The Complete Human Body: The Definitive Visual Guide

by Alice Roberts

We inhabit it, we are it, and we are surrounded by 6.8 billion examples of it on the planet - the human body. Some parts of it are still mysteries to science and much is a mystery to the average person on the street. But we've come a long way from the sketches and diagrams drawn by the first anatomists in Ancient Greece. Making full use of new medical procedures and imaging techniques, The Complete Human Body is the definitive guide to the development, form, function, and disorders of the human body, illustrated with unprecedented clarity by new computer-generated artworks and the latest medical and microscopic imaging. Exploring the body's form and function in greater depth than any other popular reference, from muscle structure and activity to motor pathways within the brain, The Complete Human Body will have great appeal to students and a broad range of healthcare professionals, as well as families. Includes an interactive DVD and website!

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Reference, Biology, Health, Medicine, Medical

536 pages, Hardcover

First published August 30, 2010

About the author

Alice May Roberts is an English anatomist, osteoarchaeologist, physical anthropologist, palaeopathologist, television presenter and author.

Roberts studied medicine and anatomy at Cardiff University, qualifying in 1997 as a physician with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB BCh) degree, having gained an intercalated Bachelor of Science degree in anatomy. She earned a PhD in paleopathology in 2008 from the University of Bristol.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very beautiful book about the human body --- both the outside and what lies inside.
Here is an example that shows the book’s descriptive strengths and allows you to infer the book’s limitations (some self-imposed).

Endocrine System
“The body’s internal environment is controlled and regulated by nerves and hormones. The autonomic nervous system uses nerve impulses and neurotransmitters to send information in a swift and localized way. The glands of the endocrine system produce hormones---chemical messengers, often carried in the blood---that act in a slower, more prolonged, and more generalized way. Both the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system are governed by the hypothalmus in the brain. The pituitary gland produces hormones that affect other endocrine glands, which sometimes form discrete organs. There are also hormone-producing cells in the tissues of many other organs.”

This is not a book that will tell you how to stay healthy. It isn’t a Mayo Clinic publication that addresses a certain disease or disability. But if your coach or trainer tells you that your gastrocnemius is inflamed or your chiropractor tells you that your lumbar 6 seems herniated or your doctor says that your optic nerve is impinged by an meningioma, this book is a wonderful way of understanding where that thing is. Layer upon layer is revealed. There are views of the brain from top, sides and bottom. Position and orientation are illustrated.

There are sections on genetics and certain disorders. And a bit on evolution of humans. But what comes off each page is the DK graphic beauty that can both stun and inform. Wow!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This heavy coffee table book lives up to its title. It's fabulous and has the potential to keep you occupied for many hours! I thoroughly enjoyed pouring over the detailed color pictures.

[Marci - · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the full colour diagrams, and illustrations along with a DVD, this will be the book you want if you are curious about the human body

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A extremely indepth guide into all aspects of the human body. Highly recommended.

[Beth Daugherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely amazing!! perfect for helping with all those crazy questions my 9 yr old has. it's our new coffee table book.

[Jayshant Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ggood

[Liz Neves]

I am loving this book. Continually blown away by the human body.

[Jules Bertaut · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty informative and the graphics were very cool, but it was exhaustingly cis/het (male-this, female-that, puberty=interest in the opposite sex, etc.). Also the heart and lung graphics were confusing because the blood into the lungs was often red and the blood out was often blue, which is weird because red often signals oxygenated blood.

[Olivia Victorius · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book. answer most of the question related to human body. I love how they explain it in a very simple way yet contain so much information that easy to understand by people with no science background. amazing.

[Sang Tran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sách viết rất chi tiết với những hình ảnh trực quan sinh động về cơ thể người và các bệnh lý thường gặp.
Điểm trừ duy nhất có lẽ là cỡ chữ sử dụng trong sách hơi nhỏ và dày. Khiến cho việc đọc khá mỏi mắt.

[Larkin :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally has all possible information for anything. I hit my head and was concerned about it so I looked through this book and saw what could have been damaged which was intruiging and I will be looking through this again if anyone has anything interesting to look up. (not to be weird lol)

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My third grade son checked out this book for the illustrations. He only looked at the illustrations, he didn't even read the text. This book is worth four stars just based on that.

[Amgad Muhammad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough, encyclopedic

[Fiona🌸 · Rating 5 out of 5]

得到了运动损伤患者的五星肯定，仔细研究了肘关节、膝关节的骨胳、肌肉、韧带，简单翻阅了最后一部份“疾病和功能失调”，简而言之：详细、准确、清晰，描述保守，但作为小孩的科普书，这本太难了。（打算留着作工具书查阅

[PottWab Regional Library]

SM

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[Waleed Kuba · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing

[Joshua Friesen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dk publishing books are a great resource for kids

[Dachokie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Home Reference …

This book was reviewed as part of Amazon's Vine program which included a free advance copy of the book.

DK’s HUMAN ANATOMY is great graphic reference for a general understanding of the human body.

The book is divided into three main sections, each with a designated color page corner for “easy reference”:

1) “The Integrated Body” – serves as an introductory chapter that explains human genetics, the human cell, body composition and an overview of the body’s systems.

2) “Body Systems” – the “meat and potatoes” of the book. A thoroughly detailed graphic presentation of the human body (skeletal, neuro, lymphatic, muscular, cardiovascular, reproductive, etc.). All organs and systems are shown with multiple annotations accompanying each graphic. Visually enticing and thoroughly notated, it is easy to get wrapped up in simply flipping pages.

3) “Imaging the Body” – Explains the various manners in which the body can be imaged to detect ailments, monitor the effects of treatments and discover/understand the progression of disease.

I found the book to be highly informative and interesting … a superb reference for the family library. It examines every aspect of the human body and does back up its claim as “the definitive visual guide”. I have yet to see a book as thorough. I think the benefit of this book is using it as a means to understanding how the human body operates as a whole rather than a medical guide to diagnose ailments/injuries. However, seeing how the various systems work independently and together can provide enough information to piece together a rudimentary understanding of how/why some ailments can/do occur.

My only real issue with the book is how it is organized. I wish the “Body Systems” section was broken-down so the various systems could be located easier (rather than sifting through 200 green-tabbed pages for specific systems). A smaller issue is with the annotations … they serve mostly to identify/name particulars. While some of the annotations do explain functions, I would have liked to see more of the explanatory annotations throughout the book.

Aside from a few minor issues, I can’t find a reason NOT to own this book. It’s over-sized, interesting, impressively visual, highly-detailed and educational … an essential reference for every home.

[Alain Burrese · Rating 5 out of 5]

DK's “Human Anatomy: The Definitive Visual Guide” is visually impressive for sure. This large size hard-cover book has full color illustrations throughout along with a complete overview of the entire human body. This includes parts on cells and body composition at the beginning, moving into sections on Skin, Hair and Nails; Skeletal System; Muscular System; Nervous System; Respiratory System; Cardiovascular System, Lymphatic and Immune System; Digestive System; Urinary System, Reproductive System; and the Endocrine System. The book concludes with a section on imaging the body.

It should be noted that on the cover it says, “Content Previously Published In “The Complete Human Body.” So if you have that, you probably wouldn't want to get this volume. This is a good book for anyone wanting to “See” the components of the human body. It is great for visuals, hence the name, “Human Anatomy: The Definitive Visual Guide.” If you are looking for more in depth descriptions of all of the systems mentioned above, you may need to also get additional resources. So this book might help your high school student understand basic biology and human anatomy, but for a college student taking college level anatomy classes further references will be needed.

I think this is an excellent visual guide for those that want simple understanding with great visuals on human anatomy, because most people don't want to read a detailed medical guide on anatomy and biology.

[Brenda Humphreys · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for big colorful pictures. I love the pictures showing all the muscles and bones of the body and showing them up close in sections. This book is good for people who want to learn about the muscles and the bones and the names of each, but it really does not go into much more details. Pictures take over the book without much depth into learning much about anything else. The one picture that I was looking for was how all the organs are situated in the body. They go by sections which shows where the organs are located. I wanted it all together. I finally found one that I thought I could use, but they only had it of a male. I was disappointed. That is what I was looking for, but then they didn't have one of a woman's body with her female organs. I guess in a big impressive book like this one I expected a lot more.

[Reka · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are beautiful and the stucture of the book is really good. The chapters are clour coded and there are many sections and little extra spaces additional information. The texts are short, easy to understand and still have scientific vocabulary, which is not that easy to do, but is well made in this book.

[Vijay · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an exceptional book. Great for non-medical laymen. I really appreciate the introductory book on anatomy and physiology.

I can't imagine why it has taken me so long to read about our own bodies. As we get older, we should understand our bodies a bit better and come to learn of what can go wrong and how we can better ourselves by merely looking after ourselves by keeping better dietary and exercise habits.

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This large format, richly illustrated, over 500 page book is a great place to learn all you need to know about the human anatomy. I wish there were books like this when I was a kid. It's probably too heavy for many "kids" to even hold, but infinitely fascinating just like the subject and would help prepare one for a career in health care. Very worthwhile.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thorough guide to the anatomical features of human bodies. There is also information included about many types of physical disorders and diseases. This book is best served as a handy reference that should be nearby on a sturdy bookshelf. The pictures are large and the text is easy to read. The book is heavy, so it will mostly be kept in one location when not in use.

[Adenin · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great book, to know how body work, simple and very interesting ;) in the book there are about anatomy human, how body works and function and about disease, there is also a glossary hehe

suitable for all ages ;)

[Vanessa Villegas]

It was a good book. It gives a general idea of the human body structure. Note: there isn't much on the function.

[Jim Blessing · Rating 2 out of 5]

This over-sized book provided color pictures of all functions and parts of the human body.

[Mahood Gadm]

it's great

[Jennifer Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent illustrative book of basic anatomy. I love the simplicity here! Easily approachable. I really like how there are life size sections of the body. Great casual reference!