Ultimate Bodypedia: An Amazing Inside-Out Tour of the Human Body
CONTENTS Introduction 6 CHAPTER 18 HOORAY FOR HUMANSI 10 Introducing Amazing You 12 People Power 14 Seeing Inside 16 All Systems Are Go 18 Got Guts 20 You and your Cells 22 Different Cells Different Jobs 2 CHAPTER 2 YOUR AMAZING EXTERIOR 26 The Skin You're In 28 Layer It 30 Drip Drop Sweating It Out 32 Ouch Scratches and Cuts 34 Skin Colors 36 Sizzling in the Sun 38 Hear Hear for Hair 40 Colors Curls and Cowlicks 42 Hard as Nails 44 Healthy Nails Healthy You 46 The Zoo on You 48 CHAPTER 38 RUN BEND JUMP3 US IN MOTION 50 Your Bony Body The Skeleton 52 A Bone's Structure 54 Rubbery Bones Cartilage 56 Making and Breaking Bones 58 Joined by Joints 60 Hooray for Hands 62 Fancy Footwork Bones of the Feet 64 The Brain Box Your Skull 66 Your Superfine Spine 68 Muscle Power 70 Making Muscles Work 72 Tendons Your Muscles Ropes 74 Achy Muscles 76 CHAPTER 48 FUELED BY FOOD THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM 78 Mac Cheese Please 80 First Stop The Mouth 82 Your Spectacular Spit 84 Down the Hatch Your Throat 86 Meet Your Stomach 88 A Big Bath of Acid 90 Love Your Liver 92 Digestive Juicers Gallbladder and Pancreas 94 The Not So Small Small Intestine 96 Next Stop The Large Intestine 98 The Scoop on Poop 100 The Zoo Inside You 102 My Stomach Hurts 104 CHAPTER 5 YOUR BLOOD BREATH AND BEATING HEART 106 River of Life Your Bloodstream 108 What Is Blood 110 Red Blood Cells 112 Rescue Squad Other Blood Cells 114 Your Hardworking Heart 116 The Beat Goes On 118 The Blood Vessel Highway 120 Take a Deep Breath 122 Inside the Lungs 124 Speak Up 126 Ah Choo Colds Coughs and Sniffles 128 Gotta Go The Urinary System 130
Being a Grown Up 192 Getting Older 194 Coming Full Circle 196 Brain Meet Computer 232 The Doctor is in the Computer 234 Unstoppable Students 236 CHAPTER 9 BEING STRONG STAYING WELL 198 Your Immune Army 200 The Invaders Are Coming 202 Going Viral 204 Germs Stay Out 206 Cell Block 208 Annoying Allergies 210 Heroes in Germ History 212 Fuel Your Body 214 Fit and Fun 216 BODY ATLAS 238 The Skeleton 240 The Skeletal Muscles 242 The Nervous System 244 The Circulatory System 246 The Respiratory System 248 The Female Reproductive System 250 The Male Reproductive System 252 The Digestive System 254 The Urinary System 256 The Endocrine System 258 The Lymphatic System 260 CHAPTER 68 YOUR AMAZING BRAIN 132 What a Brainiac 134 Your Magnificent Mind 136 Put on Your Thinking Cap The Cerebrum 138 Two Sides of the Brain 140 You Have a Lot of Nerve 142 Body Electric 144 The Happy Chemicals in Your Head 146 Emotion in Motion 148 Remember to Remember 150 Good Morning Good Night 152 Dreaming the Night Away 154 Handle With Care 156 CHAPTER 7 MAKING SENSE OF THE SENSES 158 Your Body Makes Sense 160 Look Out 162 Seeing Is Not Believing 164 Awesome Optical Illusions 166 Do You Hear What I Hear 168 The Nose Knows 170 The Bumpy Road to Taste 172 Feeling Your Way 174 Amazing Animal Senses 176 CHAPTER 8 THE LIFE CYCLE 178 Genes What Makes You You 180 Reproduction 182 Before You Were Born 184 Babyhood 186 It's Great to Be a Kid 188 The Teen Years 190 CHAPTER 10 OUR FUTURE BODIES 218 What's Next 220 The Gene Scene 222 Building New Parts 224 Smart Parts 226 Limbs From Limbs 228 Exploring the Brain 230 Glossary 262 Find Out More 264 Index 266 Photo Credits 270 Credits 271
INTRODUCTION Ultimate Bodypedia is all about the amazing fascinating HUMAN BODY It's easy to forget just how incredible the body is because after all we hang out with our own bodies all the time so we tend to take them for granted But if you stop and think about everything your body does you just might consider how great it is and you are For starters isn't it amazing that you can read this book It's also amazing that people invented words and ink paper and cameras and all the other things that went into making Ultimate Bodypedia All these inventions were devised by the human brain Your brain the control center of your body also enables you to move your body so you can throw a ball ride a bike draw a picture climb a tree or sing Happy Birthday All the while your body's doing a million things that you're not even aware of like digesting breakfast growing new skin and carrying oxygen to cells from head to toe and ear to ear Researching this book was like traveling through a different country stopping to marvel at new sights and look at old ones with fresh eyes For instance as a science writer I already knew many things about bones but I didn't know that a young boy who washed ashore after a shipwreck in the mid 1700s helped discover better ways to set broken bones when he grew up You can read more about this boy Evan Thomas on page 58 I also learned that today's researchers are experimenting with using 3 D printers to make materials that can be put into damaged joints to help them grow and heal As an adult I'm lucky to blend my love of science with my love of reading and research which has led me to writing such books as this one I hope you will enjoy exploring the marvels and mysteries of the human body Maybe someday you will discover something new and important about how the body functions and even how to fix it when something goes amiss There is a world of discovery waiting inside you as well as all around you Christina Wilsdon Science writer and co author of Ultimate Bodypedia
Since I can remember I've been fascinated by how our bodies respond to the world around us I was always curious why people had different color eyes or why my sister and I had the exact same laugh From the moment we wake up in the morning and even while we are asleep our body and brain are working to make sure we have what we need to be healthy and happy You may think the newest cell phone that lets you text your friends while playing your favorite music is all that and it is but the human body is one of the most amazing and complicated machines on the planet While technology can do really cool things the human body and brain are what invented and built those amazing technologies through the centuries including cell phones I was one of those kids who loved learning about how things worked or why things worked a certain way That passion and curiosity led me to the field of teaching so I could share the hows and whys that I've learned with others I love teaching anatomy and physiology because it allows me to share the enthusiasm I have for biology with hundreds of college students every year A lot of my students started out as curious kids too It's always exciting for me to see my students go on to work in research in fields like genetics studying our DNA and one day possibly fixing broken genes neurophysiology studying our brain and neurons and possibly curing spinal cord injuries and many other exciting areas of science Thad a wonderful time reviewing Ultimate Bodypedia It is such a great book because it tells all about how the human body works with vivid photos and illustrations that really help answer a lot of questions I would have asked as a curious kid and that you will likely want answered too There is so much for you to discover and I hope you enjoy learning about your awesome body and finding out at the same time what makes you so special Tammatha O Brien Ph D Human Biology lecturer University of Maryland College Park
