Illustrated Physiology, 5th ed.

Illustrations of human physiology, 259 pages' worth, make up the majority of the body of this book. Cell functions, maintenance of homeostasis by tissues and organs, and system regulations are the focus. In this fifth edition, new author Mackenna replaces the late Ann McNaught. With the help of the original illustrator, Callander, this edition's intended audience remains the student of human physiology. Undergraduates and students in clinical sciences such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and dietetics are included in this audience. The book serves its readers well by providing a multitude of diagrams depicting physiological processes that serve as an adjunct to material presented by lecturers.

The illustrations cover nutrition, metabolism, and the following body systems: digestive, cardiovascular, hemopoietic, respiratory, excretory, endocrine, reproductive, central nervous, autonomic, and muscular. The new material in this fifth edition includes diagrams of cellular organelles, movement of substances through membranes, the origin of action potentials, and expanded information on the immune system. The authors' scope is extensive and thorough.

The chapter on the central nervous system serves as an example of the typical depth found in this book. It includes over 50 full-page illustrations that depict various anatomical and physiological aspects of the central nervous system and locomotor function. The book also has a short, separate chapter on the autonomic nervous system and chemical transmission at nerve endings.

The depth of coverage is appropriate for the intended purpose of this book. This is not to say that this edition exhaustively covers physiology. Although the authors do illustrate endocrine and vitamin deficiency pathologies, opportunities remain for future editions to illustrate pathologies of the cardiac, respiratory, and other systems. Similarly, the text could benefit from illustrative additions such as enzyme kinetics, the all-or-none principle of cardiac muscle, pineal gland/melatonin system, inflammatory stages, edema formation, and other illustrations that depict specific aspects of neuromuscular and endocrine physiology. The above suggestions, however, are dwarfed by the more than 3,500 indexed items in the current edition. The information in this edition is plentiful and artfully illustrated.

The authors are to be commended on the accuracy of this book. Only four items were of minor concern. The description of mitosis included unusual detail, namely stages prophase II, anaphase II, and telophase II. These terms might be mixed up with meiotic terms by the same name. The definition of a "gene" was oversimplified, and a thyroid diagram's phrasing unintentionally placed the thyrotropin-releasing hormone's site of production in the anterior pituitary. Finally, the volume had 11 chapters in the body, but only 10 were listed in the table of contents.

Physical therapist, physical therapist assistant, and other health professional students, as well as course instructors, will find this book to be a good companion for courses in physiology, neurophysiology, and functional neuroanatomy. Clinical practitioners of the health professions will find that the text provides an easily accessible review of the physiology of all organ systems.