Human Biology introduces students to the anatomy and physiology of the human body. All systems of the body are represented and each system has its own chapter. The text can also be used to help students understand the role that humans play in the biosphere. All of us need to realize how human activities threaten ecosystems, and seek ways to lessen our impact on the biosphere.
The application of biological principles to practical human concerns is now widely accepted as a suitable approach to the study of biology because it fulfills a great need. All students should leave college with a firm grasp of how their bodies normally function, and how the human population can become more fully integrated into the biosphere.
We are frequently called upon to make health and environmental decisions. Wise decisions require adequate knowledge and can help assure our continued survival as individuals and as a species.
In this edition, as in previous editions, each chapter presents the topic clearly, simply, and distinctly so that students will feel capable of achieving an adult level of understanding. Detailed, high-level scientific data and terminology are not included because I believe that true knowledge consists of working concepts rather than technical facility.
