Human Anatomy and Physiology

Rating:
Summary: Great A&P book, written in friendly style
Review: Elain Marieb presents a really wonderful anatomy and physiology text. It provides a colorful feast of pictures and charts for the visual learner without skimping on the important details in the text. Marieb's writing style is friendly, informal and descriptive. Her writing can get quite theoretical at times but she always comes back to earth with a common example.

This book is best suited for health sciences students (medicine, nursing, physical therapy, pharmacy etc.) as the book is littered with clinical applications. However students taking A&P at high school and undergrad level are well catered for. The book works systematically, from basic biochemistry to the organ systems and system interactions. Genetics and inheritance is also covered briefly.

What else is on offer? A large glossary (invaluable to an A&P text!)and a prefix/suffix table. There are chapter summaries and test quizzes. Some may enjoy the CD ROM computer interaction aspects, there's also access to Elain's internet site for A&P students.

Some of the material gets quite tough as the book progresses, but with re-reading and reference to other texts, students should quickly get a handle on the material. I previously owned a copy of the condensed "Essentials of human A&P" and traded it in for the full edition. I don't recommend students get the condensed version unless they are confining their A&P study to high school or 100 level college study.

In conclusion, this is good first textbook and greatly aids in one's course of study. Marieb takes the unimaginable complexity of the human body and presents it in a fun, relatively easy-to-read, lively text.

Rating:
Summary: Yes, but...
Review: I bought it "blind ... by reading amazon reviews" ...
now confirming once again, all the positive reviews, this is a GREAT work. For me it is very easy readable and understandable, too. Even as I'm german ... It got me well through all the Action Potentials and related events ;) - now the astonishing is, all "the others" even the Prof. studied with Guyton ... and I'm the only one who got 100% studying with Marieb ....

Rating:
Summary: A&P: Getting the big picture of Human body systems.
Review: I recently read this wonderfully written text as part of my course load in anatomy and physiology at the university level. This book explores unifying themes, indepthly discusses system maintenance and homeostasis, explains disease processes germane to individual body systems, and reviews organic chemistry and microbiology basics as they relate to the text.. Marieb's synergy of words, artwork and charts emphasize retention of information through phonetic pronunciation of key terms, provide a medium for understanding the interrelations of body organ systems and explain structure and function through histology. I recommend using this book in conjunction with the many resources that complement this book to include: the interActive PHYSIOLOGY CD-ROM series (high quality, college level), study guides, and the A&P Toolkit Software which has multiple choice questions and answers by chapter complete with outline and subject index search capabilities. This book is a must for aspiring nurses, doctors, and the curious college student who wants an in-depth look into the Human body

Rating:
Summary: The Mercedes of Undergraduate A&P Books
Review: I used this book as a student, and refer to it frequently as a reference. This 1000 + page text explains the structure and function of the complicated, detailed human body in a logical, easy to understand manner. Everything about this book is user friendly including the presentation order, the writing, and the graphics. In each chapter, Marieb presents the big picture before zeroing in on the details. For the body's systems, (digestive, endocrine, respiratory, etc.) Marieb overviews the system, and then explains the gross and fine anatomy and associated physiology.

Here are a few of the many features I find impressive: * Graphics: Very impressive photographs and illustrations. The electron micrographs are spectacular. * Tables and charts - These greatly simplify the learning of complex concepts. For example, in the immune system chapter, there's a good table explaining the first and second lines of defense. * Medical applications - Common diseases are overviewed in the appropriate chapter, for example epilepsy is discussed in the neural integration chapter. There are occasional basic pharmacology and sports applications, such as diuretics and blood doping, respectively. * Making connections feature - Marieb shows how the system being studied relates to the other systems in the body.

This is an absolutely state of the art A&P book, and each edition is better than the last. It's expensive, but you get a lot for your money. It may be too detailed for some, who would be better served by her "Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology" text. If you're an A&P student, I recommended you use her workbook as well. I've found that working through the exercises really helps this information stick.

Rating:
Summary: Great for A and P students, must buy
Review: I used this book for both my Anatomy and Physiology class in undergrad. I found this book to be pretty easy to understand. Of course, at first it is overwhelming to know how much you have to remember for the test. At least, writing style of this book made A and P easier to learn. The material is presented in organized fashion. However, if you really want to know the type of questions asked on college Anatomy and Physiology Exams get the following which is on amazon: Anatomy and Physiology Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers with Explanations Volume 1(ISBN: 0971999619) and Volume 2 (ISBN: 0971999627). These two helped me to get A's on my exams. The textbook and the two study guides are well worth the money since they helped me to pass with high grades the first time. I was recommened the study guides from my cousin who used them for his A and P class and found them to be great for test preparation. I give each book 5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Great for A and P students, must buy
Review: I used this book for both my Anatomy and Physiology class in undergrad. I found this book to be pretty easy to understand. Of course, at first it is overwhelming to know how much you have to remember for the test. At least, writing style of this book made A and P easier to learn. The material is presented in organized fashion. However, if you really want to know the type of questions asked on college Anatomy and Physiology Exams get the following which is on amazon: Anatomy and Physiology Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers with Explanations Volume 1(ISBN: 0971999619) and Volume 2 (ISBN: 0971999627). These two helped me to get A's on my exams. The textbook and the two study guides are well worth the money since they helped me to pass with high grades the first time. I was recommened the study guides from my cousin who used them for his A and P class and found them to be great for test preparation. I give each book 5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: This is a great book for anatomy and physiology students
Review: I used this book in my college anatomy and physiology classes. It's a well-written book that I could understand the first time reading each page. In other words, you don't have to keep looking back or reading each sentence over and over again before you can understand it like in some other books. This books is easy to understand and gets to the point and is presented in a very organized matter.
However, I also used Anatomy and Physiology Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answer with Explanations by Patrick Leonardi(Vol 1) and (Vol 2)
(ISBN: 0971999619) (ISBN:0971999627) also sold on amazon.com. These two books helped me study for the same type of questions that were on my exams. I got a "A" in Anat& Phys 1 and 2 with these 3 books. The textbook gives a great foundation of knowledge and the study guides showed me the kind of questions that most A and P teachers ask on tests.

Rating:
Summary: fair
Review: Marieb is obviously interested in patient care and that focus remains throughout the book. The "chatty" style is at times unclear. Later editions of this book are more clearly organized graphically. However, as a transcriptionist in training, I was horrified to find in both the CD-ROM that came with the book, and, more egregiously, in its online modules, amazing errors, misspellings, and misleading terminology. My personal favorites were, for metacarpophalangeal joints, "metacrapophalangeal joints," and for ligaments, "ligemants." But there are many more. I write this because I've contacted them SIX times and nothing has been done, over a 5-month period, to correct it. Enough said.

DECEMBER 2003 UPDATE
after my 6 attempts at contact, i finally heard from the publisher. the online modules have been updated; i have checked them and they are much improved. hooray.

Rating:
Summary: Buy it if you have to !
Review: Too much information for a first year level and this can be dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced teacher. Much of the anatomical detail is more suited to first year Med school. It looks like modern graphics and cut and past has resulted in info overload. Personally I found it a poor read I didn't enjoy her chatty style. Again this is a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands !