Human Structure / Edition 1

by Matt Cartmill, William L. Hylander, James Shafland

Overview

Human Structure is an innovative introduction to human gross anatomy with a twofold approach to view the basics of anatomy from a broad scientific perspective and to explain the facts of form and function in terms and concepts that minimize the usual confusion and anxiety of beginning anatomy studies. Functional, comparative, and developmental anatomy are ingeniously woven into a single explanatory perspective, presenting human anatomy as an intelligible whole rather than as a heap of disconnected facts to be memorized. As a result, Human Structure is suitable not only for first-year medical students but also for undergraduates in premedical or biological science courses, for students in paramedical or college-level nursing programs, and indeed for anyone seeking a refresher course in human anatomy.

The book begins with the generalized segmental organization characteristic of vertebrates and then examines the most obviously segmented parts of the human body: the bones, muscles, vessels, and nerves of the trunk between the neck and the pelvis. The book progresses through regions where the simple organizational plan has undergone more and more radical modifications and ends with the ancient and extreme specializations found in the head. At each step, the authors widen our intellectual understanding of how these modifications have been imposed, onto-genetically or phylogenetically, upon simpler precursors.

The prose is personal and literate, peppered with inventive elucidations of concepts and accompanied by a wealth of illustrations designed for conceptual clarity and ease of visualization. The level of presentation has been finely tuned, over several years of class testing, to enhance its pedagogical effectiveness in human anatomy courses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674418059
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	05/28/1987
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Matt Cartmill is Professor in the Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy at Duke University.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

PART I: Vertebrate Anatomy and the Segmented Trunk

1. The Vertebrate Body

2. The Vertebral Column

3. The Spinal Cord and the Spinal Nerves

4. The Epaxial Muscles

5. The Body Wall

PART II: The Thorax and its Viscera

6. The Development of the Mammalian Circulatory Pattern

7. The Heart and the Great Vessels

8. The Thorax

PART III: The Abdomen and the Pelvis

9. The Abdominal Viscera

10. The Evolution and Development of the Urogenital Organs

11. The Pelvis and the Perineum

PART IV: The Limbs

12. Fundamentals of Limb Anatomy

13. The Shoulder and the Arm

14. The Hand and the Forearm

15. The Hip and the Thigh

16. The Leg and the Foot

17. Upright Posture and Locomotion

PART V: The Head and Neck

18. The Specializations of the Head

19. The Brain and the Skull

20. Nose, Eye, and Ear

21. The Pharyngeal Gut

22. The Cervical Segments

Index