Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach

Citation

Silverthorn, D. U. (2018). Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach (8th ed.). Pearson.

Chapter Summary

The eighth edition has 26 chapters in four units and about 840 pages, with appendices of answers, physics and mathematics, and genetics. The units are Basic Cell Processes: Integration and Coordination (Chapters 1–6), Homeostasis and Control (Chapters 7–13), Integration of Function (Chapters 14–20) and Metabolism, Growth, and Aging (Chapters 21–26). Every chapter opens with a "Running Problem", a short clinical case that is resolved as the chapter proceeds, and ends with a chapter summary and review questions. The edition's largest change is a completely revised chapter on the immune system, together with updates to the neurophysiology chapters (8–11) and new "Try It!" activities that ask readers to interpret data, often from classic experiments.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Physiology

Introduces physiology as an integrative science and sets out four themes (structure and function are closely related, living organisms need energy, information flow coordinates body functions, and homeostasis maintains internal stability). It covers mass balance, control systems and feedback, and the science of physiology, including experimental design and a "Focus on Graphing" feature.

Chapter 2: Molecular Interactions

Molecules and bonds, noncovalent interactions, and protein binding, including the law of mass action and the dissociation constant.

Chapter 3: Compartmentation: Cells and Tissues

Body fluid compartments, biological membranes, intracellular compartments, tissues and tissue remodelling, including apoptosis and stem cells.

Chapter 4: Energy and Cellular Metabolism

Energy and thermodynamics, chemical reactions, enzymes, and metabolism, from ATP production to protein synthesis and sorting.

Chapter 5: Membrane Dynamics

Osmosis and tonicity, protein-mediated and vesicular transport, epithelial transport and the resting membrane potential, closing with insulin secretion as an integrated example.

Chapter 6: Communication, Integration, and Homeostasis

Cell-to-cell communication, signal pathways and their modulation, and the homeostatic reflex pathways that connect them to the whole body.

Chapter 7: Introduction to the Endocrine System

Hormones, their classification, control of release, interactions and endocrine pathologies.

Chapter 8: Neurons: Cellular and Network Properties

Cells of the nervous system, the Nernst and GHK equations, graded and action potentials, and communication at synapses, including long-term potentiation.

Chapter 9: The Central Nervous System

Anatomy, brain function, and sleep, emotion, learning and memory, language and personality.

Chapter 10: Sensory Physiology

General properties of sensory systems, somatic senses, smell and taste, hearing, equilibrium and vision.

Chapter 11: Efferent Division: Autonomic and Somatic Motor Control

The autonomic and somatic motor divisions and their neurotransmitters and receptors.

Chapter 12: Muscles

Skeletal, smooth and cardiac muscle.

Chapter 13: Integrative Physiology I: Control of Body Movement

Reflexes, the integrated control of movement and control of visceral muscles, pulling the preceding nervous-system and muscle chapters together.

Chapters 14–16: Cardiovascular Physiology; Blood Flow and the Control of Blood Pressure; Blood

The heart as a pump, the vessels and regulation of blood pressure, and blood, with hemostasis.

Chapters 17–18: Mechanics of Breathing; Gas Exchange and Transport

Gas laws and ventilation, lung mechanics and the movement of gases between air and blood.

Chapters 19–20: The Kidneys; Integrative Physiology II: Fluid and Electrolyte Balance

Kidney filtration, reabsorption and secretion, then integrated control of volume, osmolarity, blood pressure and pH.

Chapters 21–23: The Digestive System; Metabolism and Energy Balance; Endocrine Control of Growth and Metabolism

Digestion, energy balance and body temperature, and the hormonal control of growth, metabolism and calcium and bone.

Chapters 24–26: The Immune System; Integrative Physiology III: Exercise; Reproduction and Development

Innate and adaptive immunity, an integrated look at exercise, and reproduction and development.

Key Concepts

Chapters 1–6: Foundations

• Homeostasis: the maintenance of internal stability, studied through mass balance and control systems.
• Feedback loops: negative feedback as the homeostatic mechanism, with positive feedback and feedforward as contrasts.
• Mass action and dissociation constant: quantities describing protein binding.
• Resting membrane potential: the voltage across cell membranes, developed in Chapter 5 and used throughout.

Chapters 7–13: Control Systems

• Hormone classification: peptides and proteins, steroids and amino acid-derived hormones.
• Nernst and GHK equations: the quantitative description of membrane potential in Chapter 8.
• Autonomic and somatic motor control: the efferent pathways of Chapter 11.

Chapters 14–26: Integrated Systems

• Baroreceptor reflex: control of blood pressure (Chapter 15).
• Glomerular filtration: the first step in kidney function (Chapter 19).
• Acid–base balance: pH homeostasis in Chapter 20.
• Innate and adaptive immunity (Chapter 24).

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• A clinical thread in every chapter. Running Problems range from cystic fibrosis and Graves' disease to emphysema and hyponatremia, and diabetes recurs as a "Clinical Focus" across units, from the discovery of insulin to autonomic neuropathy and osmotic diuresis.
• Integrative chapters. Chapters 13, 20 and 25 are labelled Integrative Physiology I–III and bring systems together for movement, fluid and electrolyte balance, and exercise.
• Active-learning features. The edition adds "Try It!" activities built on classic experiments such as the work that led to oral rehydration therapy; "Focus on Graphing" and "Focus on Mapping" teach data interpretation and concept mapping, and the art includes review figures, anatomy summaries and concept maps.
• Supporting material in the book. The appendices give answers, a physics and mathematics review, and a genetics review, useful to students with weaker preparation.

Limitations

• Human scope. The book is about human physiology; comparative physiology belongs to other texts, such as Hill, Cavanaugh and Anderson's Animal Physiology.
• Length. The publisher's description calls it a one-semester text, but at about 840 pages and 26 chapters instructors and students still have to choose what to cover.
• Depth of quantitative treatment. Equations such as the Nernst and GHK equations appear in Chapter 8, but the publisher describes the book as a one-semester text; Boron and Boulpaep's Medical Physiology gives the more quantitative, molecular treatment.
• Separate courseware. Google Books' publisher description notes that the Mastering A&P course materials (including Interactive Physiology 2.0 tutorials and Phys in Action video tutors) and the Pearson eText are not packaged with the standalone book.

Where It Fits in the Course

Silverthorn is the mid-level human physiology text among the anatomy and physiology books on this site. Ross & Wilson Anatomy and Physiology in Health and Illness is a compact, heavily illustrated introduction with disease outlines for each system, and OpenStax's Anatomy and Physiology 2e is a free textbook for the two-semester sequence that describes the body system by system; either can come before Silverthorn for students without a biology background.

The step up is Boron and Boulpaep's Medical Physiology, a comprehensive text that builds each system on cellular and molecular mechanisms with a quantitative treatment. Hill, Cavanaugh and Anderson's Animal Physiology is the comparative alternative, and Taiz and colleagues' Plant Physiology and Development covers plants.

How to Use This Book

Introductory biology and basic chemistry are assumed; cell biology is reviewed in Unit 1. The book is written for courses in human physiology and suits undergraduates in biology and health-related programmes.

A practical plan:

• Core: Unit 1 (Chapters 1–6), then Chapter 7 on the endocrine system and Chapters 8, 12 and 14–15 for neurons, muscle and the cardiovascular system, which later chapters build on.
• Organ systems: Chapters 16–22 in order, from blood and respiration through the kidneys to digestion and metabolism.
• Optional or selective: Chapters 9 and 10 in detail for a neuroscience emphasis, Chapters 24–26 depending on whether immunology, exercise and reproduction are taught elsewhere.
• Integrative chapters: read Chapters 13, 20 and 25 as capstones.

Work through each Running Problem before reading the chapter summary, try the Focus on Graphing and Mapping activities, and use the review questions and the answers appendix to check understanding. Mastering A&P, which pairs with the book, offers extra practice.