Feature Summary

The seventh edition features new, innovative pedagogical techniques and organizational changes that help to make this text even more exciting, accessible, and useful to students. Many chapters have been extensively reorganized to improve the flow of information, particularly the chapter on muscles (chapter 12) and the immune system (chapter 15).

Each chapter has the following new learning program:

• Refresh your Memory: boxes at the start of chapters alert students to earlier material they may need to review as they begin a new chapter.

• Clinical Investigation. These were at the end of the chapters in the last editions. In the seventh edition, they have been revised and moved to the beginning of the chapters to present a fascinating puzzle. Clues are now given along the way, as each relevant piece of information is presented. The solutions are still provided in the Appendix.

• Clinical and Fitness Applications boxes. These have been extensively revised and updated. Students can learn how basic physiological information finds medical and exercise applications.

• Test Yourself Before You Continue. These are placed at the end of every major heading so that students can quickly assess whether they are ready to move on to the next section.

• Review Activities. The questions have been organized into three learning levers: Knowledge of Terms and Facts, Understanding of Concepts, and Analyze and Apply your Knowledge. This graduated approach is designed to assist students as the progress from memorization to higher level of understanding.

• Take Advantage of the Website. Acquaints students with the wide range of resources available on the text web site to complement each chapter in the textbook.

• Interactions. Like internet web pages, these sections provide cross-links (with page references) to information in other chapters of the book. The page references are like hyperlinks on the internet; in fact they're called HPer Links (a hybrid of hyperlinks and the initials of Human Physiology).