Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology is designed to help students develop a solid, basic understanding of essential concepts in anatomy and physiology without an encyclopedic presentation of detail. It is not possible to include all that is known into a book of this type. However, it is important that a textbook provide enough information to allow students to understand basic concepts and to make reasonable predictions and analyses. We have taken great care to select critically important information and present it in a way that maximizes understanding.

“In this sixth edition, we have continued the tradition of combining clear and accurate descriptions of anatomy, precise explanations of how structures function, and examples of how structures work together to maintain life.”

We have provided explanations of how the systems respond to physical activity, disease, and aging, with a special focus on how regulatory systems control functions so that homeostasis is maintained. We have included timely and interesting examples to demonstrate the application of knowledge, often in a clinical context. For example, fundamental information is presented to allow students to understand the normal structure and function of the heart, how the heart reacts to changes in activity levels, and how the heart responds to age-related changes. It is also important for students to predict the response of the heart to blood loss or heart attack. Enough additional material is included to help students understand the effects of transfusions, treatments that reduced damage to heart muscle, and methods that help the heart continue to pump blood.

We’ve designed the figures to support the explanations in the text. Illustrations of structures are accurate, attractive, and clearly presented. They reflect a contemporary style and are coordinated so that colors and styles of structures in multiple figures are consistent with one another throughout the book. Many of the figures not only depict structures but also their relationships to surrounding structures. Care has been taken so that figure labels and legends are consistent with the terms used in the body of the text.

What Sets This Book Apart?

Clarity – Just Enough Information Presented Concisely

Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology is written in succinct, understandable language. We continue to improve this aspect of the text because we believe that basic content must be presented and explained clearly in order to support critical thinking. Therefore, whether or not critical thinking is a major emphasis in your course, this text is a valuable asset for students because of its clarity.

"I like the way the authors explain the basic information needed to understand the complexity of the endocrine system. This is definitely one chapter that should not be oversimplified or have topics omitted. The authors have done a good job of clearly presenting complex material."
                             -Michael Vitale, Daytona Beach Community College

Emphasis on Critical Thinking - Building a Knowledge Base for Solving Problems

Integrated throughout this textbook, an emphasis on critical thinking can be found in questions embedded in the narrative; clinical material that is designed to bridge concepts explained in the text with real-life applications and scenarios; end-of-chapter questions that go beyond rote memorization; and a visual program that presents material in logical relevant images.

Ease of Comprehension – Carefully Designed Pedagogy Supports Key Themes

The pedagogical framework of Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology provides a multi-pronged approach to learning. This well-structured foundation is centered on clarity, ease of comprehension, and critical thinking. Knowledge and comprehension level questions are balanced with questions that require more complex reasoning in both the narrative of the text and in the end-of-chapter exercises. Clinical information is presented in several ways that support and restate concepts learned in the textual material.

Exceptional Art Program – Simplicity, Consistency, and Logic Underscore Visuals

The text’s visual program is precisely planned to enhance comprehension in a number of ways: tables combined with illustrations, relevant photos side-by-side with drawings, cadaver photos where appropriate, step-by-step Process Figures, intuitive homeostasis figures that include a “Start” icon and color-coded directional arrows, and helpful flow diagrams.

"The homeostasis figures in the Seeley Essentials text are very well presented. These figures are key to understanding the relationship between structure and function, and bring the anatomy and physiology in perspective for the whole organism."
                              -James Foster, Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine

Clinical Emphasis – New “Case in Point” Readings Add To Rich Base of Clinical Material

When problems in structure and/or function of the human body occur, this is often the best time to comprehend how the two are related. Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology has always had a strong emphasis on clinical material. In this sixth edition we strengthen that emphasis with the addition of “Case in Point” readings. These brief real-life scenarios combine with the popular Clinical Asides, and Clinical Focus boxes to provide a thorough clinical education that fully supports the textual material.

Sixth Edition Changes – What’s New?

The 6th edition of Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology is the result of extensive analysis of the text and evaluation of input from anatomy and physiology instructors who have thoroughly reviewed chapters. We are grateful to these professionals and have used their constructive comments in our continuing efforts to enhance the strengths of the book.

Improved Art - Visualizing Relationships between Structure and Function

The effectiveness of the art has been improved in many ways in this edition. Over 100 figures have been changed. Some of the figures have been heavily revised to help students more easily understand concepts:

• The histology figures in Chapter 4 have been changed to a table format to present both descriptions and illustrations of the major tissue types found in the body together.
• Homeostasis Figures have been improved by adding a “Start Here” icon and color-coded arrows to make it easier to follow the events occurring when a variable increases or decreases. These simplified flow charts succinctly map out key homeostatic events, giving students a quick and effective summary of the mechanisms described in the text.
• A much improved illustration is Figure 7.11, which has been reorganized to better illustrate the relationship between ATP use in a muscle and the sources of ATP, such as creatine phosphate and aerobic metabolism.
• Another example is Figure 12.17, which has been changed to more clearly show the events that occur during the cardiac cycle.
• Many of the Process Figures have been fine-tuned to make them clearer and easier to follow. These figures provide well-organized, self-contained visual explanations of how physiological mechanisms work. They help students learn physiological processes by combining illustrations with parallel descriptions of the major features of each process.
• Labels of orientation have been added to various illustrations so students immediately understand what perspective they are viewing (see figure 6.19 as an example).

Numerous other figures have been changed to present more current information, achieve consistency, better coordinate with the text, or improve comprehension. Just a few additional examples include:

• Figure 17.1 is a presentation of the U.S. government’s new food pyramid correlating with new descriptions of macronutrient distribution ranges.
• Figure 18.15 from the fifth edition has been redesigned to form three separate small figures in this sixth edition.
• Micrographs were added to Figure 3.26 to further illustrate the phases of mitosis.
• Figures 13.14 and 13.15 have been redrawn to make them more consistent with the arm veins presented in figure 13.16.
• Figures 3.10 and 3.11 have also been reconfigured and relabeled for easier comparison.
• The anterior and posterior interventricular sulci of the heart have now been labeled in figure 12.5 because it makes describing the branches of the coronary arteries clearer.
• Explanatory labels were added to Figure 9.19 to aid understanding of the effect of sound waves on the structures of the ear.

Finally, some of the changes are more subtle, yet still important. We’ve adjusted leader lines, rewritten or reorganized labels, and made terminology more consistent between the text and the figures. The end result is a beautiful, accurate, up-to-date art program that has been scrutinized and approved by our peers, and supports the hallmarks of clarity, ease of comprehension, and critical thinking that this text emphasizes.

New! “Case in Point” Readings - Brief ‘Snapshots’ Bring Concepts to Life

We are excited about these short real-life essays in the sixth edition. Each Case in Point reading explains how material just presented in the text can be used in understanding key anatomical and physiological concepts, especially in a clinical setting. They are designed to be interesting as well as instructional because they present information as small news-like clips taken from real life scenarios. Approximately two short Case in Point essays have been included in each chapter.

The Case in Point essays, along with Clinical Asides in each chapter, are designed to be consistent with the Predict and Critical Thinking questions. All of these elements are devised to encourage students to learn to think critically. In some cases they bring information from more than one chapter together to address sample problems and encourage more than just rote memorization.

Refined and Updated Textual Copy - Organizing Information in a Logical Sequence

For the sixth edition, we have kept the well-received order of topics in each chapter. Additionally, we have researched reports of new discoveries, used reviews from instructors who teach anatomy and physiology, and carefully examined the existing text to improve the text in the following ways:

• Many explanations have been made more clear
• Terminology has been made more consistent throughout the text and the illustrations
• New information applicable to the discipline has been researched and included where appropriate
• Factual data has been checked and updated or corrected if necessary
• Several explanations have been expanded to make the topics easier for students to understand
• Predict Questions and Critical Thinking Questions have been updated