content list is very clear and user friendly. The layout of each chapter is clear and supplemented by helpful video links. The chapter summary and key terms are very helpful for review point of view.
As much as I could review, the content is accurate and written in clear and understandable language. There are enough details for each topic for students to develop concepts without being stressed by too many finer details.
The text is relevant and covers the contemporary information. There are multiple video links connected to YouTube that must be refreshed after some time. As YouTube changes happen all the time that may mess up with the links.
The manual is clearly written and provides adequate explanation of extensive anatomical terminology. An easily accessible list of key terms at the end of each chapter with definitions helps it further.
This textbook is consistent in terms of layout and content organization. The major units are organized with a uniform layout throughout the book that can easily be followed.
It is simple to modify (I use PDF editor) and certain sections and chapters can be put aside or combined together to tailor to your needs.
The textbook is well organized and user-friendly. The content table is clearly organized and links for each section are helpful. You can easily open the chapter or topic by few clicks instead of long scrolling up and down.
There are no interface issues in this textbook, as all the links for videos and animations I tried, are in working order. The images/charts and tables are clear and detailed. Few areas could have better images like “protein synthesis”, more detailed and clear images could have worked well.
I didn’t come across any noticeable grammatical error.
I found nothing within the textbook to be offensive or insensitive from cultural aspects. There isn’t any section referring to racial or ethnical discrepancies.
Comments:
I am pleased to see a quality textbook for “Anatomy and Physiology” in OER. The text is organized in a way that is conducive to the two semester A&P courses. Especially, when it is supplemented with instructor’s as well as student’s resources. It can save a lot of money for our students without compromising their learning.
The units listed in this text were very informative. They covered all content at for the level of text. Felt the descriptions and content was more than enough for the level of education for a course with this text. The background information for a... read more
The units listed in this text were very informative. They covered all content at for the level of text. Felt the descriptions and content was more than enough for the level of education for a course with this text. The background information for a text at this level can be a bit complicated but felt they did it at the level needed. Content areas are specific and detailed for the educational level.
I felt this text with content was very accurate with no bias. The information was specific for the content areas and for any student using this text. Content was great overview for the areas of interest and flowed in a sense that made content easy to understand throughout the book. I did not feel there was any bias with the content, units or flow of information for this text.
Content seems to be 100% relevant for the level of text shown. Content seems to be up to date and specific to the areas of interest in the units. The content in the book is over areas of interest and content that has been constant for quite some time. The up to date content needed for evolution for this text has been updated from what I can see.
Text information is very clear and concise in each unit with no confusion on the area of interest.
Information seems to be consistent with other texts and chapters in the book. The content is consistent in the field of anatomy and physiology when it comes to the level of education.
After reading the text I felt the several chapters listed had great detailed information that was cut up into a great number. Felt there were chapters with content that flowed well and had no problems with transition from one chapter to the next.
Book was extremely organized in content and chapters. Feel the transition of information is similar to other texts and will let students succeed.
I felt the information flow was great and did not slow the read down at all. Felt navigation was easy with reading and looking for information.
I did not see anything that alarmed me with the grammatical content.
I read and saw no culturally insensitive information in this text. Felt it was similar to other texts and did not show any bias or offensive content.
I feel this is a great book with content and flow for any student. This information is great for any student looking at anatomy and physiology.
Overall the text book is good when compare to other text book . OpenStax text book all the chapter is organized ,and some diagram is good for students. This book is very comprehensive. I compare the text book with other commercial text but... read more
Overall the text book is good when compare to other text book . OpenStax text book all the chapter is organized ,and some diagram is good for students. This book is very comprehensive. I compare the text book with other commercial text but OpenStax is very helpful for A&P student. It is free of cost that means idea is excellent for students specially pandemic time.
Content is good but need to more organized and make a good power point slide .
All the chapter is up to date and clinical co-relation . Medical terminology and pathophysiology is good .
Book presentation is good but need to more clarify the topics . It is easy to use . Complex terminology was explain with image but need to more details.
Chapter to chapter description helps to overall guidance to students. Each terminology need to explain more details.
Need to good power point presentation and end of the chapter recall information.
yes the topic is logical and up to date information.
This book visual diagram and picture was good but need to more clear.
Not really
No cultural intensive or offensive in any way.
Need to clear diagram, make a good power point presentation, end of the chapter summary and recall information.
Overall, I found this text to be very comprehensive. There are some differences between the terminology and approaches compared to what I am used to, but there were no significant gaps that I could see. read more
Overall, I found this text to be very comprehensive. There are some differences between the terminology and approaches compared to what I am used to, but there were no significant gaps that I could see.
A couple of things that might be different from other books are the way movements are described in skeletal muscle function, and the description of functional organization of the nervous system. However, I found all the text to be accurate.
This text used up-to-date terminology, in every instance I examined.
Clarity of the prose is excellent. I think the organization gets in the way of clarity a bit. (See below). The figures are mostly clear, but a little basic in places.
The text has very good consistency.
I personally prefer more of a bullet-point style for textbooks, especially when I consider this as a modular book that can be modified for course use. I think more of a bullet-point style would facilitate cutting and editing.
In a few places, I felt that the learning objectives didn’t encompass everything that was in the section. This made me fell a little bit like text may have been added to try to improve coverage. But it also made me feel it was hard to see where it was going. So I think it could be better if it was just chopped up more, into smaller digestible pieces. (That is, more sub-sections, not more numbered sections).
Very good interface. But having the Openstax banner and offer to order a print copy at the bottom of every page (in the online version) was a bit distracting.
There were no grammar errors that I noticed.
This seemed appropriate to me.
Overall, I think this text is very good. It has excellent writing and excellent coverage. Somewhat improved figures and more modular organization would be an improvement in my opinion.
All of the expected units for a thorough anatomy & physiology course are included, and the table of contents and index are clear. The search feature on the online version is very helpful. read more
All of the expected units for a thorough anatomy & physiology course are included, and the table of contents and index are clear. The search feature on the online version is very helpful.
I did not find any inaccuracies in the text.
The content is extremely relevant and mostly unchanging. Updates should be easy to implement into existing chapters.
The writing overall is clear, though more context could sometimes be provided for jargon. Depending on student level and prior reading, this may not be much of a problem, but for first year students or non-STEM majors, it can be challenging.
The structure of each chapter and their features are consistent throughout the textbook.
The book has good modularity. I have assigned components of this text in different courses, used partial chapters, and assigned chapters out of order, and it has generally worked well. Within chapters, it is easy to subdivide reading assignments, and I have not found it to be overly self-referential.
Well organized text. The order of topics within chapters is clear, and the units of chapters have been put together in a logical way.
I have not experienced any interface issues when using this text. I have noted that the quality and resolution of the images has improved over the past few years.
Overall the text is well written, and I have not noticed grammatical errors.
The text does use examples that include a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, and I did not find anything offensive in the chapters I've read. It could be more inclusive of people with different body types and abilities.
The text could be more inclusive of sexual and gender minorities in the examples given and language used. To be fair, this text is the best that I've seen with regard to conflation of sex and gender, which is rampant in most texts and very minimal in this one, but it could be further improved to better include trans and nonbinary people.
The text is comprehensive and provides a good foundation for anatomy and physiology. It has the same structure for each chapter, providing the learning objectives at the start. The additional resources at the end of each chapter helps provided... read more
The text is comprehensive and provides a good foundation for anatomy and physiology. It has the same structure for each chapter, providing the learning objectives at the start. The additional resources at the end of each chapter helps provided support to the students, with a list of key terms, a chapter review, the interactive links, follow-up questions and critical thinking question all help add provide comprehension support to the chapter reading. The bonus resources for students is very beneficial such as the zip file that provides audio recording of correct production of key terms helps provide understanding to the technical terms used throughout the text and a guide to writing notes will help identify key concepts from each chapter.
Text content remained accurate and bias free.
Content is up-to-date and relevant to anatomy and physiology that any updates would be minor and simple to add if needed.
The text is specific enough to learn new concepts, but not overwhelming or riddled with excessive technical jargon.
The framework of the text was consistent through all sections from the preface, chapter to chapter, to the index.
The text is easy to read and the divided in a logical manner. The text provided appropriate titles for large themes and labeled subsections to keep the text from becoming overwhelming to the reader.
The text is organized and flow seamlessly from one topic to the next.
The text is easy to navigate and locate specific topics quickly. The links worked properly. The figures/tables displayed properly.
The text did not demonstrate any grammatical errors.
The text is culturally sensitive to the material, and examples of multi-cultural anatomy is presented. The text could have included more cultural/diversity examples from real-world experiences.
This anatomy and physiology textbook is an ideal resource for an introduction to A&P and a resource for my advance courses. I am looking forward using this text in my future courses.
There were times when I wish there was more depth on a topic/homeostatic process and other times when I wanted less information (technology used clinically). This is a comment I make about every textbook though, and I would image most professors... read more
There were times when I wish there was more depth on a topic/homeostatic process and other times when I wanted less information (technology used clinically). This is a comment I make about every textbook though, and I would image most professors would as well. However, the specific topics that fit into each category (more/less information), we would likely disagree about. None of the topics I wanted more/less information about are the major topics of the course so this is not a massive problem.
All content seemed accurate. I would like to see updates on some terminology to reflect structures named after location instead of who is given credit for discovering it. For example, glomerular capsule tells the student the capsule is around the glomerulus, Bowmen’s capsule does not, as we don’t have a structure called the Bowmen in the kidney.
I didn't find any issues.
The book was clear to read for me.
I didn't find any errors.
The text is easy to read, there are enough heading and subheadings to help students track content. I really liked how there are interactive links throughout the textbook and found that helpful for students. The microscopy images were nice and clear, however there were times when I wanted more histological images to go with the cartoon images. I like to have both in textbook.
The book is well organized. For some of the more complicated processes I like a numbered/bulleted/flow chart of the steps. This way I can walk students through how the process works and we can more easily have a conversation about order of events.
The part of the book that I struggled with were the images. They were hard/impossible to read on my laptop, unless I zoomed way it and then it was hard to read the surrounding text. Looking at the images on a screen (zoomed into 150%) made it better from some, but still wasn’t clear enough for others (muscles for example).
I didn't find any errors
I did not find any issues beyond how structures are named.
Overall this is a fine textbook. If looking to teach an online class or fit budgetary needs I don’t think this is a poor choice. However, I still want a more robust book, especially with the images. I am eager to follow the development of this text and others like it.
This text is set up like most anatomy and physiology texts in terms of the topics covered and the relative order of those topics. The index made it easy to search for topics. read more
This text is set up like most anatomy and physiology texts in terms of the topics covered and the relative order of those topics. The index made it easy to search for topics.
The material for each topic was presented using appropriate terminology and descriptions.
The topics were presented with up to date clinical situations that illustrate the importance of physiological processes.
The text is straightforward and easy to read. There is a handy list of key terms and definitions after each chapter. Video animations are embedded in the chapter material which enhances the learning experience. The critical thinking questions are appropriate for evaluating the depth of learning.
The level of depth and amount of material covered for each topic are consistent throughout the text.
Each chapter is nicely subdivided into modules. A suggestion would be to add more tables where appropriate to summarize the information.
Overall, the text is very organized. The learning objectives are clearly stated and should connect well with the course objectives for most instructors of A&P.
I had no difficulties accessing the chapter and module links or the embedded video links.
I did not run across any grammatical errors. Well done!!
In general, I did not feel that there was any cultural bias associated with some of the people photos associated with the introduction to various chapter. However, an attempt to include additional ethnic groups could demonstrate more inclusiveness.
Overall, I was very pleased with the organization, content, illustrations, and learning assessment of this online text. I would certainly consider using it for an introductory A&P course.
The Anatomy is remarkably thorough and is an excellent resource. I thoroughly compared the contents to a $180 anatomy textbook for the course, and it was just as comprehensive as the expensive Pearson text. In fact, it had some minor details which... read more
The Anatomy is remarkably thorough and is an excellent resource. I thoroughly compared the contents to a $180 anatomy textbook for the course, and it was just as comprehensive as the expensive Pearson text. In fact, it had some minor details which even the paid textbook did not have, such as some deeper explanations (or more clear explanations) of some of the body systems and anatomy structures. Overall, an excellent resource for teaching anatomy.
As far as I could tell, everything was correct. I did not see any errors, typos, or incorrect information.
Anatomy and Physiology is best taught together, as they are somewhat inseparable disciplines. Unfortunately, the current class structure utilizes a separate and horribly written Clinical Anatomy, by Voll, Wesker, (3rd ed) which not only confused the students, it made the material haphazard and superficial. Much material was absent from the text, which I supplemented with the much better written Open Source A&P text. A separate physiology book was used, which was much better (Human Physiology, From Cells to Systems, 9th ed. Sherwood, Cengage Learning). However, the structure and content closely followed the OE anatomy and physiology text, and since both are included, it should just be one single FREE book used.
Clear, well written content.
I could not see any issues with discrepancies or contradictions. All material flows well, and is much better than many textbooks which you need to pay for.
Modules were clearly laid out, and there was good flow of content and ideas.
Organization was more by material than by relevance. It would be nice for updated versions to focus more on relevant systems in order of learning, perhaps by the school. The chapters were organized in a slightly different order than the material that was covered.
Delivery is good, but loading time was lengthy on slightly slower internet connection, and several students complained about the minute or two needed to download a chapter for viewing. A step-wise reading pattern of download may help (such as web pages which only load what you are looking at).
Well written. No errors were noticeable.
The book took a culturally-sensitive approach to the material, and examples of multi-cultural anatomy was presented. No offensive content was observed.
This is a well-written, extensive resource which is an excellent presentation of anatomy and physiology. Some of the content surpassed some of the paid textbooks in depth, and consistently was more concise and well-written than many other textbooks on the subject.
This text book takes a systems level approach to anatomy and physiology. It is compressive and has chapters dedicated to the major anatomical/physiological system. Each chapter begins with a list of learning objectives. Each section further... read more
This text book takes a systems level approach to anatomy and physiology. It is compressive and has chapters dedicated to the major anatomical/physiological system. Each chapter begins with a list of learning objectives. Each section further identifies specific learning objectives. Every chapter ends with a glossary of key terms which are bolded throughout the chapter. Chapters include interactive links (QR codes) that lead students to relevant animations online. Chapters include featured sections on relevant careers, research connections, and applications of the content to everyday life. The chapters are organized in a logical fashion and the textbook is straightforward to navigate.
I did not come across any errors or biased content.
Content is standard for anatomy and physiology texts and is up-to-date.
The text is written in a way that is easy to understand and avoids overuse of technical terms. The glossary is also easy to use and it is helpful that the key terms are summarized at the end of each chapter, not just at the end of the book.
The structure of each chapter is consistent throughout the the text which makes the text book easy to navigate. Key terms are bolded throughout and summarized at the end of each chapter.
There are a few instances of pages of mostly text however for the most part test is broken up with diagrams/images. The learning objectives that are identified at the beginning of each section are very helpful in assigning specific reading sections depending on what is being covered in class.
The text is relatively easy to read and chapters a broken down logically. This makes it easy to find what you are looking for.
This textbook is easy to navigate and find what you are looking for due the logical organization of the chapters and the consistent layout throughout each chapter.
I found no grammatical errors.
The text could use more inclusive examples, for ex. scientist spotlights including scientists from diverse backgrounds or diversify the images used in the text.
the book is a good review of basic human anatomy & physiology. It would required further diagrams and detail to make it enriching for the needs of a nursing student (or pre-med), but it does serve as an excellent primer for the content rich... read more
the book is a good review of basic human anatomy & physiology. It would required further diagrams and detail to make it enriching for the needs of a nursing student (or pre-med), but it does serve as an excellent primer for the content rich course of anatomy & physiology.
I have seen no errors of content, but suggest that updates maybe necessary in the coming decade due to the development of recent research and insight into new organs.
the content is well written and arrnaged so that updates can be easily made.
The text content is details and clear so that students can read as well as review key concepts. The bold type for key term and gloosary at the end of each chapter make review very straight forward for the student.
The text is consistent with terms and structural relationships with other topics within the course of anatomy & physiology study.
The text can be broken down into modules for online review and study.,
Te topics are consistent with Human Anatomy & Physiology guidelines for content coverage, especially for the needs of allied health students.
the text does not appear to have significant navigation problems. With menu on the left hand side, the format makes it easy to jump from one subject to another.
No grammatical errors were found in the text.
No culturally insensitive errors were found in the review of this text.
This text offers the instructor a good coverage of content for a one year course. the format makes it appealing for anatomy & physiology instructors to use in a classroom format as well as informative for students who undertake a human anatomy & physiology course.
The text covers all areas you would expect in a systems based approach to A&P that a first year college student would take. Some sections could use a bit more detail, but using this book with content from other OpenStax titles (Biology 2e and... read more
The text covers all areas you would expect in a systems based approach to A&P that a first year college student would take. Some sections could use a bit more detail, but using this book with content from other OpenStax titles (Biology 2e and Psychology) allows for the creation of a more comprehensive and content rich course. The glossary, navigation, and index make it easy for students and faculty alike to easily navigate to their area of study.
Overall the content in the book is excellent. The material is unbiased and presents an objective peer reviewed perspective on all topics. Previously, there were errors in some of the images and text, but due to the open source nature of the book nearly all of these have been corrected. Any accuracy related issues exist due to a lack of material on the subject, rather than material that is confusing or incorrect.
The overall organization of the book, and its explanation of core principles and essential building block elements will make it easy to adapt as we learn more about Anatomy and Physiology. The book has sufficient depth to get students interested in the subject enough to read peer reviewed literature on the topic, but isn’t so in depth the peer reviewed literature will make the book outdated quickly.
The book is easy to understand with some background on the material. A student with previous experience in biology or anatomy will feel comfortable reading through the sections, but a novice to the material will find the terms and jargon a bit much to digest on the first pass through. For students who are new to this topic pairing the book with additional resources to help work through the terminology will go a long way.
The text is internally consistent which makes it more approachable to those who are unfamiliar with Anatomy and Physiology, or looking for an easy to digest refresher. This also helps to facilitate the organization of the index which allows for specific topics to be found quickly.
The material presented in the book is easy to reorganize or expand upon due to the compact nature of the presentation of each topic and subtopic. I regularly add pieces from other OpenStax texts (Biology 2e and Psychology) to bolster the knowledge of my students. The modules from those texts are easy to insert within the context of the material of this book.
The organization of this book follows the same layout as most first year Anatomy and Physiology texts which makes transitioning easy for both the instructor and the students. Independent of comparison to other texts, the sequencing of the material makes logical sense in how students would progress through understanding the body.
Website - The left hand navigation makes it easy to navigate through the text, and the index is searchable and has direct links to the desired topics. Everything loads faster than paid publisher alternatives, and I have experienced no noticeable downtime from OpenStax.
PDF - The PDF is a reasonable size, well rendered, and free of artifacts or other noticeable errors.
Any grammatical errors that I have found through using this book have been corrected. I know of no remaining issues.
The text and images make reference to a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Granted this is infrequent though as most of the text discusses elements of the body and not the whole person.
A great source to use when creating an introductory Anatomy and Physiology course. Presents material in a way that allows newer students to cut their teeth, and provides enough detail to get them further exploring the topic.
I find this book to be similarly comprehensive to the Marieb and Hoehn A&P text, and slightly more comprehensive than the Hole's A&P text. It is more than sufficient for an undergraduate level A&P course. The figures vary in quality... read more
I find this book to be similarly comprehensive to the Marieb and Hoehn A&P text, and slightly more comprehensive than the Hole's A&P text. It is more than sufficient for an undergraduate level A&P course. The figures vary in quality and comprehensiveness depending on the chapter. Some chapters deserve more and better figures to illustrate concepts. One figure appears to be copied from another text without citation (see further comments below)
I have not observed any inaccuracies in this text.
The content is for the most part, timeless A&P subject matter. I'm sure some of the information will need updating over time, but not more than any other textbook.
The text is well-written and the figures are clear. In many cases the content is presented more clearly in this text than competing texts.
The text style, terminology, formatting, etc. is consistent throughout this text as far as I can tell.
This is a great strength of this book, at least for the online e-reader version. You can easily expand the relevant part of the table of contents, find the topic, click on it, and read away. The individual sections do a pretty good job of being stand-alone reads, though there certainly is some building of concepts as you progress through the text, as there should be.
Organization is good. It follows the organization of most other major A&P textbooks.
Interface is good. My experience is with the e-book version, in which navigation is very intuitive, in my opinion.
I haven't seen any typos.
I haven't kept close track of this, but it looks like most of the anatomical illustrations are of humans of light-toned skin.
Figure 22.11, panel (a) is modified from Figure 22.10 panel C in the Marieb and Hoehn Human Anatomy and Physiology textbook. There appears to be no credit given (and I doubt that Pearson, the publisher of Marieb and Hoehn, would give permission for this figure re-use in the first place). In today's age of issues with plagiarism, this would seem to be a major mistake by the author that produced this chapter. This goes against the spirit of open-access textbooks, and makes me hesitant to recommend this book. I don't know if this is an isolated problem, or if there are other figures in this text that were also taken from other texts.
The ideas are all presented however, I do not believe the manner in which the material is presented is effective for our student population. It seems the authors have forgotten what it is like to be a first year A & P student. There are an... read more
The ideas are all presented however, I do not believe the manner in which the material is presented is effective for our student population. It seems the authors have forgotten what it is like to be a first year A & P student. There are an immense amount of terms presented and, especially in the early chapters, the context is either absent or ineffective because the students have not yet been exposed to the necessary concepts to understand the context provided. I believe this will leave the student wondering what information is the true priority.
The "Homeostatic Imbalance" features in the early chapters also use concepts and terminology which have not yet been introduced; perhaps including those in later chapters would be better for students to truly grasp the value of the example and would be less frustrating to them.
I did not find any inaccuracies within the text book however, the ALT text is often inaccurate or incomplete. In early chapters the ALT text describes an image by referring to concepts which have not yet been introduced. And there are no hyperlinks for visually impaired students to use to research the terms/concepts used.
Additionally, the ALT text uses confusing and unnecessary verbiage (i.e. use of colors to describe the image).
The information of the text is relevant and will probably lend itself to easy updates via the features.
This text introduces many new terms very quickly and provides little if any applicable context. In an early chapter decompression sickness is introduced to explain generic pressures, in our population this would be wasted because the actual discussion of gas laws, solubility, altitude/atmosphere pressure is not truly investigated until the respiratory chapter. I believe the multitude of terminology introduced before the material to provide context has been explored will be a source of frustration for students.
In some chapters the author(s) jump from topic to topic and fail to make connections until later in the paragraph and/or chapter. I was frequently left asking myself “Why is this topic being presented here?” I believe this creates confusion.
There is very little consistency. It seems as if chapters were written by different authors. Some chapters do a good job of presenting material in a slower, easier to assimilate manner, while others ramble. Some chapters start with a few key terms and build understanding by slowly adding new terms as needed; others try to introduce everything your student ever needed to know and more, in the first few paragraphs.
I would agree from the table of context that this text can be easily broken into smaller modules. The issue I have is that concepts and terms are frequently introduced in a hurried fashion in previous segments and then in the appropriate module are not re-introduced or revisited thoroughly. It does not seem the authors planned well for a single module usage situation and assume that readers have read the previous rapid explanation and are now ready to proceed and use the information proficiently.
I believe the use of hyperlinks would go a long way to remedying this issue.
The titles are presented in a logical order however, the presentation of the material lacks clarity and continuity. Please see previous comments.
Navigation can be difficult. The back arrow frequently returns you to the information page and you must begin again.
The index is present yet is not easy to toggle to a definition and back to the spot where you stopped reading (hyperlinks could be helpful). This makes the designed purpose for an index/glossary almost completely inaccessible for visually impaired students.
For visually impaired students, the navigation of this text makes this a nearly inaccessible option. The search function does not allow for easy navigation nor will it allow the reader to quickly navigate back to the point at which they stopped reading. This in effect renders the index and using other chapters as reference completely useless to a visually impaired student. I discovered commands to navigate back from the interactive links. I believe a brief tutorial for visually impaired students outlining how the authors intended for visually impaired students to navigate easily would be very helpful.
I did not find any grammatical errors.
I found images to include a variety of ethnicities. I did not find any offensive language or culturally insensitive text or images.
I believe the intent of a good text book is to inspire students to want to learn more about the topic. There were some good chapters which introduced the content in bite size pieces however, much of the book was frustrating and disappointing. Our student population is extremely diverse including many students for which English is a second language, many first generation students, and several visually impaired students. Perhaps in a less diverse population, with students who have been very successful in a traditional classroom, this text would be a more effective tool.
A great text is an excellent resource, like a well-educated friend, a text which is fire-hoses the student with information, rather than building it slowly, is defeating. If the tool is frustrating it becomes a distraction.
Overall, this text covers the bases for A&P. Each chapter and subsection contains clear and detailed learning objectives, which I really like and think are useful for students to use as a roadmap. I also like how each chapter has a clear... read more
Overall, this text covers the bases for A&P. Each chapter and subsection contains clear and detailed learning objectives, which I really like and think are useful for students to use as a roadmap. I also like how each chapter has a clear summary and glossary of necessary terms, even if some key terms were missing in my opinion. However, some chapters are lacking in some important information, while other chapters go a bit beyond what A&P should go into. Examples: 1) the endocrine system itself is a bit glossed over. There is not discussion of the stress response with glucocorticoids, which surprising, and other hormonal paths and functions are skimped on information. 2) In the reproductive system, ejaculation is not discussed, which is a key process in reproduction. 3) Biochemistry was a bit too much with atomic number, atomic mass, valence shells, etc. Students get this in chemistry and this is not very relevant in A&P. 4) Not much of a need to include DNA replication, transcription, and translation. This is covered in General Biology and most students don't need this for A&P courses.
I found no sources of error or inaccurate information.
For the most part, relevant with the examples and images. I particularly liked the sections on "Career Connections", "Homeostatic Imbalances", and "Everyday Connections". These help students see the relevance and get them more fascinated in the subject matter. Whole chapters/sections on neurological exams and medical imaging are great additions, and very applicable to those hoping to enter a medical field.
Well written and clear. This text would be good for any A&P lower division or upper division course.
Overall, very consistently written text. However, some key terms are not bolded (e.g., primary and secondary active transport). Also, across body system chapters, some systems are discussed with how they developed, while other systems are ignored. Don't pick and choose, do this for all or none.
Well organized into units, chapters, headings, and sub-headings.
The units, and chapters within each, are logically arranged to follow the anatomical hierarchy of biochemistry to cells to tissues to organ systems. The flow of chapters going from the regulatory systems to systems involved in distribution of nutrients to systems involved in acquiring nutrients and expelling waste products is also good. My only responses would be to:
1) Have the chapters focusing on skeletal and muscular anatomy come before the chapters on bone physiology and muscle physiology, respectively. This would follow the concept of anatomy underlies physiology.
2) The nervous system chapters were a bit convoluted, seemingly going back and forth on topics. For example, focus on neurotransmission in one chapter, CNS structures/processes in another, ANS structures/processes in another, and sensory system in another. You can reference to other chapters within each, but this text sort of jumps around.
Images and tables are clear, accurate, and well suited for the chapters and topics. Some are better than published, pricey textbooks.
Well written and free of errors from what I could tell.
There are plenty of examples that apply to all people. For the topic, it's kind of hard to be exclusive of particular races, ethnicities, etc.
This textbook thoroughly covers the typical topics taught in a systems-based approach to Anatomy & Physiology. read more
This textbook thoroughly covers the typical topics taught in a systems-based approach to Anatomy & Physiology.
I found no errors or bias in content.
Anatomy and physiology doesn’t change very quickly. Of course, as science and medicine continue to advance, changes will need to be made, but they should be easy to implement. This text contains relevant content, most of which should remain relevant for many years.
This text is written in language appropriate for undergraduate study. It does a good job of explaining terminology well and has an extensive glossary after each chapter. Also, a downloadable pronunciation guide is available in the online student resources.
This text exhibits consistent organization throughout - with its formatting, terminology, depth of material, and approach to topics.
I would expect no issues with modularity. The text is well organized into separable sections that can easily be discretely assigned.
This text follows the typical organization used for most systems-based A&P textbooks. Each chapter was well organized, beginning with overall chapter objectives and an introduction. Each chapter section also begins with objectives and contain descriptions of disorders, homeostatic imbalances, interactive links, and everyday connections. At the end of each chapter, the key terms are listed and defined, there is a chapter review, interactive link questions, review questions, and critical thinking questions. Overall, a well-organized textbook.
I felt the interface works well. The only issue I noted dealt with the insertion of images - there were large gaps between the text and many of the images, leaving large white expanses that could be distracting. The images seemed appropriate (except where noted below under the cultural heading) and were high resolution when magnified. The included tables were helpful.
No grammatical errors were observed.
Many figures or illustrations used in the book were devoid of any skin color. However, where skin color was depicted, the individual had light skin pigmentation or was pale-skinned. The text used appropriate language when describing dark-skinned vs. pale-skinned integument and light vs. dark skin pigmentation in the integumentary system chapter. The color photos were a bit more diverse. More care could be taken to increase the inclusiveness of this text.
For instructors curious about ancillary materials, the testable images are all available as well as solutions/answers for the review questions, interactive link questions, and critical thinking questions. The provided PowerPoints are very basic, containing only the images. They are not the typical "canned" presentations most commercial textbooks provide.
I found this text to be quite clinically oriented, as is appropriate for pre-health professional students. Homeostatic imbalances, disorders, diseases, the effects of aging, interactive links, and career connection segments all seemed designed for medically-oriented students. There is even an entire chapter on neurological exams! I believe this focus should help with student buy-in and pique their interest.
The table of contents indicates that this book covers the standard topics for an A&P text. The text does not have a glossary per se, but has an extensive index of topics and terms that are hyperlinked to the appropriate location in the text or... read more
The table of contents indicates that this book covers the standard topics for an A&P text. The text does not have a glossary per se, but has an extensive index of topics and terms that are hyperlinked to the appropriate location in the text or the list of key terms and definitions at the end of each chapter. Students should have no problem locating definitions or specific topics.
A review of the chapter content and key terms seems to free of any significant errors. No bias was observed.
Content is reasonably up to date, but an effort should be made to keep the book up to date with any significantly relevant material about anatomy and pathophysiology. The nature of this e-book makes it possible to update or correct errors easy and quick. Hyperlinks can also be adjusted quickly as necessary and should be keep up to date. Since the book was published in 2016 it’s certainly time to consider a review and possible update.
The text is written in an understandable form. Explanations are clear and straight forward. Terms are identified and explained and or defined.
The text is consistent internally and well organized. All hyperlinks tested take the reader to the appropriate location. Use of terms across the text seem to be consistent.
The text is divided into a series of blocks covering a specific topic. These blocks are easy to digest and contain hyperlinks to any other needed material. Assignment of readings for a specific topic are easy to make.
Organization of the text is excellent and follows a logical progression. The use of hyperlinks ties the material together and provides additional support for a particular topic. The order of topics follows a typical logical organization for an A&P text. Objectives at the beginning of each chapter and those internally are excellent and properly constructed. Key terms at the end of each chapter define the terms. The chapter reviews offer a brief recapitulation of the chapter topics. Interactive questions and review questions are appropriate and challenge the knowledge acquired by the students as well as offers the students an indication of where their learning process requires additional work
The text seems to be of any navigation problems. All the links tested worked appropriately. Graphics seem appropriate for each topic and provided high resolution results when enlarged.
No grammatical errors were observed.
No insensitive or offensive material was observed in the text. Authors may want to consider using representations of various ethnic groups other than Caucasian, including Asian and African heritage.
No additional comments.
Covers all topics in detail appropriate for a two semester course. However, some introductory information is missing from later organ systems that may make students feel like they are jumping in the deep end. read more
Covers all topics in detail appropriate for a two semester course. However, some introductory information is missing from later organ systems that may make students feel like they are jumping in the deep end.
No major errors found in the chapters I used for my review.
Could use an update to include some exciting new anatomical findings in the past few years, but does not seem overly outdated in the material presented.
Some chapters make liberal use of jargon without easing students into it. This has been intimidating for some of my students, limiting their ability to access the material.
Material for earlier organ systems provides better introductory material and easier to follow introductions to terms. This framework is not available in chapters covering concepts that students already find difficult (fluid and acid-base balance).
No issues with assigning just the topic needed. Some sections are organized differently than how I teach them necessitating assignment of page numbers 1-10 and 17-19 (for example), but this is true of all texts.
Follows the general organization used for most systems-based textbooks.
Interface works well. However, care was not taken to format text around images, at times leaving large blank spaces and several pages between text that was interrupted for image insertion. These formatting issues are very distracting to the reader.
No major grammatical issues in the chapters used for my review.
Images are inclusive of many races and abilities.
This text takes a traditional systems approach to the anatomy and physiological mechanisms of the human body. In addition, the opening chapters also provide a reductionist approach, laying a strong foundation in the underlying molecular... read more
This text takes a traditional systems approach to the anatomy and physiological mechanisms of the human body. In addition, the opening chapters also provide a reductionist approach, laying a strong foundation in the underlying molecular mechanisms necessary to fully understand the structure and function of the 11 major systems. While it may not be possible to cover all the material presented in this text in a two semester Anatomy and Physiology sequence (or in a focused, one semester physiology course), it provides detailed reference to, and review of, processes students may be expected to know.
In my review, I found not errors in content. I did not find specific reference or definition of commonly misused terms, such as excretion vs. secretion.
I really liked the interactive links, career connections, every day connections, and text boxes explaining pathophysiology. Students should find these options impactful and effecting in connecting the material to their day to day lives. These links should be updated regularly to give students summary exposure to recent literature.
The text provides a clear narrative and appropriate presentation of the terminology. I see both positive and negative aspects to including a glossary at the end of each chapter - while this provides a focused list of terms relevant for each chapter, it may limit a teaching approach to the organization presented. That said, students should be able to find reference to terms and definitions by using the comprehensive glossary.
see comment above
The modularity makes sense
yes, chapters and modules are presented in a logical fashion. While I see the relevance and appropriate placement of cellular metabolism in chapter 24, I also see benefit in this material being presented much earlier, say in Chapter 3.
I found no major issues navigating the text. However, in pdf format, finding the information in chapters simply by scrolling through a large number of pages is a little cumbersome. While not distorted, I did not find the figures associated with cellular metabolism (particularly glycolysis and the Kreb's cycle) easy for students to fully comprehend.
I encountered no grammatical errors or typos.
While in many cases the epidermis in figures possessed no color, those where the epidermis is highlighted portray low melanin content (Caucasian). This also seems to be the case in photos and in links.
The Anatomy and Physiology Open textbook was comprehensive, covering topics typically found in an introductory Anatomy and Physiology textbooks on the market. Most Anatomy and Physiology texts follow a fairly traditional order of topics. This open... read more
The Anatomy and Physiology Open textbook was comprehensive, covering topics typically found in an introductory Anatomy and Physiology textbooks on the market. Most Anatomy and Physiology texts follow a fairly traditional order of topics. This open text followed the same common progression of topics and was organized in a similar manner. The index contains links that take you directly to the corresponding section of the text where the topic is discussed. I thought that this was effective. There is no glossary per se, but each chapter contains a list of key terms and their definitions. The text contain extensive sections on embryology and development and some pathology in each chapter where appropriate. These topics are not covered uniformly in current texts on the market. Some A & P courses include this information and some do not. Due to the modular nature of the open text book, an instructor can easily choose to assign these topics or not. Also, the open text has a bit of a clinical bent having an entire chapter on neurological exams and modules on sympathetic/ parasympathetic pharmacology and cancer/ transplantation immunology. Some content areas that I found lacking were: absence of a genetic code chart, images of slow twitch and fast twitch muscle, images of lever system types, details of cranial nerve distribution, spinal nerve distribution, images of ion movement in action potential initiation and conduction. On the other hand, there were some excellent topics and images that are not in my current traditional text that I thought would be very helpful to students such as: figure of the Korotfoff sound generation during blood pressure measurement, concentric and eccentric muscle contraction, eye movement, carpal tunnel diagram, a more detailed Wiggers diagram, layers of the pericardial sac, coronary blockage, dark versus light skin, and tables of factors affecting heart rate.
I found the text to be accurate. There were sections that I found that some details were lacking that are critical to understanding the topic, such as action potential conduction, so these sections may be confusing to students. I did find any biases in the text.
Anatomy and Physiology is a basic foundation course for health science and nursing students. The majority of the topics in anatomy, such as bone structure, muscle gross anatomy, and heart structure, are not likely to change. The open text is dated 2012, so some of the physiology and particularly the boxes that highly disease, therapies, and drugs, will likely need to be updated. I do feel that the text is not obsolete, could be updated easily and would be straight-forward to implement. The inclusion of supplemental boxes on diseases, careers, homeostatic imbalances, everyday connections and aging were well-done and add to the relevancy of the text to the student reader.
On the whole, I thought the text was well written. The level of writing was appropriate for an introductory student in Anatomy and Physiology. The writing level is also similar to other introductory Anatomy and Physiology texts on the market. The open text makes a good effort at introducing and focusing on medical terminology. Key terms appear in bold-faced type. This focus on terminology is important in an Anatomy and Physiology text since there is so much vocabulary to master.
The organization of the chapters was consistent.throughout and followed the same patter of content in modules, followed by pedagogical features. This framework is effective!
I actually liked the modularity of the open text. It was broken up into chunks that were logical and were accessible to students. The subheadings were appropriate and guided the reader through the chapters. I liked that the figures were right by the text where they were discussed. In a traditional text they may be elsewhere on the page or even on a separated page.
The content was organized in a similar manner to most traditional text books on the market. This is a fairly standard progression through the body systems. Following the content of each chapter were some very good pedagogical features for students such as key terms, interactive links, chapter review, review questions and critical thinking questions. These were generally good. The critical thinking questions require students test students' understanding of the content and frequently ask them to explain material, but rarely engage them in applying, analyzing, evaluating or creating information. this is one area where I think improvement is needed--adding questions that are higher up on the Bloom's scale.
I found the text to be relatively straight forward to navigate. I did not encounter any issues. I appreciate the modular nature and found it easy to navigate to where I wanted to read. The modules loaded very quickly. I liked the feature that the index sends you directly to the text where the term is introduced and discussed. The open text lacked some of the bells and whistles that some of the e-texts on the market have. Features such as the ability to highlight, make notes, embedded links to questions, and study tools were lacking. I generally found the the images showed up fine. However, much of the time the images and particularly the labels were too small and I had to keep enlarging them on my screen. This text contained interactive links to you-tube videos and animation. these ranged in quality from excellent to so-so. Some do not match the quality of those provided by publishers on platforms such as Mastering A and P or Connect.
I did not identify any grammatical errors.
The open text book in Anatomy and Physiology depicts individuals of various races, ages, cultures, genders, and abilities. I did not find it to culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.
Anatomy in particular is an extremely visual science. I was most apprehensive about the quality of the illustrations prior to reviewing the open text. On the whole, There were fewer images in the open text compared to traditional texts and they were generally simpler in design and construction. Pedgaogically, I consider this to actually be an advantage. Some of the figures in traditional texts, in my opinion, are too stylized and busy to be effective in teaching a novice learner. I was pleasantly surprised by the images. Unlike some of the texts from publishers there is no way to edit or unlabel figures for presentation or testing purposes or any online homework. Overall, I am glad that I reviewed the text and am very intrigued about the possibilities.
The book thoroughly covers the standard topics for Anatomy and physiology. It covers the major organ systems, and lays out the topics in a familiar and logical way. The chapter glossaries are nice, and the index is good, though I think a glossary... read more
The book thoroughly covers the standard topics for Anatomy and physiology. It covers the major organ systems, and lays out the topics in a familiar and logical way. The chapter glossaries are nice, and the index is good, though I think a glossary for the whole textbook might be useful. There are just a few areas covered that I don't feel are sufficiently detailed, such as the ducts in the male reproductive system. While many of the semen-producing glands are mentioned, the role of the urethra in semen transport is not clearly mentioned, which is a strange thing not to include. I really like that many of the chapters had information about diseases and disorders of the body, though there are a few places where I was surprised a disorder wasn't covered. For instance, in the digestion chapter, I think discussion of gallstones in the gallbladder section would be great, as many students are familiar with this health problem. This choice to include disorders for some sections but not others doesn't harm the accuracy of the text, but I think a little more consistency with discussing disorders would improve this text.
The content is accurate and unbiased.
There are a few sections that will need regular updating to stay accurate (discussion of stem cells in kidney disease, or some of the career connections) but otherwise this is relevant content that will remain relevant. Anatomy and physiology doesn't change very rapidly, and the updates I mentioned above will be easy to implement.
I think the text is clear in how it is presented and laid out. The writing is understandable, and though A&P is notorious for having a lot of specific vocabulary, the text does a good job of explaining vocabulary meaning. Also, the end-of-chapter glossaries are nice.
The text is generally consistent with its formatting and approach to topics. As mentioned in other parts of my review, there are a few places where there is some inconsistency, namely that some sections would benefit from additional figures, and that the choice to include diseases/disorders in some systems but not others, but otherwise this is a consistent text.
In general I think it is broken up into different sections well. The online format of the book is particularly good since different sections are on different pages that are clicked between. There are many pages that are blocks of text without pictures though, which could be a problem for some readers.
Topics are laid out well, in an order that makes sense. For instance, discussion of the 4 tissue types and their characteristics is done before covering each organ system in detail. This text uses a logical, straightforward approach to the order in which topics are discussed.
I think the major flaw of the book is its images. They are accurate, but some of the graphics are small, or would be stronger with brighter colors. The pictures in this book are not as engaging as the figures in many of the traditional A&P textbooks out there, which is unfortunate as A&P is a very visual topic. Some histology slides are also a bit confusing. Histology can be difficult for students to grasp in general, but different histology image choice could make this text stronger in some places. The right picture choice can make a huge difference to student learning and understanding.
There are also some places where images should be included but are not. For example, I think the everyday connections/disorders of the... sections included in different organ systems are a great idea; understanding how a disease disrupts homeostasis can be a helpful way to learn about the organ system's typical function. But many of the diseases covered have no illustrations or photographs of any kind. For instance: kidney disease, effects of secondhand smoke, and infant respiratory distress syndrome would be great places for illustrations to enhance student understanding, but no images are included in these and many other disorders discussed. Also, there are several sections that are a block of text and would benefit from images.
There are several places where summary tables are used, which are fine, but would be enhanced by including an illustration to summarize the table (like glomerular filtration rate causes in 25.7).
I did not find any grammatical errors of note in this text.
The text does not contain noteworthy biases or cultural insensitivity. The figures are lacking in diversity however. This is a problem that many A&P textbooks have, but in anatomy drawings (such as those showing the planes of the body, anatomical terminology, or emphasizing the organ systems) this text defaults to using illustrations of Caucasian people, which I think would be improved with inclusion of ethnically diverse illustrations. The photos used are better in this regard, with more diversity, though I do think more effort to include more women and ethnically diverse photos would improve this text.
Overall this is a good text, and a wonderful resource for people or institutions who need a cheap or free option. The text is accurate, logical, and thorough. The major flaws of the book are its illustrations. some are very good but others are lacking in detail or general appearance. I would consider using this book in a class, especially if some of the illustrations were updated.
The textbook covers all of the major concepts in A&P, in addition to relating the concepts to real-world application. read more
The textbook covers all of the major concepts in A&P, in addition to relating the concepts to real-world application.
There are some grammatical errors, but very few.
Chapter 28 The Development and Inheritance needs a little more up-to-date information such as the Human Genome Project and Gene Therapy in medicine.
The writing a little heavy, especially for a student whose first-language is not English.
Very consistent with other A&P textbooks.
Modulartiy is consistent with other A&P textbooks.
Well organized.
Free of significant interface issues.
A few grammatical errors.
Not culturally insensitive or offensive.
This is a sufficient textbook to learn Human A&P.
Overall, this textbook covers all of the areas I would expect an A&P text to cover. It is comparable in many ways to the other popular texts out there. There are some areas in which I would have liked to see more detail. One such place is in... read more
Overall, this textbook covers all of the areas I would expect an A&P text to cover. It is comparable in many ways to the other popular texts out there. There are some areas in which I would have liked to see more detail. One such place is in the chapter on the endocrine system. There is a little information on receptors, but not much, and I would like to see more information in the sections for each hormone. I would still use this book in a class because it's not lacking to a point where it is unusable, just a bit less detailed than other books. Some of the chapters have videos that accompany the topics, which is great. I love to use videos to help teach processes that have a lot of moving parts (e.g., muscle contraction, neurotransmitter release, etc.).
So far, I am pleased with the level of accuracy of this book. Again, it is comparable to other texts and I would not hesitate to assign it to students.
I feel that the content is both relevant and long-lasting. The information seems up to date with current understanding of these topics, and there are many chapters with boxes that go in-depth a little bit more on the current state of knowledge on certain topics. I appreciate that the book has many examples that are relevant to a person's everyday life (in my experience, making something relevant can be a great way to explain concepts and processes). My only (minor) concern is with the lifespan of the external links, such as YouTube videos or other websites. They are great resources and it's so easy to connect to them from the text, so it would be a shame if those links ever become broken.
This text is incredibly clearly written. It is concise and easy to follow. I also appreciate that there is a decent amount of white space between lines of text, making it very easy on the eyes. I think that this is important to note because ultimately I want students to read the text, and I think if it is easy to understand and easy to look at, they will be more likely to read it.
The book seems consistent among chapters in terms of depth. There is of course variation in section length, but that is to be expected.
One thing I really like about this book is that it is very easy to read different sections. I think this book really shines in this area because the sections are easy to digest and understand, and are largely self-contained (i.e., you don't have to refer back to another section that you didn't read to understand the current section). Some of the sections are quite short, so multiple short sections can be read/processed at a time.
I think the book is very well organized. It is similar to other books, starting with basics of anatomy, levels of organization of life, histology, then working into support structures, processes that maintain homeostasis, etc. It is arranged as one would expect for an A&P textbook.
I think the interface is very good. I have not experienced any problems with images (in fact, I quite like the images), links within chapters, or links from the table of contents to a particular section.
There have been no grammatical errors that I have seen so far. In general, I think the writing is concise and easy to understand.
While the book is not overtly offensive, it is not very diverse in its portrayal of people. So far, I have seen primarily white people in figures in which a person is shown. I feel it is important to have a diverse representation of people in an A&P textbook. Being represented in textbooks can be validating for students from underrepresented minorities. Also, because many of the students in an A&P class are pursuing careers in the health sciences, normalizing diversity in the classroom and in textbooks may be one way to address the very real bias that occurs in patient treatment. In addition, it would be great if this book were more inclusive beyond binary chromosomal sex (XX and XY). Again, it is comparable to other A&P textbooks in this aspect. I really don't think you will find a an A&P text that is more diverse than this one, but just because it is currently the norm, does not mean that is has to stay that way.
Overall, I am pleased with this textbook. It is similar in many ways to other A&P texts, which makes me feel confident about adopting this text for my classes.
I found the text to be comprehensive, covering the same topics of information as other Anatomy & Physiology textbooks I have seen, and in approximately the same order (smallest levels to larger levels of organization). There is not a section I... read more
I found the text to be comprehensive, covering the same topics of information as other Anatomy & Physiology textbooks I have seen, and in approximately the same order (smallest levels to larger levels of organization). There is not a section I feel is missing, and I am happy with the overall level of detail given in the text. The table of contents is clearly organized. However, I do think Chapter 16 is oddly inconsistent with the rest of the textbook. Why is there a chapter on neurological exams, but no other such chapters for other systems? Does it need to be its own chapter, or can it be incorporated into the nervous system chapters for consistency? As an instructor, you can of course just omit the chapter or cut/paste what you want of that chapter into other chapters. Also, many of the chapters end with a development section, except for urinary and digestive. Again from a consistency standpoint, I would have liked to see these included here. The Pedagogical Foundation and Features I think are a great addition to the content of this textbook, and will be beneficial to the students.
I have yet to find any inaccuracies in the content. There are some areas where I would have liked a little more detail (i.e., physiology of muscle contraction), but it would be easy to add in extra information. I have seen extra information that I do not currently teach in my classes (i.e., certain muscles), but I have not found a structure I would teach about to be missing or in the wrong place.
The basic content in the textbook will not change over time as science progresses, so I believe this textbook has longevity. However, the interactive links will have to be checked and potentially updated as time passes. For example, I wonder if links to YouTube videos will always be accurate, and what will happen if the video is removed from YouTube in the future. I imagine it would be too difficult to have an OpenStax Youtube channel with all the videos for each textbook, but that might help guarantee the videos stay accessible. Otherwise, the content would be easy to update or add to in the future to keep pace with scientific discovery.
The text is written in as clear a way as a scientific textbook can be. There is a LOT of terminology that, for the most part, is explained adequately. It also helps that these terms are bolded to call attention to them, and that there are lists of key terms at the ends of chapters to give students an easy to access list along with definitions of terms they should know.
I found the textbook to be consistent throughout. Each section is really its own separate entity, so there is not a much overlap between chapters that would lend to inconsistency. The text from chapter to chapter is easy to read, so I do not detect any sort of inconsistency in voice or areas the students should struggle with more based on the sentence phrasing.
A PDF editor can easily be used to separate chapters/sections of this textbook. You can also easily edit the text and figure placement as well. The chapters/sections themselves are pretty self-contained, so you can also reorder them or leave things out completely that you do not teach.
The table of contents, as well as the chapters themselves, are clearly organized and formatted in an easy to read way. The links in the table of contents that will allow you to jump to the start of each chapter are good to have. Students would not struggle to find their way around this book. The chapters themselves are formatted well with headings and are easy to view. It is not difficult to find what you are looking for. There seems to be excessive white space when there are images too large for the current page where the text ends. I would have liked to see the elimination of this extra space. Students tend to stress when they see a book having such a large page number count, so getting rid of the white space would make it less intimidating. I love the tables throughout the textbook, as they summarize important information in a clear and concise way for the reader. The end of chapter resources are great for students to use for review, so I am happy to see those included. The index is extensive and also allows you to jump to the page(s) where the terms are located, which is a plus to using this textbook.
Figures are extremely important to me when choosing a textbook. I am happy to see in this textbook that the figures are nice and clear when you zoom in on them. They are also of good quality and accuracy; I have not been wishing to have a different image that what is provided in the text. A lot of free content out there tends to have cartoon-like figures that are not entirely accurate, but the figures included in this textbook I am extremely happy with (i.e., the skeletal and muscular system figures). They are or are very near the same quality as what you would get in a textbook you would pay for. The links to animations and videos are also nice to have for students. When I clicked on the web URL to view the animation on metabolic processes (pdf p.25), it opened and played just fine (you will need Adobe Flash enabled). However, when I used my barcode scanner to scan the QR code, it did not open the animation on my phone (it looks like it is the wrong web address compared to the URL link listed). The next QR code and URL link on text p. 22 opened the YouTube video just fine on both computer and phone. The interactive micrographs are a definite plus to using this textbook, I think they are awesome. Students struggle so much when it comes to the tissues, so having more potential practice images that they can zoom in on to great detail will be really helpful.
I tried my best to find grammatical errors, but alas, I came across none!
From what I have seen, general Anatomy & Physiology textbooks do not include examples of differences in races/ethnicities, and this OpenStax textbook does not either. I think including this information (i.e. differences in hair, bone structure) would be a benefit, and make more students feel included. I found nothing within the textbook to be offensive or insensitive, though I would have thought the section on inheritance would have included information on how XX and XY are not the only aspects that genetically can make your sex be male or female.
I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of this textbook. I found it to be very thorough and well organized. I look forward to adapting it to use in my courses!
The text is slightly less in depth than the typical pre allied health A&P textbook but does a better job covering many topics in a manner that is accessible to more students including ease of reading and video connections. read more
The text is slightly less in depth than the typical pre allied health A&P textbook but does a better job covering many topics in a manner that is accessible to more students including ease of reading and video connections.
The book appears to provide accurate coverage of all necessary A&P topic materials.
The newest updates to topics that I observed seemed to be from 2012. Statistics and evolving medicine need to be constantly updated, so I hope that one of the advantages of OER materials will be the ability for more frequent updating and additions of new materials and insights as they become available for students in fast evolving fields.
A&P is complex topic material and I believe this text is written in as accessible a manner as possible with plenty of accompanying helpful diagrams and photos throughout. The links to the videos are expecially useful to today's students.
The text is fairly consistent in the type of terminology, display, and methods used for conveying material between chapters so it should be easy for students to follow throughout the course.
The contents and organization of the course into appropriate modules that can be EASILY assigned and accessed by students through the table of contents is one of the great assets of this text! Faculty and students alike would greatly benefit from this method of organization when using the online modules.
The contents, topics, and organization of the text are extremely clear and well-designed and is one of the great assets of this text!
The text interface and all images are very clear. No navigational problems were encountered. The image denoting a "video" could be a better selection throughout.
No grammatical errors were observed.
While the text did not appear offensive, and there was definitely an attempt to use people from a variety of backgrounds in photos. However addressing more current issues of insensitivity such as biological gender not addressed.
The OER text book adequately covers physiologic and anatomical concepts, addressing specific points with the depth and breath students need to understand the processes and continue to build, apply and master their knowledge in this discipline. read more
The OER text book adequately covers physiologic and anatomical concepts, addressing specific points with the depth and breath students need to understand the processes and continue to build, apply and master their knowledge in this discipline.
As in any course for this comment it depends on the delivery method, objectives and outcomes that are to be achieved, however from what my particular areas of focus are on I found accuracy and clear methods of conveying the materials. I would prefer more detailed illustrations and images, as in A&P a great deal of understanding the anatomy is visual, and for the physiologic pieces if they can see a clear visual path it is easier to grasp the materials.
Comparing this text to any A&P publisher book the layout of materials are similar flow, arrangement and current medical advances.
The clarity and flow are well done. It is delivered in an easily digestible manner.
The book is arranged in a way that is easily understandable and predictable from unit to unit and chapter to chapter, so the reader will be able to find the materials they need to master.
The books units have been divided up into smaller sections and topics that are going to be readily incorporated into course subject delivery and coverage.
The flow of this book is very comparable to publisher organization and flow of A&P book to A&P book.
Reading the OER online was very functional and compatible with the system I was working with. I do wish the online version had page numbers readily available to reference students to instead of having to have the students download the PDF.
Grammar was very digestible, not to simple and to convoluted for one to read and understand the materials.
The cultural aspects were made in a relevant format to A&P with society.
I personally plan and am excited to start incorporating this OER material in SPR of 2019. My only concern is finding the images needed to convey the Anatomy in a clear manner to my students. With the help of colleagues who are utilizing OER's now I feel confident I will be able to find the materials I need.
This textbook covers all the systems of the body. The table of contents if very detailed and the glossary allows for the reader to link directly to portions the text that discuss the vocabulary term. read more
This textbook covers all the systems of the body. The table of contents if very detailed and the glossary allows for the reader to link directly to portions the text that discuss the vocabulary term.
The information provided in the text is accurate. The authors wrote the content in an interesting way. They use several analogies and visual language to help the reader follow along.
The book is up-to-date. I particularly enjoy the links to youtube videos and career connections placed in the chapters.
The authors of this book use very visual language. This is important for a course like this one. It allows the reader to paint a picture in their minds of the concepts being covered and also use life experiences as examples.
The text does a good job using anatomical terminology. They even make a point to refer the reader back to previous chapters to reinforce concepts.
The text is sectioned out appropriately. Readers can scan the chapters to easily find specific topics.
The chapters are organized into units in a logical fashion. The various systems of the body are grouped together so the reader can see the connection they have in the human body plan.
The text was easy to navigate. The chapters are well organized and there are relevant figures and videos mixed into the text.
There were no major grammatical errors in this book. The authors of the book did use very visual language and so there were times when the text was very wordy.
The book contains several inserts about potential careers and articles discussing current concerns about the various topics covered in the book. They are informative and interesting reads.
I plan on using this text as a supplemental reading source for my students. It is full of interactive figures, side articles and great images.
The textbook does cover the important concepts in Anatomy and Physiology. I do appreciate a glossary being at the end of each chapter, instead of the usual entire glossary at the end of the textbook. read more
The textbook does cover the important concepts in Anatomy and Physiology. I do appreciate a glossary being at the end of each chapter, instead of the usual entire glossary at the end of the textbook.
The content is accurate.
Since the basic concepts of Anatomy and Physiology are covered and the knowledge of the human body is pretty comprehensive, I don't foresee the textbook becoming irrelevant any time soon. It's longevity is pretty much stable.
The text was clear and coherent, but at times was almost too simplistic. I would have liked to have seen a little more technical terminology used in order to get students used to integrating it into their normal speech.
The authors were consistent in their use of terminology throughout the textbook, and made referencing terminology not difficult.
This text is very modular and it is easy to identify and work with individual units of material. The table of contents breaks out units in easy to identify topics that contain related content for ease of use. I would recommend putting in some learning objectives before each chapter subsection.
This text follows a similar flow and organization of many of the commercially available texts on the market.
There are several problems that may affect readability and interaction with the text. Such as broken links that no longer had the identified content.
I did not find any major grammatical errors in the text.
There were no images or topics that I would identify as culturally insensitive or offensive.
I would highly recommend this book for an introductory (basic) level A&P course.
By and large I found the text to be comprehensive in nature for an undergraduate A and P book. Each organ system was addressed in good detail. There were a few areas where a bit more detail could have been provided (eye anatomy; function of some... read more
By and large I found the text to be comprehensive in nature for an undergraduate A and P book. Each organ system was addressed in good detail. There were a few areas where a bit more detail could have been provided (eye anatomy; function of some brain structures such as the cerebellum, etc.). The extensive inclusion of case studies and insets certainly helped focus your energy on what is most important. The glossary and main topic summaries are excellent and provide a rapid review when coming back to a chapter.
Overall, I found to book to be accurate and without any glaring inaccuracies. I did not detect significant bias towards a viewpoint (scientific, political, or otherwise).
I would consider this book to have an extended lifespan of relevancy. Our overall understanding of BASIC human anatomy and physiology does not proceed all that quickly at least at the level of a freshman/sophomore undergraduate course. The areas that could/should be updated would be the interactive links and disease case study insets. However, these could be quickly and efficiently modified without need to extensively modify the overall content of the text. I was particularly impressed with the number and variety interactive links, disease/disorder insets, and case studies. These really are helpful in making the students both understand what they are learning and also WHY it is important that they learn it.
Overall I found the book to be clearly written and accessible to an undergraduate audience. The book avoids being unnecessarily dense and laden with impractical jargon. The verbiage used in the book is of the type a new nursing/allied health student would be expected to use in practice and future coursework.
Consistency was fine. There were a few occasions where terminology of the text and terminology used in labeling images was not consistent. That being said, it would not be cause for major confusion and was isolated in nature.
I did enjoy the modular nature of the text and the fact that any of the paragrahs/sections were not overly long which can lead to a student "dozing off" mid chapter. My only complaint was that in several chapters there tended to be what seemed like an extended section of text without any accompanying figures or illustrations to draw your attention to for clarification.
Overall the book felt to flow properly. Development leads into structure leads into function.
In general I had no problems interacting with the book. The links to the interactive animations or modules all worked flawlessly. Some of the figures were not quite a clear as I had hoped. A bit more resolution would be appreciated in some figures. Additionally, some figures seemed to be a bit small for my taste and could be a bit muddled with extensive labeling. That being said, I could still navigate the figures and understand what was trying to be conveyed.
I did not identify any glaring grammatical errors.
I did not find the book to contain any offensive material. When specific cultures, races, or ethnic backgrounds were mentioned it was to highlight matters of biological significance and importance.
Overall I was quite impressed with the quality of the book. I have reviewed other "open source" books and found them to contain inadequate detail and often felt disjointed due to having authors with dramatically different writing styles write different chapters. Some other books also utilized sub par illustrations. This book used quite good illustrations and I quite enjoyed the interactive videos and case studies to highlight the significance of what you should be learning. The summaries and question bank at the end of each chapter allowed you to review what you should have learned and provided a quick review should you need to return to a chapter. In general I feel that a student in one of my classes would succeed with this book as easily as with a $400 hardcover text.
Overall, this book is comparable to many of the commercially available textbooks on the market and would suffice for an introductory level anatomy and physiology class. I did find it lacking in detail in a few areas, primarily in the detail of the... read more
Overall, this book is comparable to many of the commercially available textbooks on the market and would suffice for an introductory level anatomy and physiology class. I did find it lacking in detail in a few areas, primarily in the detail of the images and figure legends. There were also chapters, such as the reproductive system that went into less detail regarding physiology, so I would not recommend it an upper level A/P course. I did appreciate the glossary at the end of each chapter, making it easy for students to reference material and reducing the "search" for terms through a giant glossary at the end of the book. The table of contents and index were perfectly adequate and did a good job of providing the necessary information. I also appreciated the wide variety of resources provided, such as the practice questions, "aging and the..." readings, and career connections/everyday connections, to round out the learning experience.
The content was accurate, up-to-date, and unbiased in the presentation of materials. It reads in a very neutral tone that emphasized the presentation of information that has been well-researched.
The written content was up-to-date and will stay relevant for the foreseeable future. The inclusion of the career connections/everyday connections/"aging and the" topics will allow the authors to easily update the material as these fields change and allow them the flexibility to adapt to any emerging fields. However, I found many of the interactive links to be somewhat outdated (from the late 2000s or early 2010s) and would have liked to see those updated with more current videos.
The text was clear and coherent, but at times was almost too simplistic in prose. There were times where I would have liked to see a little more technical terminology used in order to get students used to integrating it into their vernacular. Due to the complex nature of some of the topics, the oversimplification of prose (not to be confused with content), may make it more difficult for students to synthesize and apply the information, since they will not be used to seeing it in those terms. I appreciated that each chapter can stand alone and concepts are reviewed, so students do not have to "refer to chapter..." for content. The other issue with clarity that I have is that the images and figures did not seem to have the same level of detail as the book, compared to other commercially published books, making them less effective in my mind.
This text was extremely consistent in it's framework and set-up. I greatly appreciated the learning objectives being presented at the beginning of each chapter and then throughout the chapter. I also liked that each chapter has a similar flow, providing consistency for students in their learning. The authors were consistent in their use of terminology throughout the book and made referencing terminology easy.
This text is very modular and it is easy to identify and work with individual units of material. The table of contents breaks out units in easy to identify topics that contain related content for ease of use. Individual chapters and subsections within chapters are of appropriate length and attempt to balance written content with figures and interactive components.
This text follows a similar flow and organization of many of the commercially available texts on the market. Topics are presented in a clear, logical manner that helps the reader move from one topic to the next.
I reviewed the PDF version, so I cannot speak to the online version, but I found several problems that may affect readability and interaction with the text. For the sections I reviewed, there were several either broken links or links that no longer had the identified content, resulting in frustration on the readers part. There were also times where the page breaks did not match up with images or cut text in an awkward reading location.
There were no major grammatical errors in the text.
There were no images or topics that I would identify as culturally insensitive or offensive.
Overall, this is a well-developed OER resource for an introductory level Anatomy and Physiology course. The content is sufficient for a 100 or 200 level class and it is a relatively easy to read compared to similar commercially available texts.
This book covers the material for an introductory two semester A and P class. The chapter organization allows for a flexible sequence of material. It could easily be used for an 1 semester introductory physiology class or a 1 semester... read more
This book covers the material for an introductory two semester A and P class. The chapter organization allows for a flexible sequence of material. It could easily be used for an 1 semester introductory physiology class or a 1 semester introduction to anatomy class.
As I reviewed the chapters I did not find any major errors and found the text readable.
At this level the content will have a good longevity . This book has the fundamentals needed to teach an introductory course. I can add updated material to my course easily without changing textbooks.
It is a readable text. Terminology is an important component of anatomy so terminology is required. Definitions are accessible within the chapters. Diagrams are simple but very effective.
It works well
It looks very flexible. I think I could make it work for several classes.
Logical, I might use it in a slightly different order but I do not have a problem assigning chapters out of order.
The images and charts are fine. A few of the hyperlinks did not work or sent me to the wrong website. It do not see that as a problem. The page numbers were off by 10 pages in the PDF. Once I figured it out, it was not a problem. I just adjusted my search page number.
I did not find any significant errors.
It seemed appropriate. The content is universal to all humans.
This appears to be a functional text that would be a economical alternative to our current text.
The text provides a comprehensive review of Anatomy and Physiology in 6 Units: Levels of Organization, Support and Movement, Regulation, Integration and Control, Fluids and Transport, Energy Maintenance and Environmental Exchange, and Human... read more
The text provides a comprehensive review of Anatomy and Physiology in 6 Units: Levels of Organization, Support and Movement, Regulation, Integration and Control, Fluids and Transport, Energy Maintenance and Environmental Exchange, and Human Development and the Continuity of Life. Each Chapter has a Table of Contents, Chapter Objectives and a Glossary.
The book is well-written and contains accurate, research based material.
The content of the book is current and is organized. The topic is one that that will not quickly change or become outdated.
The text is written in a clear and coherent style.
The text is very consistent in that each chapter begins with chapter objectives,offers appropriate figures for visual understanding, provides Interactive links for students to watch videos or animations. Each chapter ends with key terms, a chapter review, interactive link questions, review questions and critical thinking questions.
The text is easily and readily divisible.
The book is very organized and structured.
There are no interface issues.
The text has good grammar.
This text is culturally relevant.
Well done.
This text covers the topics of human anatomy and human physiology relatively comprehensively. As in any combined text (or class), it would be nearly impossible to provide in-depth coverage of either topic. Instead, I found that this text covered... read more
This text covers the topics of human anatomy and human physiology relatively comprehensively. As in any combined text (or class), it would be nearly impossible to provide in-depth coverage of either topic. Instead, I found that this text covered the basics of both subjects adequately and could be used for an introductory undergraduate A&P course. I would imagine that anyone teaching separate anatomy and physiology courses would find this books treatment of the body only partially sufficient. That said, there was a surprising amount of detail included in certain sections (e.g., descriptions of some musculature) whereas others were less so (e.g., no images of the radial nerve in the arm beyond the brachial plexus figure).
Generally accurate, though there are errors within (e.g., fig. 11.28, the upper right image is labeled as a "dorsal" view, when it is, in fact, palmar).
a textbook for Anatomy is unlikely to ever become obsolete. Understanding of physiology may change with time, but even that is likely to have reached a reasonable level of stasis. Any well written anatomy/physiology book should stand the test of time. This book has no glaring issues that would cause it to fall into irrelevancy.
The text is adequately written. I did find that there is a fair bit of redundancy between certain sections (e.g., topics like reflexes come up multiple times). This may have been intentional, using repetition to drive home a particular point or connect topics between sections and chapters. It may have also been an artifact of multiple authors. The text is easily read and should present the undergraduate reader with few (if any) issues.
I do like the structure of each chapter which is consistently reflected throughout the book. The end of chapter summaries, glossaries, and review questions is well constructed and maintained throughout the book. Image quality is consistent throughout each chapter.
I teach in an institution which has separate anatomy and physiology courses. Like many combined A&P texts (even those promising the opportunity for customization), I would find it too difficult and time consuming to manipulate the sections of this text to fit my course in anatomy. That said, I would have little hesitation in recommending this title for a combined course at the undergraduate level. This text would work well for a course that uses models (and possibly pro-sections) for the teaching of anatomy. It would be inadequate for a course that utilizes cadavers. This is especially true for musculoskeletal and nervous system topics which would benefit greatly from additional illustrations and photographs of cadaveric materials (if catering to an anatomy-only model program).
Topics are reasonably well organized. I would suggest significant changes if trying to adapt it to my own gross anatomy course, but my course is not necessarily the primary target of this text. Given that I do not teach a combined course I can only comment that the organization of the text seems logical enough.
I found no significant interface issues. I intentionally reviewed the low quality text to see how "rough" it would be. There were some images that were completely sharp, and others that were difficult to really see clearly. I was surprised by the discrepancy (I had assumed that all art would be prepared to the same standards). I also found a significant amount of shadowing in the images in the low resolution version (viz., in illustrations with white background and text there was some hazy shadowing surrounding text boxes and leader lines.
No noteworthy errors.
Given that we look much the same beneath the epidermis, I found the text appropriate in its portrayal of the body. Images represented both males and females and photographs included subjects from various ethnic backgrounds.
I had hoped that the ability to customize this text would permit its use in an anatomy-only course. I was disappointed (but not surprised) to find that though most of the topics and concepts that I teach are covered here, it would take far too much effort to customize the text for my gross anatomy course.
This open Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) textbook is just as comprehensive as one of the most widely-used standard textbooks in this field written by Marieb & Hoehn. This one is organized a bit differently, but all of the important concepts... read more
This open Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) textbook is just as comprehensive as one of the most widely-used standard textbooks in this field written by Marieb & Hoehn. This one is organized a bit differently, but all of the important concepts from the standard one are present with a different, more student-centered focus.
This textbook even goes beyond the standard texts in this field with an innovative, highly career-relevant chapter entitled "The Neurological Exam." This chapter engages the student in scenarios that allow them to apply what they are learning to real-world problems or cases.
While the book reads well, it was troubling to find some obvious mistakes in the random sections I chose to review. It may need to be proof-read in its entirety to ensure overall accuracy.
The most troubling mistakes that I found were:
Figure 23.3 on page 1088 is labelled "Accessory Organ Section" but instead shows the histology of the GI tract and should be labelled as such. This is a huge mistake since accessory digestive organs are called Accessory because they are NOT part of the GI tract at all.
pg. 1198 - "Vitamins are not stored in the body, so they must be obtained from the diet or synthesized from precursors available in the diet." This sentence is wrong in two ways. First, the liver stores a 1-2 year supply of Vitamin A and 1-4 month's supply of Vitamins D & B12. Secondly, vitamins cannot be synthesized by our bodies at all which makes them essential parts of our diets.
Typos found:
Exp from table on page 1153:
(Insulin) "causes cells in muscle, adipose tissue, and liver to take up glucose from the blood
and store it in the liver and muscle as glucagon; its effect is the opposite of glucagon;" - It should have said that glucose is stored as glycogen, not glucagon. This sort of typo could obviously be confusing for students, especially those learning this material for the first time.
I will be sending these and any other problems I note to the authors as they request in the Preface.
This text goes out of its way to reference current research that may impact various aspects of the material. The fact that the authors are themselves teachers makes me feel like they will be making changes as they recognize the need for them in their students' reactions to the material.
The Neurological Exam chapter seems to be the most vulnerable to changes in the short term as medical norms evolve more quickly than physiological research.
The only figures/photos that jumped out at me as easily dated were the one related to tatoos and piercings of the skin.
The sections I read, for the most part were clear and in some cases much more understandable than the comparable paper textbook to which I was comparing this online text.
Good Examples of Clarity within this book:
1) Redox Reaction section (p. 1154) provides a brief (2 paragraph) but very clear summary of how redox reactions create energy
2) The OpenStax videos that I viewed clearly demonstrated the process or topic at hand.
Examples of Possible Clarity problems:
Last paragraph on page 44 says "the most common form of carbon's mass number is 12." is a bit misleading. It should instead say that "the most common form of carbon found in our world has a mass number of 12." It is important to know that there are variations of each element in the world (called isotopes). However the mass number is used simply to label and track the isotopes while this section makes it sound like that is the most important aspect. Could confuse students new to basic chemistry.
In this sentence: "Polysaccharides serve as energy storage (e.g., starch and glycogen) and as structural
components (e.g., chitin in insects and cellulose in plants)" it would have been more clear to say (e.g. starch in plants and glycogen in animals). This addition would also make it more consistent with the structural uses of CHOs listed in the same sentence.
Figure 24.5 on page 1158 mentions the terms "exergonic" and "endergonic" reactions without any further explanation or link to what these terms mean.
Khan video chosen for Glycolysis (Interactive link at top of pg. 1163) was a bit fast and potentially confusing to students because of it's lack of clarity. The text version explanation below this link was much better at clarifying this central process.
In general, I felt that the "Interactive Links" (i.e. outside videos) were not as clearly illustrative of the topic at hand as were the OpenStax ones. There seems to be a need to create more OpenStax videos that more clearly integrate with the text.
The authors state that they designed this textbook to promote scientific literacy and they have succeeded. I especially liked the "Everyday Connection," "Homeostatic Imbalances" and "Career Connections" sections. However, all of the features were not consistently included in every chapter. Perhaps this text is still a work in progress?
Each unit and the chapters within each unit can stand alone without phrases like "in the last chapter..." This makes it easier for instructors to pick and choose the body systems they want to cover and then present them to their students in the order that makes the most sense to them without confusing the students.
The book chapters are organized into units by the overall functions necessary to support life. It helps students create a general schema of the overall purpose of each body system and how they work together to maintain homeostasis and growth.
Figures not sized to be on same page as associated text within the PDF. The figures themselves are legible, but the excessive white space is a bit distracting and adds to the overall length of the document.
The online version flows well without this type of distraction.
I did not find any grammatical errors.
Photos included a variety of races and I particularly liked Figure 5.8 Skin Pigmentation in the Integumentary System Chapter. It nicely illustrated what I have long had to explain to my students about the mechanisms of skin color.
The overall conversational style of the book is exemplified by the following phrase:
"An important part of this course is to understand the nervous system. This can be especially challenging because you need to learn about the nervous system using your own nervous system."
Each chapter opens with a quote to challenge the students. My favorite one is “If the human brain were simple enough for us to understand, we would be too simple to understand it.”
Overall, I found it much more engaging than most A&P textbooks.
The text covers all of the information that would be typically required for an introductory human anatomy and physiology course. Similar to most other textbooks geared towards an introductory anatomy/physiology course, this book begins with the... read more
The text covers all of the information that would be typically required for an introductory human anatomy and physiology course. Similar to most other textbooks geared towards an introductory anatomy/physiology course, this book begins with the basic terminology, then switches to the molecular and chemical level, followed by tissues, and then progressing through each organ system. Besides being similar to other textbooks in its arrangement, the content is comparable to many published textbooks. I would prefer to have more microscopic images of tissues, and different image views of muscles and joints. Having the chapters broken down into smaller sections that include summaries and questions for the students are all beneficial.
The content within seems to be concise and accurate. Again, this book is geared more towards an introductory human anatomy and physiology, therefore, it is evenly balanced between anatomy and physiology. If one was teaching a higher-level course, then supplemental material would be required for a more in-depth perspective. There were a few grammatical errors which is not uncommon to find.
The content does seem to be up-to-date. Even though medical and scientific advances may lead to changes from time to time within the text, this should only be minor adjustments. Having the additional links to websites and videos scattered throughout the text also assists in the relevance/longevity of the information. As new advances are made within science and the medical field, the text can easily be modified to account for these advances and incorporate new links/videos to keep the information up-to-date.
The text is written in a manner that should be easily understood by an undergraduate student. The information is presented in a clear and concise manner that follows the natural progression through anatomy and physiology similar to many other textbooks. There were many images that were excellent at conveying the information, however, there were some that I’ve seen done much better in other texts. Therefore, one might need to use supplemental images and animations to get some points across.
The text is consistent in its arrangement. Each section is followed by summaries, student questions, and definitions that are all helpful to the student.
The text is divided into sections that are easy to follow and navigate through. The text contains units that are divided into chapters that are further divided into sections. This makes the arrangement of the course more manageable for both the instructor and the student.
Similar to most other textbooks geared towards an introductory anatomy/physiology course, this book begins with the basic terminology, then starts with the organizational hierarchy at the molecular and chemical level, followed by tissues, and then progressing through each organ system describing that anatomical and physiological perspective of each.
The text does contain a number of graphics as well as website links and videos. Many of the links were excellent resources for students, however, some of the links were outdated.
The text did contain some grammatical errors, but not on a consistent basis.
The text conveys the information in a very straightforward manner and I did not find anything to be offensive or insulting. The information presented in the text is for and representative of a wide range of age and race, as well as both genders.
The text covers the main systems, with a focus on defining terms and describing and illustrating anatomy. Physiology is provided, but in less detail. Overall, I believe this text is well-suited to provide students with an introduction to anatomy... read more
The text covers the main systems, with a focus on defining terms and describing and illustrating anatomy. Physiology is provided, but in less detail. Overall, I believe this text is well-suited to provide students with an introduction to anatomy and physiology suitable to a year 1 module within a Higher Education programme.
Of particular use to health care professionals was the inclusion of pathophysiology and occasional discussion of relevant conditions and treatments. For example, within the cardiovascular system section description of CPR and cardiac tamponade was included, helping students to begin applying their knowledge to professional practice.
Although I have not read every single page of the text, the vast majority of the text appears to be relevant and accurate. Language appears objective and professional, and there is a focus on promoting the importance of anatomy and physiology to health care professionals, which is a significant strength for use of the book within a healthcare programme.
As previously stated, the book presents content relevant to the subjects covered. The text is relatively recent and all content reviewed appears to be up-to-date. Continuation of achieving this is made easily achievable by the online method of delivery. Videos and images have also largely been used effectively to support and break-up sections of text.
The text is written clearly and concisely, with sections being easy to read to understand. The text is clearly structured and body systems have grouped logically. Anatomical and physiological terminology is highlighted and defined sufficiently.
Throughout the text, language is consistently professional and academic. It is easy to understand for the reader and the formatting and structure is maintained throughout. This helps enable the reader to become familiar with the focus and direction of the text.
The text has been structured well into logical sections, based on function. This helps the reader combine and relate knowledge of separate systems to gain an understanding of how the body functions as a whole. Within each section, learning outcomes have been well-utilised to provide focus and direction.
The formatting of the structure of each section is maintained throughout, helping to provide consistency for the reader. I like how the body systems have been grouped to structure the text as it enables the reader to consider how systems work together to provide a homeostasis.
The text is easy to navigate and clear, effective illustrations are included to support descriptions and break-up large sections of text. Video links have been included to provide an additional learning platform, all of which have loaded successfully and quickly during the review.
No grammatical errors were noted during the review. Language is consistently professional and academic. it is also clear and easy to understand, helping to prevent a potential barrier to learning.
The text includes information and figure relating to a range of ages, races and genders. It is particularly useful for health care students as it also occasionally considers how theory relates to their practice.
Overall, I am impressed with the standard of this text and feel it is well-suited to introductory Anatomy and Physiology modules completed within the first year of Higher Education study within healthcare programmes. The text is structured logically, helping enable the reader to combine their understanding of separate systems to create an understanding of how the human body functions as a whole. The content focuses on anatomy more than physiology, but is adequate for an introductory module.
The comprehensiveness of this work is comparable to other anatomy and physiology texts that are geared toward undergraduate coursework. The table of contents is effective and provides a nice linked design to the various sections within the work. ... read more
The comprehensiveness of this work is comparable to other anatomy and physiology texts that are geared toward undergraduate coursework. The table of contents is effective and provides a nice linked design to the various sections within the work. In addition, there is a nice glossary with listed terms appearing at the end of each chapter. The text offers a good overview of each system with the basics of anatomy and physiology covered. There is also a review section with questions at the end of each chapter that offers questions for the students to test their comprehension. This is most appropriate for introductory courses, as it lacks some of the detail you may find in more advanced texts.
The text appeared to be unbiased and fairly balanced with both anatomy and physiology. I did not notice any issues with accuracy, and there were few grammatical and editing errors. Some chapters, such as the skeletal system, are more geared toward the anatomy, but this is consistent with other publisher's books. If a more in-depth discussion of the physiology is warranted, then a separate text or resource may be needed.
The content appears to be up-to-date. The chapters contain clinical sections that connect the concepts to current medical technology, procedures, and pathologies. There are in-text links that tie the chapter content to outside websites that offer additional resources, which is a nice way to supplement the chapter. In addition, there is a brief section devoted to development within many chapters. Chapters are often not as detailed as comparable standard format texts, but are still appropriate for the introductory student. I believe that this text is relevant and has good short-term longevity, though medical advances and website changes will require future editing.
The text reads easily and uses clear and concise language. Complex terminology is explained coherently and concepts are often paired with a relevant image. The images themselves are effective, but not quite as detailed and/or useful as the standard format texts that I have encountered.
The structure of the text appears consistent and uniform from chapter to chapter, which helps with overall clarity and guidance for the reader.
The text's modularity is good and it is easy to navigate the subsections of each chapter. This is another point of commonality between this text and standard format texts. Subheadings are clear and easy for the reader to navigate.
The organization of the text is similar to other textbooks and it proceeds in a logical fashion from the chemical and cellular level to the major systems of the body. The structure of each chapter is also similar, as the text is punctuated by clinical anecdotes and descriptions where appropriate and many conclude with developmental aspects of growth and formation of the system. The flow of each chapter is also logical and readable.
The interface of the book was good overall. The text often links to outside resources and videos that help the reader visualize and understand important concepts. I did notice that some of the links were outdated, or no longer linked to the stated content. An example is the section on the microanatomy of bone. It links back to an Openstax page that no longer contains the video. Many of the links to university and college sites were excellent and provided nice views of slides, videos, etc.
The text had few grammatical errors and they were fairly easy to overlook and didn't hinder the readability of the chapter.
The text appears culturally relevant and I did not come across any sections that were offensive or insensitive.
Overall this is a nice introductory text that covers the basics of anatomy and physiology with clarity. The in-text links also allow the instructor to pull additional resources to supplement the information found in each chapter. The images are the major drawback, as they are often not as clear and detailed as comparable textbooks, but the price could easily outweigh any reservations on the part of an instructor looking to adopt this text.
I have used part of chapters of this book for an introduction course. For my purpose, it is very comprehensive. Due to time limitation, I have to skip some sections. As an electronics book, it is easy to identify the content. It seems this is not... read more
I have used part of chapters of this book for an introduction course. For my purpose, it is very comprehensive. Due to time limitation, I have to skip some sections. As an electronics book, it is easy to identify the content. It seems this is not a book for an introduction course, especially for engineering students. The instructor has to tailor it.
Some time, I have to search around to confirm if the definition is right, especially there are many other books with different statements. But overall, it is pretty accurate. But for figures, I usually do not use those with the book, since better ones could be found on Web. One of the drawback is there is no animation.
One big advantage of open book is that the book could be updated very quickly. If there is any obsolete knowledge, the book should be open for updating by anyone after approval. For this book, I did not see this advantage
4. Overall the content is easily understood, but some time the text is very tedious, which could be described easily with an animation.
Overall consistent throughout the text
I do not think the book has any advantages over traditional books on modularity, although it can be done very efficiently through an E book. The content could be classified for courses at different levels. An instructor could pick modules based on their purposes, and then distribute to students.
The book is presented in a logical way, but not sure if that is important. If the book is based on modular design. The structure should be flexible.
The interface is straightforward.
Did not notice that.
We do see naked people over there. For this case, a few figures could be provided based on different cultures.
This is a good start point for freeing students from expensive traditional books and this is the trend to go. We really appreciate this. Future improvements could focus on flexibility and better presentation, such as animation. In addition, on-line question banks should be provided to the instructor.
This book is comprehensive, covered with all organ systems and major topics. It also includes some side topics in many chapters. Additionally, inclusion of chapters of neurological exam and fetal development is unique and impressive. The materials... read more
This book is comprehensive, covered with all organ systems and major topics. It also includes some side topics in many chapters. Additionally, inclusion of chapters of neurological exam and fetal development is unique and impressive. The materials included could be used to teach lower college-level human anatomy and physiology courses.
Although it covers many clinical-related information, not much mechanistic science at cellular or molecular levels is included in some of chapters. One example is about hemoglobin dissociation curve shift. The effects of cellular metabolite BPG is not mentioned, and comparison between myoglobin and hemoglobin is not discussed. Another example is action potential initiation is covered but its propagation is not discussed, and pacemaker potential is not covered. In other chapters, such as the immune system, cellular and molecular mechanisms are covered.
The text also provides extra materials with interactive link, which helps to understand more complicated topics that require higher order thinking. Although most of the contents from the link are clinically related, and do not seem relevant to the materials present in the written text. Additionally, this book also includes a section of career connections that introduce various career opportunities. These extra materials provide students with connection between physiological concepts and everyday life.
In general, most of the contents is accurate. Most figures and diagrams are labeled correctly. Some inaccurate or confusing points exist, however. For example: figures 12.18 and 12.19 illustrate ligand-gated channels, indicated that different types of ions pass the same membrane protein, which is inaccurate and could be misleading. The publisher website has an online errata list for reporting inaccuracy, thus the accuracy will be improved overtime.
The information is mostly up-to-date and consistent with the mainstream opinions in the fields. This book also includes information that is relevant to everyday life, clinical application, and health professional careers, which is discussed through "Everyday Connection", interactive linked materials and critical thinking questions. In contrast, research methods and discoveries are not as much as emphasized. It is relatively easy to implement new discoveries using links. The cutting-edge research related information is also relevant to many students’ careers. The online version is suitable for frequent updating and revising, and thus should last long.
In general, the materials are written in a clear manner, which makes it easy to read. Many concepts are explained in a simplified manner without going to depth, thus this text could be used for test review as well. The glossary and index are very good. Some terminology are not specified or misused, and some sentences (for example, body temperature regulation part) are misleading.
Overall format and most structures are labeled consistently, at least within the same unit and chapter. Writing style varies since the textbook is written by multiple authors. Some of the same terminology are discussed using multiple different names, and some of the same structures are pictured using different colors. Such inconsistencies mostly is minor, but could be distracting.
The online version of the textbook has modularity in units and chapters, but pdf version is download as one piece. It would be nice to offer an option for sectional downloading. The sequence of the chapters are in a similar order as most other anatomy and physiology textbooks. It should not be hard for instructors to adapt this textbook and use sections of the book.
Units and chapters are organized well. The book start with general and fundamental knowledge, followed by individual systems, similar as most physiology textbooks.
Each chapter begins with objectives, key terms, and glossary, flow to key points, review questions, and then to critical thinking questions and link questions, requiring increasing depth of understanding. The glossaries included within each section can be identified when the term is searched. Figures, tables and videos are also well-organized. Overall, materials is organized in a progressive manner.
The interface is clear and its layout is organized well. The interactive links provide additional information and questions, which is a plus.
I prefer to use a printout hardcopy, so that I can refer to the diagrams and text at same time without scrolling back and forth, and when there is no or bad internet connection. The pdf version does not have page numbers, which makes it hard to find relevant materials listed in the table of contents and index. Figures and tables are not referred well in the text. On some pages of the printed copy, however, some of images and text are not on the same page, whereas on other pages there is a chunk of blank space.
This book contains a few minor grammatical errors. Some sentences are not concise and could be confusing, but wouldn’t mislead or interfere with learning.
The topics of anatomy and physiology would apply to many species, including humans. It is not uncommon that cultural and ethnic information is missing in a textbook at this level. This book is culturally sensitive. Some diseases that affect certain gender, ages, races or ethnicities are discussed, and some images and drawings of people of different races are included. Students and instructors especially in health professions would appreciate these examples that include a diversity of gender, racial and ethnic background.
This textbook include topics from both anatomy and physiology. Overall it is a great teaching and learning resource. Most departments and institutions teach these two subject separately, so that they would only use part of this book wherever materials are appropriate. This book simplifies some difficult concepts and makes them easier to understand, but sometimes this text lacks depth and it is not as thorough as some other textbooks. Additionally, this textbook is better be used for introductory physiology undergraduate courses or for applied science courses, but not for major biology courses, as it does not include much research contents. Furthermore, inclusion of a question bank would be ideal for instructors.
I am comparing this open source textbook to another widely used, commercially available text. Compared to that, OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology is not quite as comprehensive. All major subject areas are covered (i.e. cells, bones, muscles,... read more
I am comparing this open source textbook to another widely used, commercially available text. Compared to that, OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology is not quite as comprehensive. All major subject areas are covered (i.e. cells, bones, muscles, nervous system, etc.), but molecular details of many physiological processes are left out or poorly covered. There is more molecular & mechanistic detail in some chapters rather than others (or on some topics rather than others), perhaps reflecting the multiple authors of this book. All necessary broad A&P topics are covered though.
The content of this text is by and large accurate. Again, I'm comparing it to a widely used text from a highly reputable publisher. Yes, I have found a few errors in the OpenStax text. But I have also found similar numbers and types of errors in the commercially available text. I do not find the OpenStax text biased in any way that I have noticed.
I find the OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology text to have appropriate relevance and longevity. It is not written in such a way that would require major edits to update it. The text relates well to the current generation of users by providing lots of embedded links. However, not all of these links are still working. Perhaps removing web links in a future edition would increase longevity of the text. Textbox insets could easily be used to highlight applied concepts rather than web links.
Compared to the other commercially available text I have used, OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology is more accessible to my students (community college) because of its clarity. The book does not overuse jargon at all. My students find this to be very helpful and find the prose to be easy to read and comprehend.
I have not noted any problems with this text book's consistency.
This textbook's modularity is fine. The text is easily divided into units and chapters that can be grouped together appropriately for effective instruction and testing. The text is broken down with enough subheadings to give students breaks between topics while reading so the students do not get bogged down by the bulk and amount of material presented.
The organization and flow of this text is one of my complaints about it. Several of my colleagues have the same complaint. The other commercially available text that I have used for Anatomy and Physiology was organized better. For the overall text, I don't have a problem with the organization of the units/chapters, except for Unit 3: Regulation, Integration, and Control. Chapter 12-15 could be organized better in my opinion. Chapter 12 describes nervous tissue, Chapter 13 describes the anatomy of the nervous system, Chapter 14 describes the somatic nervous system, and Chapter 15 describes the autonomic nervous system. To me, this organization just doesn't make sense and confuses students. I have chosen to teach this material as "topics" rather than chapters, and have organized the information into (1) nervous tissue & physiology, (2) the brain, and (3) the spinal cord. I think it is much more effective to structure the material this way for my students. On a separate note, I also find problems with the organization of material within each chapter in this textbook. The flow of information is often off and better reorganized and presented in a different way.
As previously mentioned, the text contains old web links that are no longer active. I have not noted any distortion of images on different devices, but I have noted that images are not available in high enough resolution for adding edits or enlarging in PowerPoint.
I have noted the occasional grammatical error, but nothing more than any other published text.
I did not find any issues with this text book's cultural relevance, although to be honest, I was not reading it with a keen eye for cultural relevance but more for course content.
There is another major issue that I had with this text that was not previously covered in this review form: the text book's images (both the amount of images and their quality). Compared with the other commercially available text I have used, the images in OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology are not adequate for effective instruction. First, there are simply not enough images to adequately convey difficult topics to students. For every one image in OpenStax A&P, I feel like we need about 5 more (at least). Second, the quality of the images that are available is lacking. Many are not detailed enough to provide students with adequate information for studying. Also, for instructional purposes, the images are not of high enough resolution for optimal use within PowerPoint.
This text is very comprehensive including all the traditional chapters in systems' approach of anatomy and physiology instruction with each chapter clearly divided into cohesive topics that coherently describe the structural components and... read more
This text is very comprehensive including all the traditional chapters in systems' approach of anatomy and physiology instruction with each chapter clearly divided into cohesive topics that coherently describe the structural components and characteristics of each body system's organs followed by the function/physiological process/es of each organ within the system. The Table of context/index is clear and effective and so is the glossary!
I have reviewed each chapter superficially but specifically reviewed carefully Chapter 21: The Lymphatic and immune System as immunological process/innate and adaptive responses are not easy for sophomore level students and many textbooks oversimplify the process of T cell activation, etc making the explanations so simplistic that they are borderline innacurate. I felt the explanation of a T cell receptor and MHC complexes was great and accurate. There is not enough genetic explanation on how we end up with millions of specific TCR bearing cells but that is not the scope of a sophomore level anatomy and physiology course. Overall, it was very accurate and with enough detail.
I believe the chapters are up to date for the most part, as long as there is a way to ensure periodic updates, it should not be too difficult to do them.
This book is written with great clarity, in chapter 21 immunological jargon is critical to understand the interplay and cross talk of different innate and specific/adaptive cell types. I felt it was accessible to students at this level.
Terminology and structure/framework is very consistent which was great to see as I imagined it can be challenging in an OER>
This book is very much like a non OER when it comes to modularity, its index lends itself to those modules and subtopics that make reading transitions between related topics easy to the reader.
Again its organization/flow is typical of traditional anatomy and physiology textbook at the 2000 level.
I surfed through the whole interface and did not find it difficult to load (specially images or figures). This was great!
I did found one grammatical errors in chapter 21 but that was it.
I would say with confidence that is not insensitive or offensive culturally in any way. Not sure if it uses examples across races/ethnicities but certainly it is not offensive.
I was pleasantly surprised with the accuracy of the chapter dealing with Immunology as it is particular confusing for students at the level. In addition, it is easy and clear to read and navigation was not slow (online version) or frustrating in any way. I would be willing to try it in my course.
This text is quite comprehensive, with detailed subject matter on several levels, including various formats for student use and the ability for instructors to customize to their level of instruction. The index does a good job of presenting the... read more
This text is quite comprehensive, with detailed subject matter on several levels, including various formats for student use and the ability for instructors to customize to their level of instruction. The index does a good job of presenting the Unit topic with subsequent Chapters, each color coded to assist in evaluating content quickly. Chapters begin with a brief list of expectations then provide opportunities not only of text but support with illustrations, examples and interactive links. At the end of each unit is a glossary of Key Terms relating to that unit, a Chapter Review, Review Questions and Critical Thinking Questions, all providing comprehensive review options. Having the glossary connected to the unit enables easy reference and to refresh memory of content. The Chapter Review is detailed enough to support responses to the question section that follows. In addition, answers are provided in the back of the book, making it possible, but not too convenient, to check responses.
There were no inaccuracies noted, nor were there any typographical errors. Information provided seemed factual without personal opinions. (However, I did not read every word in the book!)
Content seems up-to-date and relevant to today and the needs of the medical field at this point. The nice attribute of Open STAX is that the instructor can add and delete content as relevance changes and other areas come to the forefront. It should not be difficult to change various inserts, such as the Career Connection and the Interactive Links, as these and others are highlighted and boxed within the full text.
This book is very detailed and does use terminology that may be difficult for some to comprehend, depending on level of exposure and intended use. The explanations are detailed, appear accurate and provide depth to the subject presented. Much of the text is backed up with illustrations, examples or interactive links. The vocabulary is advanced in some areas presuming previous knowledge in the sciences (i.e. chemistry, biology).
The book is well presented from the Preface explaining the open learning concept through the index that provides ease in finding information with an easy to follow outline. Each chapter follows the outline and includes sections with repetitive content and summary sections. Very well organized and easy to follow.
Unit titles are divided by body system action (i.e. Support and Movement) rather than system name (skeletal), making introduction more well rounded and inclusive. In addition, disease examples are included as part of the system chapter, rather than being grouped as afterthoughts separate from function. Interactive links are spread through each unit providing an alternative method of exploration and learning.
Very well organized and thought out information per section with good presentation flow. While providing detailed information on a topic the reader is also provided options for expanded learning opportunities. Each of the sections provided could easily be updated, expanded, deleted or moved as the instructor customizes their class.
Very well organized with good flow for instructor and student. Demonstrates consistency and is easy to follow.
There were no issues noted with interface as all illustrations and information provided came across clearly without distortion or confusion.
No grammatical errors were noted in review of this text.
There are no inappropriate references to culturally sensitive issues noted in the text. The Interactive Links and Career Connections were well presented and relevant.
While this book was very detailed with a more advanced vocabulary than beginning medical classes might be used to, it was well organized, well written, and offered various options for learning. With the ability for instructors to customize presentation this all provides a good option for a variety of class levels.
This textbook covers all main areas of physiology in a suitable manner. The outline is very good and the overall organization of the different units is well structured and makes sense. The table of contents and glossary are appropriate, and the... read more
This textbook covers all main areas of physiology in a suitable manner. The outline is very good and the overall organization of the different units is well structured and makes sense. The table of contents and glossary are appropriate, and the obvious advantage of using the “find” function online is a great.
The text in this ebook is unbiased and accurate. The figures are appropriate and very helpful.
The text is up to date and relevant. For example, the Bisphenol A section in “Everyday Connection”, Chapter 7 Endocrine system is timely and well-written. However, the recent important role of the bone hormone osteocalcin in pancreas and testis physiology could and should be included, but will be a relatively straightforward update.
The text is well written, without an excess of jargon. The terminology is clear and appropriate.
This textbook is very consistent in overall outline, structure, terminology, and has a very appropriate and solid flow of topics in physiology.
The text is divided in 6 units, and each unit containing between 2 and 7 chapters. The units are logical and well-suited for this textbook. The chapters each start with clearly stated learning objectives, and are broken down in easy to read sections. Finally, chapters contain special emphasis sections called “Homeostatic Imbalances”, “Disorders”, “Diseases”, “Aging”, “Career Connections”, “Everyday Connections”, and “Interactive Links”. Especially the “Interactive Links” are extremely useful and a tremendous asset to this textbook.
This textbook is very well organized and as indicated above the different units, chapters, and sections within chapters are presented in a logical fashion. The chapter review and review questions at the end of each chapter are very good and useful.
This online textbook is easy to navigate through and the interactive links work well. The images are appropriate and of good quality.
The grammar in this textbook is good, and the text is easy to read. No errors were apparent.
The text uses appropriate examples without any bias to races, ethnicities and backgrounds, and is not culturally insensitive or offensive.
This is a great online Anatomy & Physiology textbook with broad coverage, and the interactive links add a tremendous amount resource and information. The featured text included in the emphasis sections “Homeostatic Imbalances”, “Disorders”, “Diseases”, “Aging”, “Career Connections”, and “Everyday Connections” are a great addition and will be of interest to students.
This textbook is divided into six units and 28 chapters. All material reasonable for a college-level human anatomy and physiology textbook is covered in an progressive and well-organized manner. Each chapter begins with a list of objectives, and... read more
This textbook is divided into six units and 28 chapters. All material reasonable for a college-level human anatomy and physiology textbook is covered in an progressive and well-organized manner. Each chapter begins with a list of objectives, and the chapter content does an excellent job at covering the material verbally and with appropriate video-clips, and sometimes on-line exercises. Each chapter ends with a thorough glossary of terms and then sets of self-testing questions, from multiple choice to critical-thinking (with answers at the end of the textbook) and Interactive Link Questions. The Index at the end of the textbook also is thorough, and the online references relating to material in each chapter also are helpful.
As with almost any work, there were phrasings that could be misinterpreted, and errors I noticed in text and in images:
Chapter 3, page 97 states that smooth ER "regulates the concentration of cellular Ca++, a function
extremely important in cells of the nervous system". I believe this is misleading. Neuron terminals, where the neurotransmitter is released, do not store calcium (it enters from the ECF through channels). It may be better to use the storage of calcium in the Sarcoplasmic Reticulum in skeletal and cardia muscle cells/fibers as an example.
Chapter 4, Fig 4.8 on pg. 142 does not list Epidermis as a stratified squamous epithelium. On page 152, the Pubic Symphysis is not listed as a location of fibrocartilage. Fig 5.16b has a significant error. It shows "blue" blood flowing into "red" blood. This is backwards. "Red" oxygenated systemic blood flows from arteries and arterioles to capillaries, and then the "blue" deoxygenated blood flows into and through the veins.
Chapter 6. On page 206, it is stated that bones store "potassium". Shouldn't that be "phosphorous".
Chapter 12. Why color Schwann cells red in Fig. 12.12 and then blue in Fig. 12.13. Students benefit from consistency and some may wonder if there are different Schwann cells doing the same thing.
Fig. 12.14 shows ambient temperature "signals" (axons) ascending in the ipsilateral spinal cord. This is a significant mistake; The axons ascend in the contralateral spinothalamic tract.
Fi. 12.18 shows an acetylcholine (ACh) channel that is permeable to calcium. I am only aware of ACh channels being permeable to sodium and potassium, so please check this.
Fi. 12.20 shows the Inactivation gate of the voltage-gated channel "plugging" the pore "at rest". This is incorrect. The Inactivation gate plugs the pore after substantial depolarization (sodium entering through the Activation gate). This is actually stated correctly on page 497.
Chapter 13. The text on page 525 and Fig. 13.7 list only four cerebral lobes. There are five. The fifth is the Insula and needs to be added.
Chapter 17. Images of the Pancreas in Figures 17.18 and 17.19 show the hormones entering the Splenic artery. I believe they enter the Splenic vein. The images also have arrows in the artery pointing towards the Aorta, which is wrong. If you leave the artery in the images, the blood flows away from the Aorta.
Chapter 19. Fig. 19.13 shows three papillary muscles in the Right Ventricle. The Bicuspid valve has two cusps and there are only two papillary muscles.
Fig. 19.20 shows that potassium channels open at +15 mV, whence calcium channels close (which I suspect is correct). The text on page 809 states that this occurs at +5 mV. Please research and correct whichever one is wrong.
Chapter 21. Figures 21.2 and 21.7 shows the Adenoid (pharyngeal tonsil) out of place. It is shown off to the side, but it is closer to/at the midline. Also, I believe it is confusing to students to identify the adenoid and then a tonsil inferior to it in Fig. 21.7. Students may conclude that the adenoid is something else, not just another name for a tonsil.
Chapter 22. There is a significant error in the text of the "Disorders of the ...: RSD" box on page 1020. The end of the 1st paragraph states: "Blood oxygen levels are low, whereas blood carbon dioxide levels and pH are high". When carbon dioxide levels are high, pH is low (more hydrogen ions, and thus, acidic).
Chapter 27. In the "Everyday Connection" on page 1232, it is stated that "Each of our cells contain approximately 1700 mitochondria". This statement is inconsistent with the evidence that some cells (maybe osteocytes) can function with a few hundred mitochondria, but other cells (striated muscle and neurons) need thousands.
Chapter 28. At the very end of the text, Turner Syndrome is mentioned as a (female) chromosomal disorder. Why isn't Klinefelter Syndrome, a "male" disorder, which may affect as many as one of every five hundred males, not mentioned?
I make every attempt to keep up with any new findings in the area of human biology. I believe that this text is written to align with long-standing understanding of human anatomy and physiology, while incorporating new findings throughout. I suspect that being an online text, updates can be made periodically.
As a textbook, I found the prose easy to read, with a style that draws the reader/student in. Technical phraseology was minimized, and when used, very good "laymen" explanations were supplied.
Every chapter was organized in a consistent manner, which should help students learn where to quickly find what thy are seeking in any chapter. The overall framework throughout the text was terrific, with readable text, great tables and figures, and quick access to very good online topics relevant to the material.
Dividing the content into six units is appropriate for how to study the human body. Each of the 28 chapters are well organized into sections, with each section starting with a set of goals. The text, figures, tables and links are well-placed within the sections. The ends of the chapters with a glossary and question-sets also are consistent and appropriate.
I believe I addressed this earlier (like question 6). The topics are most-definitely presented in a logical fashion and are written and depicted in a manner that should help almost any student learn the subject.
Except for errors I noticed in a few images/figures, there were no interface issues that I had any issue with. Considering the technology is relatively new to my academic tenure, that is significant. I cannot image that most younger students would have any problem interfacing with this textbook.
I did not detect any grammatical errors.
The material in this textbook describes humans, from human cells to tissues, organs, systems and development. I did not see any example where the text or images were culturally insensitive or where I think anyone would find the material offensive.
I applaud those with the vision to create an excellent free online textbook for students throughout the world who want to (or need to) learn about human biology, and for anyone else who is curious about how we are put together and function. Thank you!
The text is quite comprehensive - all major topics are covered. A number of notable and appropriate side topics of interest are included in most chapters. The glossary and index are very good. It would help if the detailed list of topics in... read more
The text is quite comprehensive - all major topics are covered. A number of notable and appropriate side topics of interest are included in most chapters. The glossary and index are very good. It would help if the detailed list of topics in each chapter (from the Table of Contents) was repeated at the beginning of each chapter.
In addition to traditional chapter topics, there is a unique chapter called "The Neurological Exam" that I believe will be both very instructive (applying information from other chapters) and very engaging.
The book is generally quite accurate and current - this is no trivial accomplishment for a field this complicated. The book is neutral on most controversial topics presented, with a tendency to tilt toward acceptance of mainstream views (this is not at all unusual). Generally science textbooks shy away from (or just omit) controversial topics, but authors might do better if they presented controversies as such, and let readers decide.
The book is up-to-date, and will provide a satisfactory introduction to A&P for a number of years to come. It is worth noting that the field of A&P is growing in sophistication - especially in the physiology area. But even in anatomy new discoveries are made from time to time (for example - not found in this book is the "discovery" of the clitoris - which was really the discovery in 2009 that the clitoris is a much larger and more important organ than previously thought).
The book is generally well written, in clear and simple language. Technical terms are very numerous (to be expected in an A&P text) but well explained. A few chapters seem a bit dry compared to the others.
The various chapters are well organized, with artwork, sidebars, and end of chapter questions throughout the book. The art work is really quite good - and pretty consistent through the various chapters - and again this is very significant given how big of an undertaking it is to make an A&P textbook.
The book could be better in this area. While it IS modular, up to a point, the total amount of material presented almost begs for more and smaller sections. Perhaps more graphic headings within the chapters would help, or at least a schematic/graphic outline of the chapter after the chapter introduction.
Each chapter can stand well on it's own, but I think it would be challenging to customize reading assignments for my own needs.
The chapters are arranged in the traditional pattern for this type of textbook, and the order of topics within chapters follows a familiar pattern as well. Most of the text of a few chapters is mostly just straight text, without much formatting, and this can be a challenge to read and keep track of where you are.
The book navigates well, and all the images appear to be free of technical issues. Obviously the ability to link from the index to specific topics is nice. Also the Interactive Links (a type of sidebar) are well integrated into the written text. The "Interactive Link Questions" are a wonderful addition to the set of questions at the end of many of the chapters.
There are only a few minor grammatical errors. However, in a number of cases sentences are rather long and unwieldy, making it more challenging for students to easily "read for understanding". Today's students - including many of the better ones - would not have been considered strong readers a couple of decades ago.
Although many teachers might think that a science textbook does not need to worry about "cultural relevance", I am not one of them. Since this is really a human anatomy and physiology textbook, and most students taking the course are going to work in healthcare (in a multiracial, multicultural country!) more highlighting of human variability is warranted. I think the book would be stronger if it included aspects of health care discrepancies based on age, race, gender, etc. One example - a wonderful sidebar they might add would be the difference in heart attack symptoms in men and women - and how this was discovered. It is history, biology, and cultural relevance - in a topic that is likely to be very engaging.
I have been teaching Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) for about 15 years, and have reviewed a number of major textbooks. Due to the competition between major texts in this field, many A&P texts have fairly complex and sophisticated layouts of text and Figures. My review comments are in comparison to these textbooks.
While it may seem that commercial textbooks are over-formatted, I believe the complexity of the subject (A&P) supports the need/desire for more headings, more bold fonts for key terms, footnotes and/or sidebars, etc. Most A&P students I have met (at multiple institutions) are very busy both with other courses and with jobs, so a more user-friendly textbook might be considered more of a necessity than a luxury.
Having stated all that, this is a very good textbook that I would recommend to people. A lot of effort has been well spent making this book a very useful resource for Anatomy and Physiology students.
The textbook is extremely comprehensive for an introductory human anatomy and physiology two course sequence. read more
The textbook is extremely comprehensive for an introductory human anatomy and physiology two course sequence.
I found the book to be generally accurate. One concern that I found was that the Brachial Plexus is generally considered to be made of ventral primary rami of spinal nerves C5-T1, but the book presents it as beginning at C4. Of course, C4 contributes to the brachial plexus but is generally reported as C5-T1.
The content is up-to-date, and because it is an introductory textbook, it will not become obsolete quickly. The text is written and/or arranged in such a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement. I recommend that the textbook be updated every 3-5 years.
The textbook is clear and easy to read. Terminology is well described. It would benefit to include more images and diagrams. Perhaps also have an open-source human atlas. Atlases tend to be quite expensive.
The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.
The textbook is very modular. It can be very easily used for a two-course sequence. Instructors can use chapters out of sequence to meet their course needs with a little thought upfront.
Generally, the book is well organized, easy to follow, and flows well.
The text is generally free of significant interface issues. Due to availability as a PDF, it can be easily read on a tablet, although I have not tried reading it on a tablet. Generally, it prints well. One problem with printing it is that in the middle of the chapter many a times half pages are left blank without any reason, which would result in waste of paper.
The book appears to be grammatically correct, although the sentence structure sometimes makes the content difficult to understand.
The text is not culturally insensitive. However, it does not use of examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.
I teach courses in musculoskeletal anatomy and neuroscience courses in an Occupational Therapy Program. I would not recommend this book for these courses as they require more advanced textbooks. However, this book appears to be appropriate for Anatomy and Physiology I and II courses.
The text is acceptably comprehensive and covers the material in a clear and concise manner. I am looking at this from a clinical perspective and using the text to review systems related to nursing process and procedures. This text meets my needs... read more
The text is acceptably comprehensive and covers the material in a clear and concise manner. I am looking at this from a clinical perspective and using the text to review systems related to nursing process and procedures. This text meets my needs and is very easy to read and follow.
For my purposes the book is quite accurate and relative to clinical applications.
I found the content to be up-to-date. It appears to be written in a way that updates could be easily added should they be necessary.
The book is written in a very clear and concise manner, yet provides the accurate terms I would expect students to apply in the clinical setting.
It is evident that there are multiple authors who contributed to the book, however I do not feel this will distract the students too much.
The book is well organized in chapters and sub sections. The objectives are clear and the content of each chapter meets the stated objectives which is helpful to both students and instructors.
The flow of the text is logical and easy to follow. For my purposes of using the text to supplement as a review in the clinical setting I find the book to be exceptional.
I downloaded the text and found it easy to follow and use.
I found no grammatical errors.
I did not find the text to be culturally insensitive in anyway.
The text is comprehensive will well-balanced coverage of all organ systems. As with all texts, the authors had to make decisions to pare down the content to make for a manageable text. A hard, but well-done task. The search bar and the list of... read more
The text is comprehensive will well-balanced coverage of all organ systems. As with all texts, the authors had to make decisions to pare down the content to make for a manageable text. A hard, but well-done task. The search bar and the list of pages it provides with the ability to link to the locations within the text, make it better than a traditional index. The glossaries are included within each section and will be identified when the term is searched.
The book includes very little science behind the information provided in the text.
There are numerous small, perhaps very small, errors that may make the book unsatisfactory for the very detailed oriented instructor.
No concerns in this area. The examples provided are not time or situationally bound. The short modular design is well-suited for the contemporary learner and allows for quick revisions to the text.
The text is written in an easy-to-follow style that allows the student to focus on content. At times the terminology used seemed a bit too loose or sloppy. For example, the term bladder was used without specifying whether it was referring to a specific bladder as in the urinary bladder or the gall bladder.
The layout of the book and each section is very uniform and appealing to the reader.
For the most part, yes, the sections can be used independent of others. Yet, some of the pages got very long, particularly in Chapter 14 with only three sections covering the entire somatic nervous system. For a text book to provide a cohesive framework for learning sections and information should be cross referenced so that student learning can move to a higher level quickly. Focusing on a modular approach takes away from needing a text book at all and results in a collection of learning modules that are not tied together.
A very standard organizational plan was used. The modularity of each section distracted from a comprehensive flow.
Each section contained linked information and a question.
No errors found
The text lacked cultural references and thus cultural relevance. Ethnic differences should be discussed. At this level, health professions students need to appreciate that everyone is a bit different even at the molecular, cellular and tissue level.
Section 1.4 doesn’t provide a good differentiation between the function of tight junctions as opposed to adhesion junctions.
Used the term bladder specifically without specifying gall bladder or urinary bladder.
Doesn’t include perforating fibers (Sharpey’s fibers) of the bone.
Some error is going on with the MC questions at the end of each section. All the choices are labeled, “b”, “d”, “f” and “h”. The correct answers are provided in the traditional “A”, “B”, “C” and “D” format and are accurate.
Discussion on membranes, particularly serous membranes is weak and not as accurate as it should be.
Metabolic Process Location interactive exercise – disagree with many of the answers. For example, the organ responsible for maintaining normal blood glucose levels was identified as the liver.
Section 4.2: Cells of epithelia are closely connected and are not separated by intracellular material.
The content contained in "Anatomy and Physiology" is broad and would provide an A&P student with a complete picture of the human body’s structure and function. Instructors will find this text appropriate for a two-semester A&P course. ... read more
The content contained in "Anatomy and Physiology" is broad and would provide an A&P student with a complete picture of the human body’s structure and function. Instructors will find this text appropriate for a two-semester A&P course. There are some areas of physiology that were much less comprehensive than expected, but overall this text does a fine job of addressing the foundational details of physiology that instructors would expect their students to master. There are a variety of excellent homeostatic imbalance areas of the chapters (both the expected ones and many unique ones), as well as many clinical application/everyday connection pieces. The text also showcases a variety of careers in the “Career Connections” segments. These accessory pieces give students pause to acknowledge that the details of A&P are essential for them to learn for success in many professional fields and for their own personal knowledge. Each chapter also contains review questions with an answer key area at the end of the text. The varieties of supplemental learning resources that interface with the book further enhance the text’s comprehensiveness (pronunciation guide, online homework tools, tutorials, adaptive learning tools, etc.) Interactive link questions accompany the abundant links and provide ideas for instructors to create assignments or activities associated with the links. The text occasionally refrains from expanding on physiological details where I would like to see more. For example, I was surprised to see very little explanation of meiosis in the reproductive system chapter. It is mentioned in the text but not explained except briefly within the figure title. Supporting images are not particularly clear in illustrating chromosome arrangement during the phases.
I did not encounter any inaccuracies in the content beyond those that have been shared through the errata list accessible on the publisher website.
The content is relevant and has lasting power due to its updatable format and interactive links to external websites that can also be updated easily (but will require regular monitoring of changing websites by the publisher to remain current). URLs are linked within the PDF for quick access. The images that were chosen should not date themselves easily. The text uses many eponyms throughout (i.e. Sertoli, Leydig, Langerhans, Henle) but often notes the alternative, more updated terms as well to reflect changing practices in naming.
By and large, the authors’ explanations are precise and particular. The writing styles of the various authors are clear, readable, and at an appropriate level. The text does an excellent job of guiding students in constructing strong anatomical vocabulary by explaining word origins and connecting to everyday language (the mnemonic device table to help learn muscle names is a nice example). For the most part, challenging topics were well-explained, though often the physiological details were not expanded upon as fully as I would like to see to enhance clarity. There are some areas of physiology where the explanations may be a bit difficult for a typical A&P student to follow without some additional visual support. For instance, the muscle contraction sequence could benefit from a flow chart/sequencing visual. This is the first significant physiological sequencing students may encounter if proceeding chapter-to-chapter in this text, and a visual “map” of the sequence would serve as a good model for how to think in sequences and cause/effect relationships moving forward.
The writing style varied noticeably across certain chapters, which is to be expected to some extent with a team of authors. While some readers may not notice this, it would help students to have a more unified writing style to guide them as they proceed through the text. Some inconsistencies appear across chapters with terminology or symbolism (partial pressure symbol PCO2 vs. pCO2); use of ion charge as superscripts on some occasions, subscripts on others; with terminology (interpulmonary pressure and intra-alveolar pressure). The non-critical thinking review questions at the end of each chapter are good but are all multiple choice in style. Some additional variety of questions would benefit students. The critical thinking questions vary considerably in style from chapter to chapter (all immune system critical thinking questions are at the “describe” level of cognition). There are occasional inconsistencies between terms in diagrams and terms in a figure title or within the text (“pyruvate” and “pyruvic acid” in Chapter 10, with no explanation of their differences.)
Its arrangement makes this text agile for use in its entirety in a two-semester A&P sequence course or more piecemeal in another type of course. Within each chapter, content is mostly “chunked” well to make it easy for students to stop at natural breaks and re-read before advancing. While I appreciate that bullet lists are not overused in this text, there are many places throughout where a break in the solid text-upon-text content would be helpful to students in organizing thoughts and seeing the big picture. Many students will have difficulty focusing on considerable text all at once, especially given the single column layout of text. For instance, the flow of the action potential sequence explanation felt quite heavy and would benefit from some compartmentalization of events to help students break the sequence into more manageable chunks.
I found the organization of this text to be excellent. It is similar to other common A&P texts on the market and is logically arranged from system to system. This structure would make it easier for an instructor to transition from another typical A&P text to this one without having to significantly modify the course layout. It is nice to see a “key terms” section at the end of each chapter. The text would benefit in its flow by expanding on its offering of visual support of complex physiology and placing these as close as possible to the text explanation it references (scrolling to find the image or advancing to another page to complete a table is commonly required). The layout of urinary physiology was a bit awkward to me. The three main physiological events are not showcased as well as I would like to see to help a student grasp the big physiological picture. The flow of female reproductive anatomy and physiology was also a bit challenging to follow. Students may lose some of the physiological continuity here as result. Of course, an instructor can skillfully adjust the flow of this content easily enough to meet his or her style with this text as a reference.
This resource was easy to navigate in PDF form with the ability to jump from page to page, though considerable scrolling is required. Text is searchable for key words from within Adobe Reader. Given the length of this PDF document, it would be ideal if the text page numbers and the PDF numbering of pages could be matched to improve navigability (currently, text page 1 is page 9 in Adobe Reader). Numbering the cover page of the book as page 1 would resolve this. There were no distortions of figures or tables that I noticed. There are areas of the text where line spacing changes from single to space-and-a-half for no apparent reason. This was a mild distraction.
The text has occasional, relatively minor grammar and usage errors but not so many that they interfere with the readability of the text.
The text is culturally sensitive and includes examples that are wide-ranging and not exclusive. Many drawings are “generic” so any reader can identify with the images. Varied skin tones are used in some colored drawings. Photos show different regions and peoples of the world. Chapter 28 chapter review critical thinking questions include diverse names (and most other chapter questions avoid names altogether and instead note “a patient” or “a person”).
Overall, I think this resource has an impressive start at becoming a text of choice for many A&P faculty. I think an area of greatest potential for improvement is in its use of visual support of content. I would like to see more continuity between the figures and the text. Sometimes it seems they are separate entities and don’t “talk to each other” well (different terminology used, for instance). I would welcome additional diagrams and/or flow charts that supplement the text’s explanation of the most challenging physiological processes (for example, additional renal physiology diagrams). I was pleased to see many images return to the more simplified, less cluttered style. There is a nice mix of colored and black and white drawings. There are also many good attention-getting images (hand gripping, saccadic eye movements, deadly nightshade, etc.) However, not all illustrations or images were clear and could use improvement in subsequent editions. For instance, some of the histology images did not showcase the identifying characteristics well at all (unable to see striations in cardiac muscle, barely in skeletal muscle). The illustration of ovary anatomy is quite “zoomed in” with little else in the image for reference. Many of the muscle diagrams were rather small, making it difficult to see details. The text's font size is quite small, and while PDF readers can enlarge, those opting to use a physical text may find this makes for difficult reading.
The overview at the beginning of each chapter and direct objectives at the beginning of each section are very well established, but lie in the "Understanding" category of Bloom's Taxonomy. The "Chapter Reviews" at the end of each chapter are also... read more
The overview at the beginning of each chapter and direct objectives at the beginning of each section are very well established, but lie in the "Understanding" category of Bloom's Taxonomy. The "Chapter Reviews" at the end of each chapter are also helpful including brief summaries on individual sections and multiple choice review questions in addition to critical thinking questions to test for understanding and application of the material. It is very effective that the answers to "End of Chapter Questions" are listed at the end of the book to allow the students the opportunity to think through the questions and recognize the concepts that they have a firm understanding in, and which they do not yet fully grasp. Additionally, having the function of "Finding" a word in the text is a great interactive feature for students who are looking inquisitively into a particular detail or topic subject in which to study. Finally, the advantage of having the ability to include interactive page links throughout the text is extremely helpful for navigating through the online text, mimicking the ability to quickly flip through pages, while not becoming disoriented in the large volume of information.
Several characteristic details are spared which do not change the meaning of the information written, but unfortunately does not disclose some of the truths of the information. (example: Radiograph vs x-ray). Again, this may be a minute point to illuminate in a collaborative anatomy and physiology textbook. When entering into the specifics of the field in anatomy, the exhaustive details result in the separation of mastering the subject matter and superficial understanding from a student perspective.
More clinical aspects of the anatomy being described would be useful, in addition to the treatments and procedures for such clinical aspects. This would be an easily identifiable way to keep track of the progress of medicine and treatment policies. Most of the anatomy itself may change slightly but for the most part has been identified and is established in Latin/Greek root words. Perhaps at the end of the section some of the terminology that has been changed from eponymous names to anatomical names could be identified (ie: Fallopian tubes = Uterine tube). Additionally this would allow for students of a higher caliber to feed their curiosities on relevant topic matter while not inundating the less developed students.
The clarity of this text is undoubtedly apprehensive. Anatomy is filled with an array of jargon and discipline specific terminology. However, the majority of terms are defined as an easily accessible prose. Key terms are listed at the end of each chapter which help to allude to the important wording of the complex structures and ideas. The use of language and flow of information is highly comprehensive allowing for intrigue in reading the subject matter while still including and highlighting the scientific aspects of the material-without overbearing the reader in copious amounts of vernacular.
The framework for this text is most congruous with the large volume of information exhibited.
Terminology is clearly defined at the end of each chapter. However, some of the terminology is out of date, for instance including only Eponymous naming of structures rather than the more recently acceptable terminology of anatomical classification and distinction, as stated previously.
The structure of this text is very clearly organized. Multiple sections per chapter allow for the flow of information to be categorized properly and assignment of particular and distinct subject areas for the students, without them having to read 100 pages per lecture.
For an anatomical and physiological standpoint, great organization: levels of organization; support and movement; regulation, integration and control; fluid and transport; energy, maintenance, and environmental exchange; human development and the continuity of life. This structure of material building from the basics of physiology through the combination of detail to reach higher levels of organization in the body is very well done. Additionally it is highly correspondent to many other combined anatomy/physiology textbooks in terms of order of material which allows for ease of access to similar information.
Many of the images, while very effective in caricature and animated drawings, are mostly effective for basic understanding and conceptualization of these 3D concepts. Due to the high complexity of the subject matter presented, it may also be advantageous to include actual specimen figures and/or more realistic drawings of the anatomical features being depicted and portrayed. This would help bridge the gap of understanding to comprehension required for higher order thinking and development at the collegiate level.
A large composition of the interactive links leading to interactive videos are inaccessible or no longer viewable, and result in an error. I tried accessing the links from different networks and computer sources and concluded with the same dysfunction. I unfortunately was unable to find additional technological support or alternative avenues in which to utilize this function, which was disappointing.
I am not a trained grammarian and ultimately did not become aware of any major instances of grammatical error that led to informational misunderstanding.
This text has no bias nor deviation of ethical implications towards cultural influences that may be perceived as malicious or insensitive. Scientifically, there could be increased reference to the different anatomical and/or physiological characteristics of major ethnic groups. This then perhaps couldbe indicated by boxes on the side of the page indicating cultural "Did you know" information breaks.
This review is based primarily on the evaluation of an anatomical basic.
Strictly as a physiology and anatomy textbook, this source provides a plethora of information and with a wide degree of detail. Specifically however, for courses that are separated into physiology and anatomy, this textbook would not be sufficient for either subject independently. This could definitely be used as an introductory level, or combined anatomy/physiology course for lower level courses. A specific physiology and anatomy book would be required for higher lever courses focusing on the specifics of the material for a deeper and more analytic and evaluative understanding for the student. That being said, this text would be a great starting point or use of reference for students, particular for those who may have previously never studied physiology or anatomy, to expose themselves to the building blocks and intimate cohesion of the subjects of anatomy and physiology.
I thought that the text was very comprehensiveness and I also liked the organization of the text. They did a very good job blending the anatomy with the physiology of the various systems in the body. I feel that would make a very good text for an... read more
I thought that the text was very comprehensiveness and I also liked the organization of the text. They did a very good job blending the anatomy with the physiology of the various systems in the body. I feel that would make a very good text for an undergraduate anatomy and physiology class.
The text was very accurate with information presented.
Anatomy and physiology does not change much over the years. The content is up to date and should not become irrelevant.
The book is written clearly. I think that it would be easy for an undergraduate to read that has not been exposed to anatomical and physiological concepts yet.
The were no issues with consistency in the textbook that I could find.
The text makes it easy to set up a class based on the divisions of the book. One thing that I have found teaching is that if this topic can be sectioned into more manageable amounts for the students they have greater success.
I really liked the organization and the blending of anatomical and physiological subjects. It makes it easier to tie the physiology and anatomy together with each system.
There was no navigation issues noted in the text.
There were no grammatical errors noticed in the text.
There were no culturally insensitive topics noted in the text..
Textbook prices for anatomy and physiology texts can be outrageous these days. It's nice to see a quality text that can be used for a class at a much more reasonable cost with no drop off in content or information. There needs to be more alternatives like this in other subjects as well. I look forward to more open textbooks in the future.
I am comparing this text with two Human Anatomy and Physiology textbooks I have used. This online text covers all relevant topics for a 200 level Human A & P class. Overall, I found the text comprehensive and easy to read. The book is geared... read more
I am comparing this text with two Human Anatomy and Physiology textbooks I have used. This online text covers all relevant topics for a 200 level Human A & P class. Overall, I found the text comprehensive and easy to read. The book is geared toward novice students to the subject matter, and does a great job conveying complex material to the reader. Difficult concepts or processes are simplified to make the subject matter easier to understand for the reader, but sometimes at the expense of thoroughness. The text covers each subject area appropriately. Images and diagrams are used appropriately to help explain the material, however, more pictures, figures, diagrams, tables, flow charts, and the likes could be used instead of lengthy descriptions, to address different learning styles of readers, and to make it a more interesting read (see example under Clarity section) . The preface reveals that the book is divided into units and subunits. The division into chapters by fundamental A & P texts seems more helpful in organizing the vast amount of information covered, and would greatly improve this online version.
The text is mostly accurate and seems unbiased. There is one figure on “Negative Feedback” in the beginning of the text that conveys the wrong and misleading message in that the output of sweat glands seems to further increase body temperature, instead of cooling the body to counteract the stimulus (Figure …). I found it strange that, mostly, figure or table numbers are left out in the text, which makes the wording of sentences sound awkward. For example “Table lists the difference between…”, or “As seen in Figure, cardiac muscle is striated…”. Most figures or tables do have numbers assigned to them, but those numbers are not reflected in the text. However, there are hyperlinks to all figures throughout the text, therefore, when clicking on the “Figure” in the text, the reader is taken to the figure referred to. This, I imagine, would make it hard for an instructor to refer to a specific figure, table or diagram during lecture. If units were divided into chapters, and not subunits, it might be less confusing to everyone. Once readers click on the “Figure” link, they have to scroll back up to the text to resume reading the chapter…. This can be very cumbersome to the reader. Also, it would be helpful to create hyperlinks between different chapters, especially between the chapters on acidosis/alkalosis with previous chapters on the respiratory, digestive, and urinary systems.
The book provides good examples of clinical applications to most topics in the text but also by providing links to other online resources. Sometimes, these links do not work. However, even if the authors keep updating the information once a URL is obsolete, it is a good tool for sharing new knowledge in the subject matter, for giving interesting clinical examples, and for sharing the latest news in medical research.
The book is aimed to provide a clear, easy to read text on the subject matter. A glossary at the end of each section aids in explaining terminology to the novice. Expected learning outcomes are listed in the beginning of each chapter, and practice questions, as well as critical thinking questions are listed at the end of each chapter. As mentioned above, sometimes, the simplified versions of complex pathways or processes are at the expense of thoroughness. However, it focuses well on conveying the knowledge relevant for new students of A & P. Images and diagrams are used appropriately to help explain the material, however, more pictures, figures, diagrams, tables, flow charts, and the likes could be used instead of lengthy descriptions, to address different learning styles of readers, and to make it a more interesting read. One example is the chapter on the action potential in the nervous system, endocrine regulation of the kidney, as well as regulation of fluid volume and composition in the renal system. The explanation of the countercurrent exchange system in the kidney is very simplified, however, a video is provided for further understanding. ‘Everyday connection’ sequences add to the further understanding and application of the material to real life, and are very interesting and relevant.
The book is consistent in terms of formatting. It shows sometimes that different authors worked on different sections of the book, which can be a problem especially when chapters discuss a theme that was already introduced or discussed in a previous section written by a different author. However, these differences are very subtle. Sometimes, there is a missing consistency between images or tables used, for example in the section that covers facial muscles. Hardly any muscles are labeled in the image but are mentioned in the following table. Most tables showing actions, origins, insertions, etc. of muscles have the same order, except for the table on muscles that move the hand, which has a different order and format.
The modularity is fine. Lots of scrolling is necessary if readers decide to not print the whole text.
The book seems to sometimes have big blocks of lengthy text, which could be broken up by providing more images, diagrams, flow charts etc. that are individually downloadable or printable. This would break up long sections and help readers understand the material better, and it would allow students to gear the text toward their individual learning styles. It would be easier if each theme would have a chapter, and if figures, tables, etc. were numbered according to their specific chapters, like they are in regular A & P textbooks. It makes it easier for teachers to refer to a specific figure, table, etc.
There are no significant interface issues. What I found most challenging in terms of keeping buoyant in reading this text is the lack of clear numbering and organization, as well as the interconnectivity between different chapters. Especially with an online text, there is an ability of creating links between chapters, to refer back to previous chapters in order to further the understanding of the reader, and to provide a comprehensive guide to the subject matter.
I found that there were few grammar issues in the text. Mostly, I found that it was strange not to have figures etc. labeled in the text, which made sentences sound awkward.
No issues in terms of insensitivities. More of the interesting examples of what makes us all different could have been used, for example the evolution of skin color, body hair etc., because it makes it more interesting and applicable.
This is a great resource for students of A & P. I think that the text is written well, but I would like to see more visuals, flow charts, diagrams, and other images that facilitate the understanding of the material to the reader, and that address different learning styles of students.
I compared this text book to two others commercial text books I have used in class. The table of contents covers all the main topics and comparable to other text books on the market. Looking through the individual chapters I found the text went... read more
I compared this text book to two others commercial text books I have used in class. The table of contents covers all the main topics and comparable to other text books on the market. Looking through the individual chapters I found the text went into adequate depth in most areas. As I am teaching Anatomy I cannot only adequately comment on the book strength in Physiology. The illustrations were informative and helped clarify the content. The index and the list of key words at the end of every chapter is useful. The variety of interactive links in the on line version such as virtual slides, and video clips of medical diagnostic technologies, surgeries. The chapters, on the immune system, respiration, digestion, and the kidneys, however, focus more on physiological mechanisms than anatomy and terminology and include cellular and molecular mechanisms.Each chapters layout with objective, key terms and glossary and the critical thinking questions provide a clear picture of the important concepts. The images charts and diagrams were clear and well constructed.
Looking through several chapters I found the information to be accurate. I found the information presented in this book to be up-to-date, and consistent with the most widely held scientific opinions on the topics.
This book is written in a manner that it's content will remain relevant long into the future. The fact that it is open source textbook, allows it to be readily modified or updated by individual instructors. The textbook contains current information and up-dated material. As with any science textbook, periodic revisions will be necessary for many of the units. The textbook also has an assortment of web links that will need to be maintained.
The material is presented in an engaging manner and should hold the student’s attention. There is a nice, seamless transition between sections contributed by different authors. The text in this book is extremely clear, which is great for a first course in A&P. The use of videos that are placed at the end of sections provides additional context and clarification of concepts discussed within the text. Diagrams are clear and well labeled making them easy to look at and understand which will help students to understand concepts presented in the reading. There was a vocabulary list at the end of each chapter which did an excellent job of highlight technical jargon that may have been confusing for students.
The textbook is quite consistent from Chapter-to-Chapter. In general, the terminology and nomenclature is consistent throughout the book. The framework and terminology are consistent throughout the book.
Sections of the text could be used to supplement th course material which is useful. The sections are modular. Book organized into chapters with sub section that make it very easy to move around, or remove small sections if desired with out making the text difficult to read. Sub sections are nicely organized, each starting with objectives, then material finishing with an interactive link.
Overall the chapter order and organization is logical and structured well. The selection of chapters is appropriate to A&P. The structure of the chapters is well presented visually and the breakdown of content into sub sections makes the book easy to read, as well as creates a good framework for moving through the content.Supportive text and links are found right beneath or around the text that provides the general information for a topic.
The text has no interface or navigation issues. I have used other e-books and here I preferred the PDF to the on line version. I used the PDF to review the book. There were no issues.
Did not notice any grammatical errors
No cultural issues were noted.
I was surprised by how easy-to-use and thorough this text was. This textbook has many strengths: it is well organized, has a fresh lay-out that is easy to read and offers an excellent summary, section quizzes, references and resources at the end of each chapter. I found the scrolling to be cumbersome and having used some other excellent text books would like to see better images.
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this book not only provides a comprehensive treatment of anatomy & physiology but also the fundamental biochemical concepts that underpin these topics. I was particularly pleased at the care taken to... read more
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this book not only provides a comprehensive treatment of anatomy & physiology but also the fundamental biochemical concepts that underpin these topics. I was particularly pleased at the care taken to illustrate the figures relating to biochemistry.
I spent a good deal of time reviewing the chapters relating to fundamental chemistry and biochemistry and was particularly pleased to find that these chapters were not only deep as well as accurate, but also discussed the relevance of this information to careers my students may pursue.
The content of this text is highly relevant to the course I am teaching right now. The fundamentals of human biology do not change quickly, and the electronic nature of the resource would allow for completion of updates with relative ease.
The text is standard for a textbook, no surprises there, and there is adequate explanation of concepts and jargon. It would be good for the authors to explore use of metaphors to instruct, or inclusion of enough examples, or perhaps particular examples, in areas where students usually struggle.
There are reasonable smooth transitions between chapters, in terms of the authors' writing style.
It was readily apparent that the textbook is not only organized in a logical way, but it is straightforward to use chapters or sections in an alternative order.
I was impressed with the organization of the chapters, particularly in terms of how organs were organized according to whether their main role was structural, communicating, or metabolic.
I have long shied away from electronic resources, mainly due to the clunkiness of the interface. However, this textbook's interface is easy to use and its organization makes sense.
I randomly surveyed many sections of text and did not identify grammar issues.
I sampled many figures. I noticed that there are fewer pictures of people than in other texts. I did notice that when there were images of patients, the patients were much more likely to be women. I noticed that photos of healthy, active people, particularly in sports, tended to be men. In fact I saw this several times, and the images of active men tended to be marathon runners. I would like the authors to revisit this issue. This makes a difference for me, in terms of how satisfied I am with the text I am using.
I look forward to adapting my powerpoint presentation to include slides from this book. Is there a file of figures I could gather materials from? I also really enjoyed the bibliography and greatly appreciated that links could be clicked on. which was also true of the index. Please fix the issue of portraying women as patients and men as healty and enjoying sports.
This book was comprehensive, covering the topics expected in a majors-level A&P book. It began with basic cell chemistry, progressed to tissues, and then moved through system-by-system coverage of the body. The breakdown of topics was novel... read more
This book was comprehensive, covering the topics expected in a majors-level A&P book. It began with basic cell chemistry, progressed to tissues, and then moved through system-by-system coverage of the body. The breakdown of topics was novel in some cases--for example putting reflexes under "somatic nerves" rather than spinal cord as in most books. Also, I enjoyed seeing special chapters on aging and human genetics.
The glossary and index were complete and I didn't see any major omissions.
The content seemed accurate (I'm not an A&P scholar, so I can't judge every detail). I didn't see claring errors and noticed no bias. The only part someone could claim was a bias was the us of U.S. data (for example, to show the prevalence of different blood types). I'm not sure if this book will be used outside the U.S., but if so, that chart would seem out of place.
Content was up-to-date and make sense in flow and the way chapters were arranged. The chapter topics could easilly be changed or updated without affecting the rest of the text.
The text was clear and accessible. I enjoyed how some medical terms were quickly connected to "everyday" terms to provide additional relevance to students. At times, the writing seemed to change from "majors level" to "non-majors level" in terms of the words and phrasing. Also, the overall writing tone seemed to change at times between sections and chapters. Possibly this is due to having multiple authors creating this work.
As mentioned above, the text flow, tone, and phrasing changed several times in the text. This did affect consistency but unlikely to be noticed by a student over a whole year, just a reviewer reading the whole thing at one time.
Additionally, the use of illustrations shows the same changes over the book--some chapters are only diagrams, some use photos, and some use slides. It would have been nicer if each chapter used the same types of images. Again, this may be due to authorship. I can't think of a pedagogical reason to do this. For specific examples, the Integumentary system does a fantastic job of matching simple illustrations with slide photos of the same structures. A student could use this text in lab or lecture and gets a "real life" view of the structures. In the chapter on bones, it's only diagrams; no pictures. Wouldn't a picture of a skull help a student match the diagram with the real thing?
I teach both the year-long "majors" A&P and the half-year "intro" A&P series. This book's modularity would make it possible for me to use sections for a 100-level course without having to tell students exact pages and sentences to skip to make the content reasonable. Likewise, I can see chapters and sections that can be rearranged in a different order for a class without affecting what's being taught. This contrasts with some texts that use an overarching story and by nature, can't be used in a different order that how written. This modularity makes the book easy to use in different courses, in different ways, for different reasons.
I liked how the book's topics were arranged. I prefer the system-by-system, superficial-to-deep approach. Although novel to me, I did like the way the nervous system was broken up beyond the usual CNS-PNS-ANS of most books. I could see this text's way of doing it easier for students to learn and easier for me to teach those difficult concepts.
I reviewed the .pdf version and was not aware of any interface problems specifically to tha format.
A few things did catch my eye but they were more problems with a particular layout on a page rather than the text overall. For example, the chart for the hormones begins at the end of a page and continues on to the next page. There was room to put the whole thing on one page, so why not do that? Students would learn the chart much better if it were in one piece. Likewise, a few diagrams and pictures were on different pages than when referenced. Perhaps a little different editing would make the picture appear on the same page as it's discussion.
I didn't see any major grammatical errors.
I didn't see anything offensive. As stated before, this book references U.S. data so might be a problem in other countries. Also, disease listings tend to focus on typical U.S. problems and avoids some of the emergent, tropical disorders that might have relevance to non-European readers.
The text includes all of the subjects generally covered in a year-long lower division undergraduate A&P course. As when comparing any comparable texts, this one did not go into as much depth in some areas but went into more depth in others. read more
The text includes all of the subjects generally covered in a year-long lower division undergraduate A&P course. As when comparing any comparable texts, this one did not go into as much depth in some areas but went into more depth in others.
Apart from occasional mistakes the book was accurate
The content is up to date and its relevance is unlikely to change in the near future since it covers mostly basic scientific concepts.
The text is definitely not overly wordy which I can appreciate. However, for a student who is unfamiliar with these concepts, more and clearer description of concepts and definition of root words would be useful especially at the beginning. I also feel that a lack of visual representation of processes will make the prose more difficult to conceptualize for the majority of visual learners.
The text is mostly consistent conceptually and in its use of terminology within and between sections.
The textbook's modularity follows the same order as most of the other texts used in A&P courses targeted towards undergraduates going into nursing and allied health professions. As with any scientific text that builds upon concepts and definitions, this modularity is as adaptable as other texts of its kind.
The book follows a similar (and logical) organization to other textbooks of its kind.
The text's interface is clear and easily navigable.
The text contains few grammatical errors.
The text is not culturally insensitive. I think.
The text strikes a balance regarding comprehensiveness, providing more details than fundamental A&P texts. The resulting text is lengthy at 1300 pages; however, fine technical points, as discussed in the most comprehensive texts, are avoided.... read more
The text strikes a balance regarding comprehensiveness, providing more details than fundamental A&P texts. The resulting text is lengthy at 1300 pages; however, fine technical points, as discussed in the most comprehensive texts, are avoided. All primary topics typical for a two-semester undergraduate A&P course are addressed.
The text is accurate. Inaccuracies can be identified through an online form, and know errata are posted on the text’s website.
One misleading figure I noted involves negative feedback. The negative feedback figure has a colored arrow connecting the effector to the stimulus. In particular, Figure 1.10b has an arrow from “Sweat glands throughout the body” leading to “Body temperature exceeds 37°C”. This would indicate, incorrectly, that the sweat glands lead to a higher body temperature. Figure 17.6 shows an arrow between homeostasis and imbalance, which may lead students to incorrectly believe that homeostasis leads to an imbalance.
The book devotes much time to the clinical aspects of A&P providing practical relevance.
I attempted to access the links in the text on my phone’s QR reader. Many of the links did not work. This will frustrate the students and they are likely to disregard the links. The irony of this feature is that while it is cutting-edge, it becomes dated easily because URL’s of external websites change constantly.
The authors consciously designed the book to facilitate student understanding. Examples include, the figure explaining serous membranes depicting a fist within an underinflated balloon, the inclusion of mnemonic devices in tables, and using words to help explain synthesis reactions (i.e. note + book = notebook).
The book was generally clear; however, it could provide more details on subject matter that many students find challenging. For instance, illustrative details of action potential or muscle contraction would improve the clarity of these topics.
One confusing figure, in particular, is the “Pathways in Calcium Homeostasis” figure on page 236. I was unsure where to begin. A few modifications would greatly improve this figure.
The format of the book is consistent. A careful reader may pick up on the different writing styles of the multiple authors, but it is not very noticeable.
Currently, the textbook must be downloaded as one large PDF file. Making the content available a chapter at a time would increase the modularity of the textbook.
The textbook is not completely modular, but that is to be expected. The subject matter builds on itself from chapter to chapter. As students are introduced to concepts or terminology (homeostasis in chapter one, or sodium ions in chapter two), this knowledge can be built upon in subsequent chapters.
Figures and accompanying text explanations are generally found on the same page. As a result, the book contains more empty/blank space than typical, which is refreshing.
Tables are printed on multiple pages, rather than being on one page (table 6.2, 6.5, 9.1, and 13.1). This occurs even when there is ample space to combine the table into one page
A detailed table of contents would be useful. Particularly, it would be helpful to include the “Career Connections”.
I recommend enlarging some of the figures to make them more readable. Particular attention should be paid to figures of the eyes and muscle diagrams.
I had difficulty navigating such a large .pdf file. Allowing students to download the book one chapter at a time would help with this issue.
I did not notice any grammatical errors.
As far as A&P goes, it is culturally relevant and culturally sensitive.
The affordability of the textbook will be appreciated by students making the subject of A&P more accessible.
The book is very comprehensive and covers the wide range in Anatomy and Physiology topics. It covers the basics from cell and tissue level to organs and organ systems very well. The diagrams and pictures are clear and appropriately labeled. This... read more
The book is very comprehensive and covers the wide range in Anatomy and Physiology topics. It covers the basics from cell and tissue level to organs and organ systems very well. The diagrams and pictures are clear and appropriately labeled. This could be a great book for an online or hybrid class.
The book is accurate and unbiased. The text is error free and in-depth. The art-connection diagrams and pictures are appropriate, accurate and labeled legibly and correctly.
This book is accurate in content and updated. The content is relevant and adequate.
I really liked the consistency in the language of the book although it is written by multiple authors. The technical terminology is appropriate and adequate enough for students to understand and learn from. The diagrams and pictures are clear and appropriately labeled and titled.
The book is consistent in language, terminology and framework that makes it easy to follow.
The book is well edited and classified for the content.
The book has the same structure as most Anatomy and Physiology books. It is logical and clearly presented content that is easy to follow.
The book was tough to navigate in the online version since it did not allow jumping on a certain page. The pdf was easy to scroll. The images, charts and figured are constant and appropriately laid out.
The text in this book does not seem to have any grammatical errors.
The book is not culturally insensitive.
It would be great if issues of transgender anatomy, intersex and sexual spectrum were explained from an anatomical and hormonal perspective as a chapter addendum to the reproductive system chapter.
This is an excellent book overall!
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... read more
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.
Overall, the information presented is accurate and seems unbiased.
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.
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.
Overall consistent throughout the text. However the format is difficult to connect the written material to the figures due to the scrolling needed!
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.
The material is organized. However, it lacks more visuals and is difficult to navigate due the the constant scrolling as mentioned above.
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.
Overall, there are some but few issues here.
No issues
My only real issue is scrolling and more engaging images.
The book is very comprehensive. The table of contents breaks down each chapter by section, so that you can easily see at the beginning of the book the detailed topics covered throughout, as well as listing page numbers. The glossary is done... read more
The book is very comprehensive. The table of contents breaks down each chapter by section, so that you can easily see at the beginning of the book the detailed topics covered throughout, as well as listing page numbers. The glossary is done very efficiently, by listing several pages of key terms at the end of each chapter. The topics covered by this text are in the same order as other major Anatomy and Physiology textbooks on the market, making the transition to a new text easier for the instructor in my opinion. The topics are covered in a comprehensive manner, and are equal to any other major Anatomy and Physiology text on the market today.
Although I have not read all 1100 pages as of yet, it appears that this text is very accurate. I do not see any major errors in figures, the text itself or review questions. This text is unbiased in it's teaching on the scientific study of Anatomy and Physiology. The text however does lean toward a style of writing which convinces the student of the importance of understanding Anatomy and Physiology. I believe this is important for students in this subject, because it is often health students (at the beginning of their career) who will take this course. They may hear from others that it is a tough subject and important knowledge, but often they feel that it will not be important to them in their everyday job in the future. This text includes many highlighted boxes throughout called "Everyday Connection". This is important for students at this level to be able to start connecting the topics that they learn with a better personal understanding of their own physiology (i.e. body temperature control), and also learn about new research fields that may affect them (i.e. stem cell research).
This text was recently published and so the information is up-to-date. The arrangement of the book is also made in such a way that making updates would not be too difficult. Most of the new or more changeable information seems to be placed within interactive links and highlighted boxes throughout the text. This would make it easier for the OpenStax publishers and authors to update the book with the latest advances in research within physiology.
The clarity of writing is on par and at the same level as any other major Anatomy and Physiology textbook on the market today. The main topics and terms are highlighted and discussed in a comprehensive yet straightforward manner throughout the text. The additional or "nice-to-know" information is highlighted separate from the main text in boxes throughout the chapter. All of the writing throughout is accessible to students, and appropriate for the course level. Figures throughout the text are extremely clear, and I am ecstatic to see that finally a publisher has scaled back on the writing all over the figures. I believe that the figures in this text are far more clear and accessible to students than any other Anatomy text on the market today.
The consistency of this book is very good throughout. Each chapter is well organized and I like the structure. Each chapter begins with not only and introduction but also lists the chapter objectives, which are maybe more important for the instructor, but it is nice to have. Each chapter is broken down into smaller sections, helping to break down the content into more manageable pieces for the student. The terminology is consistent throughout the book as well and it is also summarized in a glossary of terms at the end of each chapter, which helps the student in studying the terms.
This Anatomy and Physiology text is broken down well and each chapter is organized according to measurable chapter objectives. The chapter objectives correspond well to each chapter section as well, making it easy to teach this text in a modular format according to how the instructor feels is best to present the information to their students. Each chapter section is not overwhelming in the amount of material, but at the same time covers each objective fully.
The topics covered by this text are in the same order as other major Anatomy and Physiology textbooks on the market, making the transition to a new text easier for the instructor in my opinion. These topics cover a logical order and are in the order that makes it easy to follow the course outline for a typical two semester Anatomy and Physiology course.
This textbook is available in several different formats including a print version (for a small fee) as well as a pdf, epub file or html file. The print version may be useful for many students that like to have a copy at their desk while they look through a PowerPoint or file on the computer at the same time. It is easy to navigate through due to it's comprehensive table of contents. Each section of the chapter is listed with a page number. The online files seem to have easy navigation, once you get used to the format. The .pdf file has tabs along the left side of the screen that are easy to navigate through to skip from one chapter section to the next. The interactive links are listed in the printed version, and accessible for all students. They are web addresses that are easy to get to, and show animations and videos related to the topic on that page of text. There are many more interactive links in this text than what I have seen in other similar Anatomy and Physiology texts. I believe this allows for the text itself to be more straightforward and much less "busy" with information. When the student feels they are ready they can easily open the link to see a video or animation to help them understand each topic better. This text is much less distracting and confusing in my opinion than other major anatomy textbooks on the market today. It seems to be written with the student in mind, and puts the major focus on the main topics and chapter objectives.
I have not noticed any grammatical errors.
This text has figures and examples which include all races, genders and ages throughout. For example the reproductive system chapter covers both the male and female anatomy and physiology comprehensively. It also includes extra information of disorders more specific to either male or female anatomy. At the end of the chapter their is a section which discusses puberty and lists many of the factors (besides genetics) that can play a role in affecting the development of the reproductive system. I believe this allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the way each individual's body can develop with slight differentiation.
Overall I am very impressed with this textbook. This book is formatted with the student in mind, understanding that they need to have less distractions in order to first learn the material. From an instructor's perspective as well the support staff was easy to work with and responded to my emails very quickly. The instructor only materials for this book are also a bonus. The PowerPoints are very basic, but this I feel allows you to input your own teaching style into the course while adding the figures from the text. This book would be wonderful for any two semester anatomy and physiology course, but also could be used one or a few chapters at a time to supplement another Biology course as well.
Of course, this textbook should properly be compared to commercial Human Anatomy & Physiology textbooks. I am unable to make that comparison, as I have been teaching Human Physiology using commercial Human Physiology textbooks, so I will... read more
Of course, this textbook should properly be compared to commercial Human Anatomy & Physiology textbooks. I am unable to make that comparison, as I have been teaching Human Physiology using commercial Human Physiology textbooks, so I will have to compare it to Human Physiology textbooks instead.
Much of the text (especially the first half, approximately) emphasizes anatomy (understandably) and terminology (including physiological terminology); there are also sections on development and clinical symptoms and tests. All of this comes at the cost of explaining normal physiological mechanisms in more depth. Terms are often bolded, even terms that may be unnecessary, which will tend to encourage students to spend a large chunk of their study time memorizing these terms.
It might help to delete unnecessary terminology and add more detailed text descriptions of physiological events. The sections on development could probably be deleted also, as development is a separable topic that really requires an entire course of its own to understand adequately.
The later chapters, on the immune system, respiration, digestion, and the kidneys, however, focus more on physiological mechanisms than anatomy and terminology and include cellular and molecular mechanisms relatively well, in addition to anatomy.
There are also some important omissions. The section on heart electrical signaling does not explain how pacemaker cells generate a pacemaker potential (primarily because it doesn’t mention funny channels). The explanations of resting potentials and action potentials do not go into enough depth for naive students to understand why each type of ion moves across the membrane in the direction it does.
The vast majority of the text is accurate. Nonetheless, there are more inaccurate statements in roughly the first half of the textbook (including general molecular and cellular mechanisms in the body and the nervous, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems) than I have seen in the commercial Human Physiology textbooks I have used or reviewed. The chapters on the immune system, respiration, digestion, and the kidneys, however, have few or no inaccuracies.
The clinical examples provide relevance and are often up-to-date.
The text is usually clear, though there are some grammatical errors, spelling errors, awkward phrases, or repeated phrases in the early chapters. The use of terminology, though, is sometimes excessive.
The book reads like the chapters were written by different authors, particularly the early chapters vs. the later chapters. Sometimes, different terms are used for the same process (e.g., both "reabsorption" and "absorption" are used for the same process in the nephrons). Some chapters are more modular than others.
The chapters are mostly short and relatively modular. In some cases, this means there is redundancy between chapters, but such redundancy goes along with making chapters more modular, which may allow instructors more flexibility in using this textbook.
The order of the chapters is mostly logical and conventional. Sometimes it is better than the typical Human Physiology textbook, for example, by having the immune system directly follow the cardiovascular system.
Occasionally, the order is unconventional and perhaps problematic. In particular, the discussion of muscles before the nervous system means that muscle electrical responses need to be explained before resting potentials and action potentials have been thoroughly explained in the context of the nervous system; the book effectively begins the nervous system description within the muscle chapter, but this discussion of electrical signaling is very brief and would not be sufficient for an average student to come to understand these challenging processes adequately. The nervous system section describes resting potentials, but without explaining electrochemical gradients, equilibrium potentials, or the Nernst equation, which will make it difficult for students to understand why the ions move in the direction they do during an action potential.
Similarly, discussing skeletal muscle fiber types without having yet explained glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation will probably be confusing to students. The discussion of hemoglobin in the cardiovascular chapter doesn’t mention the modulation of hemoglobin’s affinity for oxygen by binding of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and H+ ions, or the effect of temperature, which are all important for oxygen delivery to the tissues that need it. These issues are addressed much later, in the chapter on respiration, but they should be addressed when hemoglobin is first discussed in the cardiovascular chapter. ATP and cellular respiration is discussed in detail nearly at the end of the textbook, after many chapters have discussed use of ATP and glucose, aerobic vs. anaerobic respiration, and use of by-products of glycolysis, which seems backwards. Finally, the discussion of how much body water is in which compartments and an introduction to osmosis, hydrostatic pressure, key ions, etc. near the end of the textbook is also a bizarre placement. Of course, one could rearrange the chapter order, but this might create additional, unforeseen problems.
Some illustrations took awhile to load, but other than that, I didn't notice any interface issues.
There were a few grammatical errors, which is more than would be found in a commercial human physiology textbook.
I did not notice anything that was culturally insensitive.
The illustrations include many engaging and relevant photos. It would help if there were more diagrams that illustrate the chains (often loops) of physiological events (especially in the earlier chapters), so that the reader gets a better sense of the progressions of cause and effect and how amounts of substances or rates of processes are regulated. Such diagrams are numerous in commercial human physiology textbooks.
“Critical thinking” questions at end of each chapter are sometimes quite imaginative but other times ask students to describe a structure or process they have just read about, which is more likely to promote memorization than critical thinking.
With regard to anatomy the book is quite comprehensive. There are some core physiological concepts--mostly molecular level phenomena--that are less well developed in the text (see open commentary) read more
With regard to anatomy the book is quite comprehensive. There are some core physiological concepts--mostly molecular level phenomena--that are less well developed in the text (see open commentary)
I found no inaccuracies
I would recommend some brief coverage of genomics and RNAseq. These methods will be major diagnostic tools in the near future and are quite relevant to students reading this text.
Excellent.
Excellent, but perhaps with a few minor quibbles on terminology.
Good, but modularity is difficult to achieve with physiology. The subject matter is kind of interdependent. Still I don't think students would be totally lost if they started reading in the middle.
The progression is logical in terms of the physical organization of the human body. However, I think I would have addressed more general concepts, like second messenger systems, membrane transport, and action potentials in the initial sections rather than going straight from levels of organization to anatomy.
No problems.
Good. Some minor redundancy noted.
Seems fine.
This review is from the perspective of a comparative physiology instructor. I do not attempt here to offer a comprehensive assessment of the quality of the text with respect to it intended purpose (i.e. instruction of human anatomy and physiology. Rather, my main concern is how I might exploit this free resource as a source of information for a course that examines the physiology of vertebrates from a comparative and evolutionary perspective. Although this course attempts to expose students to the major anatomical features and functions of human bodies, it is also concerned with questions about how particular features arose and why they are often so complex. I did not expect this textbook to fulfill all of my needs. Discussions of malpighian tubules and non-tidal breathing systems would be out of place in a text entitled “Human Anatomy and Physiology.” However, I did hope to find selections or perhaps even large chunks of the book that could fill the needs currently met by the rather expensive textbooks I currently recommend (but do not require) that my students read. To be clear, I did not expect this text to be a perfect fit. I do not emphasize anatomy in my course, so I did not expect to use the trove of anatomical information and terminology in the book. Moreover, in comparative anatomy we look to non-human systems to understand evolutionary adaptations and limits on physiological systems.
Also, I should admit that I did not read all 1300+ pages of this book. I skimmed through the first few chapters, read a few chapters closely, and searched the text for information on a few key topics. The following account provides some general impressions of the textbook along with my thoughts on how well suited it is as a text coopted to a comparative physiology class.
I’ve got to say that the introductory chapter did not blow me away. The first actual sentence in the text is, “Though you may approach a course in anatomy and physiology strictly as a requirement for your field of study, the knowledge you gain in this course will serve you well in many aspects of your life.” I doubt any of us instructors walk into the classroom, and say something like “OK, we’re all here because of course requirements so let’s get this over with.” That’s an exaggeration of what this first sentence implies, but all the same at the beginning of a course begins, I try to generates some genuine enthusiasm by showing students fascinating images, discussing unanswered questions, and telling real-life discovery stories. Perhaps it is beyond the purview of a textbook to do so, but it would be nice to pique the students’ curiosity in those first few paragraphs and images.
The writing style is informal, but not what I would call conversational. There are a rare few textbooks that employ a conversational style of writing that really helps (in my opinion) keep one engaged. This text is not one of them, but the writing is clear and efficient for the most part.
The emphasis is clearly on the anatomical end of things, which might make for some confusion early on, if one’s classroom schedule closely follows the presentation of information in the book. Although the book begins with introductory text about the molecular and cellular underpinnings of physiology, it then dives into major aspects of the anatomy before the functional groundwork for the structures is established. For example, muscle function and contraction mechanisms come before an introduction to action potentials, which of course serve as the trigger for muscle contraction. Perhaps more striking is that second messenger systems are not explained at all independent of other concepts. The text covers their relevance to the nervous system and hormonal systems as a sort of side-tracked way (…by the way, here’s how that signal gets transduced inside the cell…) Perhaps this is a strength, as it keeps the concept of second messengers from becoming too abstract, but I think it leaves students wondering why these complex systems arose (e.g. for signal amplification). Having read through every mention of “second messenger” in the text, it is clear that this book will not serve as primary reading source for this important aspect of physiology.
Several of these core physiological concepts also get only a very brief mention, such as membrane physiology (i.e. electro-chemical gradients), and receptors and agonists. These brief treatments would seem to be a good means of introducing the concepts, but for my course at least, I will need to find other sources (perhaps physiologyweb.com) as a reference for the more advanced concepts like the Nerst Equation and nicotinic receptor binding sites.
Among the chapters I read closely, I noted a few instances where some tighter correspondence between the figures and the text could be beneficial. For example,
the vasa recta is not labeled on figures but is mentioned several times in the text. The same is true for bile canaliculi. One other instance: granular cells are not labeled in figures or defined. They are, I think, the same as juxtaglomerular cells, which are illustrated and defined, but the terminology is not clear. I also noticed that the text contains a few redundancies (e.g. Page 488 makes redundant statements about pharmaceudicals and the blood brain barrier.). I would chalk this up along with a few occasional changes in terminology use to having so many contributing authors, and I imagine these issues will get ironed out in short order as the text evolves.
Having looked back on my writing thus far, it would seem I have written a somewhat negative review. However, I should state that my general impression of the text is quite positive. I was particularly struck by the quality and clarity of the art work. The figures strike a nice balance of simplicity and detail, and I will definitely be using them for lectures and study guides. The art is on par with if not better than that of the commercially produced textbooks I’m familiar with and there appears to be no shortages of figures. In fact, a full page of text with no figures appears to be a rarity.
The text is brisk and understandable, with plain English chapter titles and subheadings that will be of great benefit to students who are new to the material. I didn’t do any investigation into the recommended web-links and other special text boxes that permeate each chapter, but those I did read seemed like they would also help a lot of student with crucial information about career options and particular medical disordes. I will definitely be using this text as part of my comparative physiology class in the future. But, as expected, I will have to use other sources as well.
This text is extremely comprehensive and comparable to other leading Anatomy & Physiology texts in the current market in terms of its coverage of levels of organization (i.e. chemical, cellular, tissue) and the anatomy & physiology of each... read more
This text is extremely comprehensive and comparable to other leading Anatomy & Physiology texts in the current market in terms of its coverage of levels of organization (i.e. chemical, cellular, tissue) and the anatomy & physiology of each system (i.e. musculoskeletal, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, immune, respiratory, digestive, metabolism & nutrition, urinary, fluid,electrolyte & acid-base balance, reproductive, fetal development, & genetics). Each chapter provides objectives, key terms in bold, glossary with definitions, review of key points, review questions, and critical thinking questions. Images, figures, and tables are well-constructed, clear, and effective in illustrating important concepts. I am especially impressed with the variety of interactive links in the online version such as virtual slides, micrographs, and video clips of medical diagnostic technologies, surgeries, etc. Where relevant, many chapters include other pedagogical features such as homeostatic imbalances, specific disorders/diseases, aging effects, career connections, and everyday connections (i.e. second hand smoke). In addition, there is a comprehensive table of contents and index.
I found the content to be accurate, error-free, and unbiased. I did find one small omission in the PDF version. In Chapter 24 - Metabolism & Nutrition, the glycolysis equation is missing on page 1104.
The content is up-to-date and should remain relevant indefinitely, since anatomy and physiology does not really change. New diseases, new information about physiological processes and current diseases, and clinical applications (i.e. clinical diagnosis & treatment; medical technology; careers in medicine/allied health; etc.) can easily be incorporated, especially using the interactive links.
I found the text to be extremely clear and easy to navigate. Key terms are bolded and each chapter has a glossary of terms with definitions.
I found the text to be extremely consistent in terms of terminology and framework.
The text can be used in its entirety, or just as easily, an instructor can assign specific sections/chapters to meet the needs of a particular course.
The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion starting with levels of organization (i.e. chemical, cellular, tissue) and then proceeding to each system (i.e. musculoskeletal, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, immune, respiratory, digestive, metabolism & nutrition, urinary, fluid,electrolyte & acid-base balance, reproductive, fetal development, & genetics).
I found the text to be extremely clear and easy to navigate. Images, figures, tables, and interactive links (online version) are well-constructed, clear, and effective in illustrating important concepts. The only reason I rated this as a 4 is that the PDF version has no page numbers. This is problematic from a navigation standpoint for users who desire a print copy, especially since the table of contents and index both have page numbers.
While I did not read the entire text word-for-word (over 1300 pages!), in a careful perusal of each page, I found no spelling or grammatical errors.
I found the text to be culturally relevant and inclusive in general, and specifically in the examples of clinical conditions/diseases which affect some races/ethnicities more so than others.
I am extremely impressed with this text and commend the authors (i.e. 10 senior; 103 contributing) and editorial team in providing such a comprehensive text to students at no cost. As noted in comment #1, it is comparable to other leading Anatomy & Physiology texts in the current market which cost over $200. As well as the free online and PDF versions, a color print copy is available for a relatively nominal fee of $53.23. In addition, PowerPoint slides of all illustrations are provided to instructors who adopt the text.
Please keep in mind that I am only reviewing the physiology portion of this book and hence my comments only reflect that content. Extremely comprehensive! The only reason I did not give this book the highest rating on comprehensiveness is that I... read more
Please keep in mind that I am only reviewing the physiology portion of this book and hence my comments only reflect that content.
Extremely comprehensive! The only reason I did not give this book the highest rating on comprehensiveness is that I prefer to have a separate chapter for cell to cell communication. It was difficult for me to locate information on second messenger systems, for example, as it was embedded within chapters on various organ systems. I prefer to teach the ways in which cells communicate (i.e. target cell responses) before I dwell into organ systems.
The list of terms in the glossary was also very comprehensive. There were times I was searching for a term and assumed that it would not be in the glossary, but it was!
There is even a chapter on neurological exams!
Since I teach Human Physiology and not Anatomy, I cannot reflect on the accuracy of the anatomy portion of this book. I found the physiology content to be very accurate, I carefully reviewed each chapter relevant to physiology in this book and do not recall finding any errors in the physiology content.
To my knowledge, the physiology content of the openstax book is current. I can say with 100% certainty that the openstax book has more clinical application than most physiology books I have ever reviewed.
Like most disciplines research leads to new discoveries. It should not be difficult to add recent discoveries into this book. How these updates are completed is dependent on what the update is, physiological or clinical. For example, if there are updates in cardiac physiology, specifically, the pacemaker and cardiac action potentials, this information would need to be added to the text. On the other hand, if the update is of clinical significance, a video link would be sufficient and completed with very little effort.
The text is clearly written and very concise. For certain topics, I would have preferred more elaboration over conciseness. I used this book in my Fall 2014 Human Physiology course. I often had students tell me that they found the reading to be difficult to follow. These students typically followed up this comment with "but I'm not that good of a reader, either." Clearly, this is anecdotal. I do not view such comments from students as necessarily bad, but rather a reflection on reading skills. Rarely, did I have a junior, senior, or non-traditional student comment on clarity of this book.
Terms were used consistently within text, but there is room for improvement when it comes to the figures. The text would refer to a bolded term and then in parenthesis provide a synonym for that name. On several occasions, one figure would use the synonym and another image would use the bolded term in labeling structures.
Absolutely. I had no concerns with modularity in this book.
For an Anatomy and Physiology book, the order of content makes sense. However, from just a physiological perspective, I would prefer to teach skeletal muscle physiology after the chapters on the nervous system. For example, it is difficult for students to understand the role of the motor neuron in skeletal muscle physiology when they have yet to learn about a motor neuron and action potentials. When I used this book in my Human Physiology course, I re-ordered the chapters to reflect this with very little difficulty.
I saw no issues with interface with this book.
Grammar was sufficient, except the usage of contractions. This may be the first book I have seen that makes use of contractions. I prefer not to have contractions in writing, especially formal writing like this book.
This book does a great job at including images and line drawings of people from a variety of races. This may be the first physiology book that I have reviewed that takes these sensitive issues into account! Great job!
From a physiological perspective, I could only ask that this book include an overview chapter on how cells communicate (i.e. paracrine signaling, neurotransmitters, hormones, second messengers, etc). Overall, this book is extremely comprehensive, informative, and well-written.
One last comment on figures. I do not believe we were asked about images/figures. There was at least one or two occasions per chapter where I wished there was a figure to accompany the text. I understand that the figures used are open source and in a science discipline these are hard to come by, but perhaps for future updates, additional figures could be added for those difficult concepts that are currently lacking a figure.
Table of Contents
- Unit 1. Levels of Organization
- Chapter 1. An Introduction to the Human Body
- 1.1 Overview of Anatomy and Physiology
- 1.2 Structural Organization of the Human Body
- 1.3 Functions of Human Life
- 1.4 Requirements for Human Life
- 1.5 Homeostasis
- 1.6 Anatomical Terminology
- 1.7 Medical Imaging
- Chapter 2. The Chemical Level of Organization
- 2.1 Elements and Atoms: The Building Blocks of Matter
- 2.2 Chemical Bonds
- 2.3 Chemical Reactions
- 2.4 Inorganic Compounds Essential to Human Functioning
- 2.5 Organic Compounds Essential to Human Functioning
- Chapter 3. The Cellular Level of Organization
- 3.1 The Cell Membrane
- 3.2 The Cytoplasm and Cellular Organelles
- 3.3 The Nucleus and DNA Replication
- 3.4 Protein Synthesis
- 3.5 Cell Growth and Division
- 3.6 Cellular Differentiation
- Chapter 4. The Tissue Level of Organization
- 4.1 Types of Tissues
- 4.2 Epithelial Tissue
- 4.3 Connective Tissue Supports and Protects
- 4.4 Muscle Tissue and Motion
- 4.5 Nervous Tissue Mediates Perception and Response
- 4.6 Tissue Injury and AgingUnit 2. Support and Movement
- Chapter 5. Integumentary System
- 5.1 Layers of the Skin
- 5.2 Accessory Structures of the Skin
- 5.3 Functions of the Integumentary System
- 5.4 Diseases, Disorders, and Injuries of the Integumentary System
- Chapter 6. Bone Tissue and the Skeletal System
- 6.1 The Functions of the Skeletal System
- 6.2 Bone Classification
- 6.3 Bone Structure
- 6.4 Bone Formation and Development
- 6.5 Fractures: Bone Repair
- 6.6 Exercise, Nutrition, Hormones, and Bone Tissue
- 6.7 Calcium Homeostasis: Interactions of the Skeletal System and Other Organ Systems
- Chapter 7. Axial Skeleton
- 7.1 Divisions of the Skeletal System
- 7.2 The Skull
- 7.3 The Vertebral Column
- 7.4 The Thoracic Cage
- 7.5 Embryonic Development of the Axial Skeleton
- Chapter 8. The Appendicular Skeleton
- 8.1 The Pectoral Girdle
- 8.2 Bones of the Upper Limb
- 8.3 The Pelvic Girdle and Pelvis
- 8.4 Bones of the Lower Limb
- 8.5 Development of the Appendicular Skeleton
- Chapter 9. Joints
- 9.1 Classification of Joints
- 9.2 Fibrous Joints
- 9.3 Cartilaginous Joints
- 9.4 Synovial Joints
- 9.5 Types of Body Movements
- 9.6 Anatomy of Selected Synovial Joints
- 9.7 Development of Joints
- Chapter 10. Muscle Tissue
- 10.1 Overview of Muscle Tissues
- 10.2 Skeletal Muscle
- 10.3 Muscle Fiber Contraction and Relaxation
- 10.4 Nervous System Control of Muscle Tension
- 10.5 Types of Muscle Fibers
- 10.6 Exercise and Muscle Performance
- 10.7 Cardiac Muscle Tissue
- 10.8 Smooth Muscle
- 10.9 Development and Regeneration of Muscle Tissue
- Chapter 11. The Muscular System
- 11.1 Interactions of Skeletal Muscles, Their Fascicle Arrangement, and Their Lever Systems
- 11.2 Naming Skeletal Muscles
- 11.3 Axial Muscles of the Head, Neck, and Back
- 11.4 Axial Muscles of the Abdominal Wall, and Thorax
- 11.5 Muscles of the Pectoral Girdle and Upper Limbs
- 11.6 Appendicular Muscles of the Pelvic Girdle and Lower Limbs
- Unit 3. Regulation, Integration, and Control
- Chapter 12. The Nervous System and Nervous Tissue
- 12.1 Basic Structure and Function of the Nervous System
- 12.2 Nervous Tissue
- 12.3 The Function of Nervous Tissue
- 12.4 The Action Potential
- 12.5 Communication Between NeuronsChapter 13. Anatomy of the Nervous System
- Chapter 13. Anatomy of the Nervous System
- 13.1 The Embryologic Perspective
- 13.2 The Central Nervous System
- 13.3 Circulation and the Central Nervous System
- 13.4 The Peripheral Nervous System
- Chapter 14. The Somatic Nervous System
- 14.1 Sensory Perception
- 14.2 Central Processing
- 14.3 Motor Responses
- Chapter 15. The Autonomic Nervous System
- 15.1 Divisions of the Autonomic Nervous System
- 15.2 Autonomic Reflexes and Homeostasis
- 15.3 Central Control
- 15.4 Drugs that Affect the Autonomic System
- Chapter 16. The Neurological Exam
- 16.1 Overview of the Neurological Exam
- 16.2 The Mental Status Exam
- 16.3 The Cranial Nerve Exam
- 16.4 The Sensory and Motor Exams
- 16.5 The Coordination and Gait Exams
- Chapter 17. The Endocrine System
- 17.1 An Overview of the Endocrine System
- 17.2 Hormones
- 17.3 The Pituitary Gland and Hypothalamus
- 17.4 The Thyroid Gland
- 17.5 The Parathyroid Glands
- 17.6 The Adrenal Glands
- 17.7 The Pineal Gland
- 17.8 Gonadal and Placental Hormones
- 17.9 The Endocrine Pancreas
- 17.10 Organs with Secondary Endocrine Functions
- 17.11 Development and Aging of the Endocrine System
- Unit 4. Fluids and Transport
- Chapter 18. The Cardiovascular System: Blood
- 18.1 An Overview of Blood
- 18.2 Production of the Formed Elements
- 18.3 Erythrocytes
- 18.4 Leukocytes and Platelets
- 18.5 Hemostasis
- 18.6 Blood Typing
- Chapter 19. The Cardiovascular System: The Heart
- 19.1 Heart Anatomy
- 19.2 Cardiac Muscle and Electrical Activity
- 19.3 Cardiac Cycle
- 19.4 Cardiac Physiology
- 19.5 Development of the Heart
- Chapter 20. The Cardiovascular System: Blood Vessels and Circulation
- 20.1 Structure and Function of Blood Vessels
- 20.2 Blood Flow, Blood Pressure, and Resistance
- 20.3 Capillary Exchange
- 20.4 Homeostatic Regulation of the Vascular System
- 20.5 Circulatory Pathways
- 20.6 Development of Blood Vessels and Fetal Circulation
- Chapter 21. The Lymphatic and Immune System
- 21.1 Anatomy of the Lymphatic and Immune Systems
- 21.2 Barrier Defenses and the Innate Immune Response
- 21.3 The Adaptive Immune Response: T lymphocytes and Their Functional Types
- 21.4 The Adaptive Immune Response: B-lymphocytes and Antibodies
- 21.5 The Immune Response against Pathogens
- 21.6 Diseases Associated with Depressed or Overactive Immune Responses
- 21.7 Transplantation and Cancer Immunology
- Unit 5. Energy, Maintenance, and Environmental Exchange
- Chapter 22. The Respiratory System
- 22.1 Organs and Structures of the Respiratory System
- 22.2 The Lungs
- 22.3 The Process of Breathing
- 22.4 Gas Exchange
- 22.5 Transport of Gases
- 22.6 Modifications in Respiratory Functions
- 22.7 Embryonic Development of the Respiratory System
- Chapter 23. The Digestive System
- 23.1 Overview of the Digestive System
- 23.2 Digestive System Processes and Regulation
- 23.3 The Mouth, Pharynx, and Esophagus
- 23.4 The Stomach
- 23.5 The Small and Large Intestines
- 23.6 Accessory Organs in Digestion: The Liver, Pancreas, and Gallbladder
- 23.7 Chemical Digestion and Absorption: A Closer Look
- Chapter 24. Metabolism and Nutrition
- 24.1 Overview of Metabolic Reactions
- 24.2 Carbohydrate Metabolism
- 24.3 Lipid Metabolism
- 24.4 Protein Metabolism
- 24.5 Metabolic States of the Body
- 24.6 Energy and Heat Balance
- 24.7 Nutrition and Diet
- Chapter 25. The Urinary System
- 25.1 Physical Characteristics of Urine
- 25.2 Gross Anatomy of Urine Transport
- 25.3 Gross Anatomy of the Kidney
- 25.4 Microscopic Anatomy of the Kidney
- 25.5 Physiology of Urine Formation
- 25.6 Tubular Reabsorption
- 25.7 Regulation of Renal Blood Flow
- 25.8 Endocrine Regulation of Kidney Function
- 25.9 Regulation of Fluid Volume and Composition
- 25.10 The Urinary System and Homeostasis
- Chapter 26. Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base Balance
- 26.1 Body Fluids and Fluid Compartments
- 26.2 Water Balance
- 26.3 Electrolyte Balance
- 26.4 Acid-Base Balance
- 26.5 Disorders of Acid-Base Balance
- Unit 6. Human Development and Continuity of Life
- Chapter 27. The Reproductive System
- 27.1 Anatomy and Physiology of the Testicular Reproductive System
- 27.2 Anatomy and Physiology of the Ovarian Reproductive System
- 27.3 Development of the Male and Female Reproductive Systems
- Chapter 28. Development and Inheritance
- 28.1 Fertilization
- 28.2 Embryonic Development
- 28.3 Fetal Development
- 28.4 Changes During Pregnancy, Labor, and Birth
- 28.5 Adjustments of the Infant at Birth and Postnatal Stages
- 28.6 Lactation
- 28.7 Patterns of Inheritance
- References
- Index
Ancillary Material
About the Book
Anatomy and Physiology 2e is developed to meet the scope and sequence for a two-semester human anatomy and physiology course for life science and allied health majors. The book is organized by body systems. The revision focuses on inclusive and equitable instruction and includes new student support. Illustrations have been extensively revised to be clearer and more inclusive. The web-based version of Anatomy and Physiology 2e also features links to surgical videos, histology, and interactive diagrams. Please learn more about the changes by previewing the preface.
About the Contributors
Authors
J. Gordon Betts, Tyler Junior College
Kelly A. Young, California State University, Long Beach
James A. Wise, Hampton University