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VITAL CIRCUITS: On Pumps, Pipes and the Wondrous Workings of Circulatory Systems by VOGEL
Why does dust collect on the blades of a fan? Why should you wear support hose on a long airplane flight? Vogel ranges across physics, fluid mechanics, and chemistry to show how an enormous system of pumps and pipes works to keep the human body functioning. Anyone curious about the workings of the body will want to read this book. 64 line drawings.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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About the author
Steven Vogel
25 books16 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Steven Vogel is James B. Duke Professor, Emeritus, in the Department of Biology at Duke University.
As it has turned out, my activities as a teacher and writer have extended well beyond the explication of the immediate results of research. The first two of my seven books, A Functional Bestiary: Laboratory Studies about Living Systems and A Model Menagerie: Laboratory Studies about Living Systems, provide eclectic material for teaching laboratories in introductory biology. The third, Life in Moving Fluids, finds most use as an entry point into fluid mechanics; it is now in its second (much enlarged) edition. The fourth, Life's Devices, takes comparative biomechanics as a paradigm for thinking about science, using the very mundanity of the subject to draw in non-scientists rather than presenting them with some system of revelation. The book was generated through a course given to adults in a non-specialist master's program and is now in use in a variety of undergraduate courses; it was selected by a science-oriented book club and has won a substantial award. Material in that book reappears in expanded and more sophisticated form in my recent undergraduate textbook, Comparative Biomechanics. The fifth, Vital Circuits, is of a deliberately less pedagogical character; it's about circulatory systems, whose disabilities are of widespread interest. But it uses them as a vehicle to talk in biological rather than pathological terms and to illustrate how a such a subject is viewed by a biological scientist in contrast to a journalist or a physician. Cats' Paws and Catapults, also aimed at the general reader, compares the mechanical technologies of nature with that of humans. Prime Mover, another trade book, tries to link the biomechanics and physiology of muscle to the role it has played in human activities. Finally, I've written for more popular publications, such as Natural History and Discover, attempting to create pieces that explain science rather than merely reporting on the current activities of scientists, and I've become involved with several science museums, again in activities aimed at explaining science as part of contemporary culture. Two additional books, both aimed at a general scientific readership, are currently in gestation.
Steven Vogel is James B. Duke Professor, Emeritus, in the Department of Biology at Duke University.
As it has turned out, my activities as a teacher and writer have extended well beyond the explication of the immediate results of research. The first two of my seven books, A Functional Bestiary: Laboratory Studies about Living Systems and A Model Menagerie: Laboratory Studies about Living Systems, provide eclectic material for teaching laboratories in introductory biology. The third, Life in Moving Fluids, finds most use as an entry point into fluid mechanics; it is now in its second (much enlarged) edition. The fourth, Life's Devices, takes comparative biomechanics as a paradigm for thinking about science, using the very mundanity of the subject to draw in non-scientists rather than presenting them with some system of revelation. The book was generated through a course given to adults in a non-specialist master's program and is now in use in a variety of undergraduate courses; it was selected by a science-oriented book club and has won a substantial award. Material in that book reappears in expanded and more sophisticated form in my recent undergraduate textbook, Comparative Biomechanics. The fifth, Vital Circuits, is of a deliberately less pedagogical character; it's about circulatory systems, whose disabilities are of widespread interest. But it uses them as a vehicle to talk in biological rather than pathological terms and to illustrate how a such a subject is viewed by a biological scientist in contrast to a journalist or a physician. Cats' Paws and Catapults, also aimed at the general reader, compares the mechanical technologies of nature with that of humans. Prime Mover, another trade book, tries to link the biomechanics and physiology of muscle to the role it has played in human activities. Finally, I've written for more popular publications, such as Natural History and Discover, attempting to create pieces that explain science rather than merely reporting on the current activities of scientists, and I've become involved with several science museums, again in activities aimed at explaining science as part of contemporary culture. Two additional books, both aimed at a general scientific readership, are currently in gestation.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 31, 2019
Far from a textbook, yet written by someone who obviously loves his subject, and knows a lot about it. 'At this point I was going to recommend that (the reader) go out and buy an embalmed heart.'
I finished reading it during the two days that I was sick. The author enjoys his subject. He enjoys writing about the normal system and how marvelous it is.
In the last chapter he comments that there are lots of books about disease, therefore this book covers the normal working state. It is a very marvelous system
I finished reading it during the two days that I was sick. The author enjoys his subject. He enjoys writing about the normal system and how marvelous it is.
In the last chapter he comments that there are lots of books about disease, therefore this book covers the normal working state. It is a very marvelous system
August 11, 2023
A highly informative book, packed with information and ideas. Yet it still feels a little longer than it should be.
The book was written in the early 1990s, but its literary style seems to be at least thirty years older: Gerald Durrell or Richard Gordon. (The illustraitions feel even older.) Maybe it's just very "English". Unlike many modern popular science books, this one contains a great deal of real science.
The book was written in the early 1990s, but its literary style seems to be at least thirty years older: Gerald Durrell or Richard Gordon. (The illustraitions feel even older.) Maybe it's just very "English". Unlike many modern popular science books, this one contains a great deal of real science.
June 16, 2018
I have read this three times, and bought several copies for physician friends.
May 17, 2019
Absolutely incredible. A fantastic book. I use it in many of my classes to help teach biology to engineers. Wonderfully written, great footnotes. I re-read this about once a year.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews