Book Description

The new edition of Human Physiology - an Oxford Core Text continues to meet the needs of preclinical medical students and is also valuable to those following undergraduate courses in physiology and other health-related disciplines. It adopts a student-friendly style with an emphasis on clarity, explanation and understanding, complemented by full-colour illustrations. The book has a hierarchical organisation, beginning with aspects of cell and tissue function before proceeding to a consideration of the communication systems of the body including the endocrine and nervous systems. The heart of the text concerns the physiology of the main body systems.

This new edition has been extensively revised. There are more than 50 new figures and many others have been redrawn in the interests of clarity. The text has been thoroughly updated and expanded. New material includes: meiosis; gluconeogenesis; fatty acid metabolism; discussion of the diseases of skeletal muscle; the mechanisms of itch; a more detailed treatment of the physiology of pain and vision; colour plates of common endocrine disorders; extensive revision of the section on the microcirculation; respiratory failure and associated conditions; the discussion of the countercurrent mechanism has been expanded and free water clearance is now discussed; malabsorption disorders; a chapter on Nutrition including a brief account of deficiency disorders and the assessment of nutritional status; the treatment of the physiology of bone has been expanded and now includes a brief account of bone healing after a fracture; the Clinical Physiology chapter now includes a brief account of the normal physiological changes that occur during life. Finally, the discussion of reproductive physiology has been extensively reorganized, revised and expanded to include more detail of maternal physiology. OXFORD CORE TEXTS The Oxford Core Text series provides concise, yet comprehensive coverage of a range of essential topics in the medical curriculum. Written and tested in consultation with students, each book offers a clear and accessible account of the core material, supported by many case studies, learning aids and clinical examples. All titles include the key information which the reader will need to prepare for successful clinical practice - making these texts ideal for all stages of the medical curriculum and beyond.


Readership: Medical students. Human physiology is studied in the first and second years usually, at the preclinical stage. Clinical students will also use the book to refer back to throughout training.
Students of Physiology or Human Biology, preclinical dental, veterinary, pharmacy and physiotherapy students will also find this book useful. The secondary markets are wide - those studying nursing, sports science, health and exercise sciences, nutrition, chiropractice, osteopathy etc. Also this book is supplementary reading for applied biology students with a human interest and medical pharmacologists.

1 What is physiology?
2 The chemical constitution of the body
3 Introducing cells
4 The transport functions of the plasma membrane
5 Principles of cell signalling
6 Nerve cells and their connections
7 Muscle
8 Sensory systems
9 The physiology of motor systems
10 The autonomic nervous system
11 Some aspects of higher nervous function
12 The hormonal regulation of the body
13 The properties of blood
14 Defence against infection: inflammation and immunity
15 The heart and circulation
16 The respiratory system
17 The kidney and the regulation of the internal environment
18 The digestive system
19 The nutritional needs of the body
20 The physiology of the male and female productive systems
21 Fertilization, pregnancy and lactation
22 Fetal and neonatal physiology
23 The control of growth
24 Energy balance and the control of metabolic rate
25 The physiology of exercise
26 The regulation of body temperature
27 The regulation of plasma glucose
28 The regulation of body fluid volume
29 Acid-base balance
30 The physiology of high altitude and diving
31 Clinical physiology