Costanzo Physiology

Citation

Costanzo, L. S. (2026). Costanzo Physiology (8th ed.). Elsevier.

Chapter Summary

This is a single-author text of ten chapters and about 560 pages. The publisher describes it as giving a comprehensive and consistent overview of core physiological concepts at the organ-system and cellular levels, in a short, simple and focused style. It presents complex concepts step by step, supports them with figures and tables, and integrates equations and sample problems throughout. Chapters carry summaries for quick review, and the eighth edition adds more "challenge yourself" and rhetorical questions and expanded neurophysiology coverage.

Chapter 1: Cellular Physiology

As the first chapter, it represents the cellular level that the publisher says the book works at alongside the organ-system level, and it comes before every organ-system chapter.

Chapters 2–3: Autonomic Nervous System; Neurophysiology

Two chapters on the nervous system come early, before the cardiovascular chapter. The publisher notes that neurophysiology coverage has been expanded in this edition.

Chapters 4–6: Cardiovascular Physiology; Respiratory Physiology; Renal Physiology

Three organ-system chapters take the circulation, breathing and the kidney in turn.

Chapter 7: Acid-Base Physiology

Acid-base balance has a chapter of its own, placed directly after the renal chapter.

Chapters 8–10: Gastrointestinal Physiology; Endocrine Physiology; Reproductive Physiology

The book finishes with the digestive tract, the endocrine system and reproduction.

Key Concepts

Chapters 1–3: Cells and the nervous system

• Cellular physiology: the cell-level mechanisms on which the later chapters depend.
• Autonomic nervous system: the involuntary control of organs, treated before the organ-system chapters.
• Neurophysiology: the expanded neural material of Chapter 3.

Chapters 4–7: Circulation, breathing, kidney and acid-base balance

• Cardiovascular, respiratory and renal physiology: the three consecutive organ-system chapters that follow the nervous system.
• Acid-base physiology: Chapter 7, set apart from the renal chapter.

Chapters 8–10: Digestion, hormones and reproduction

• Gastrointestinal, endocrine and reproductive physiology: the final three organ-system chapters.
• Equations and sample problems: the quantitative tools that, according to the publisher, run through the whole book.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• A stated priority on brevity and clarity. The publisher stresses a short, simple and focused presentation, and a Doody's review of the previous edition by Robert A. Augustyniak (Lincoln Memorial University, 2022) says that the book's appeal lies in its simplicity and in describing complex content in a logical, straightforward way.
• Single authorship. The text has one author throughout, and the publisher describes its overview of core concepts as "comprehensive and consistent".
• Quantitative practice built in. Equations and sample problems are integrated into the text, and the eighth edition adds "challenge yourself" questions. This gives regular practice for courses that test calculation.
• Supporting online material. The publisher lists student FAQs with explanations, animations and video tutorials from the author, and an eBook included with purchase.

Limitations

• Concise by design. At about 560 pages and ten chapters, it is presented by the publisher as short and focused, and the course list also holds longer, more detailed works. Students who need more depth on a mechanism will have to turn to one of them.
• Coverage should be checked against the syllabus. No chapter is titled for topics such as blood, muscle or the immune system. The listing does not say whether or where they are treated, so a student whose course covers them should check the full contents before relying on the book alone.
• Limited independent evidence. The only published review quoted on the publisher's page concerns the previous edition, and no review of the eighth edition was found. The claims about its pedagogy therefore rest mainly on the publisher's description.
• Online features depend on access. The FAQs, animations and videos are part of the online package, not the printed text.

Where It Fits in the Course

Costanzo Physiology is the concise main text among the physiology books in the course list. Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology is the larger systems-based account of how the body maintains homeostasis, and suits a student who wants more depth than Costanzo's ten chapters provide. Ganong's Review of Medical Physiology is denser, assumes some biochemistry and emphasises the experimental basis of physiology, so it fits better as a second book or for exam review than as a first read.

Human Physiology: A Very Short Introduction is a brief, readable account built around the body's main tasks and is useful as background before starting Costanzo, and Physiology at a Glance offers double-page visual summaries for a quick overview or revision. A reasonable sequence is a short introduction or the at-a-glance book first, Costanzo as the main text, and Guyton and Hall or Ganong's for topics that need more.

How to Use This Book

The publisher's readership is medical students, and the book also suits other health-professions students who need a clear grounding in human physiology. The publisher does not state prerequisites.

A practical plan: read Chapters 1–3 first, since the cellular and neural principles recur in later chapters. Then follow the course's organ-system order. Work the sample problems and "challenge yourself" questions with the text covered, and rework the equations by hand rather than only reading them. Use the chapter summaries at the end of each chapter for revision, and the online FAQs, animations and videos where a mechanism is hard to visualise. Read the cardiovascular, respiratory, renal and acid-base chapters as a group, because their topics interact in the physiology of blood pressure, gas exchange and pH. A second pass, done a few weeks later with only the summaries and the problems, tests whether the mechanisms have stuck, and a student who wants more depth on any one system can then consult a longer text for that chapter only.