Human Biology

Human Biology Made Simple is an introductory work on the study of biology in relation to people and the interdependence of all living things. This book is organized into three parts encompassing 31 chapters.

Part 1 deals with the people and the other animals and plants which make lives possible. This part examines the study of life and its continuity, laws of heredity, multicellular organisms, cells and tissues, and the interdependence of all organisms. Part 2 discusses the body and how it works, as well as the benefits of physical fitness, personal health, and hygiene. Part 3 highlights social life, the social consequences of many discoveries in biology, and some problems of community and world health.

This book will prove useful to health education and human biology students.

Preface

Acknowledgments

Key to Abbreviations and Symbols

Part 1: People and Biology

1 People and Other Living Things

We are Organisms

We are Animals

We are Mammals

We are Primates

Test Questions

2 The First People

The Fossil Record

Ways in which People are Unique

Test Questions

3 The Study of Life

The Rise of Science

The Work of Biologists

Keeping a Record

Test Questions

4 Anyone Else Like You?

Differences between Races

Differences between the Sexes

Differences between Individuals

Test Questions

5 Laws of Heredity

Parents and their Offspring

Hybridisation

Heritable and Non-Heritable Variation

Test Questions

6 The Continuity of Life

Some Evidence of Evolution

Selection

Further Evidence of Evolution

Constancy and Change

Test Questions

7 Micro-Organisms

The Use of Microscopes

Microscopic Organisms

Test Questions

8 What is Life?

What Living Things are made of

The Life of a Bacterial Cell

The Life of Amoeba and Chlamydomonas

What is Life?

Test Questions

9 Multicellular Organisms

The Parts of You

Cell Structure and Function

Technical Terms

Test Questions

10 Cells and Tissues

Cell Division

Chromosome Structure and Duplication

Control of Activity in the Cell

Differentiation

Test Questions

11 Energy from Sunlight

How Scientists Work

The Discovery of Photosynthesis

Ecological Importance of Photosynthesis

Day and Night

The Seasons

Test Questions

12 Saprobionts

Yeast: A Unicellular Fungus

A Bread Mould: Rhizopus

The Role of Saprobionts in Decay

Studying Micro-Organisms

Micro-Organisms in Food

Beneficial Micro-Organisms

Test Questions

13 The Interdependence of all Organisms

Ecological Succession and Soil Formation

The Structure and Properties of Soils

Effects of Cultivation on the Soil

Food Chains and Food Webs

The Interdependence of all Organisms

Test Questions

Part 2: Man and Woman

14 Feeding and Digestion

Your Teeth

Your Alimentary Canal and Digestion

Digestion, Absorption and Assimilation

Test Questions

15 Protection, Support and Movement

Your Skin and its Functions

Your Skeleton and Skeletal Muscles

Movement and Posture

Test Questions

16 Your Lungs

Breathing

Respiratory Surfaces

Air Pollution and Health

Smoking or Health

Test Questions

17 The Use of Materials and Energy in Cells

Respiration

Metabolism

Your Liver—its Structure and Functions

Excretion

Test Questions

18 Your Kidneys

Structure and Functions of your Kidneys

Test Questions

19 The Circulation of your Blood

Your Blood Circulatory System

Your Heart

Blood, Tissue Fluid and Lymph

Blood Groups and Blood Transfusion

Test Questions

20 Your Senses

Hearing, Balance and Posture

Vision

Test Questions

21 Coordination and Control

Hormones

Nerves and Nerve Impulses

Differences between Hormonal and Neural Control

Summary of the Tissues of the Body

Test Questions

22 Constancy Based on Change: Homeostasis

Control of Blood Sugar Level

Control of Body Temperature

Reactions to Danger

Harmful Effects of Drugs

Good Health

Test Questions

23 Reproductive Systems

Meiotic Cell Division

Reproductive Systems of a Man and a Woman

Development of the Breasts and Milk Secretion

Test Questions

Part 3: People

24 Children

Sexual Behavior and Pregnancy

Having a Baby

Caring for the Mother and her Baby

Every Baby Should be Wanted

Unplanned Pregnancies

Sexual Behavior and Disease

Some Things Every Boy and Girl should Know

Test Questions

25 Heredity in People

Pedigree Analysis

The Role of Chromosomes in Heredity

Sex Determination and Sex Linkage

More about Chromosomes

Genetic Counselling

The Choice of Organisms for Genetics

Test Questions

26 Family Life

Babyhood

Infancy

Childhood

Puberty and Adolescence

Maturity

Old Age

Test Questions

27 Your Guide to Good Feeding

Body-Building Foods

Energy-Giving Foods

A Balanced Diet

Harmful or Potentially Harmful Foods

Test Questions

28 Parasites of People

Flatworms that cause Diseases

Roundworms that cause Diseases

Protists that cause Diseases

Bacteria that cause Diseases

Viruses that cause Diseases

Test Questions

29 Family Health

Your Home

Hygiene

Test Questions

30 Community Health

Town Planning

Preventing the Spread of Pathogens

Preventing Diseases by Immunization and Vaccination

Health Education and Recreation

Legislation and Community Health

World Health

Test Questions

31 People—People—People

Food for People

Always More People

How People Affect their Environment

Too Many People

Test Questions

Appendix 1. Visual Aids

Appendix 2. Further Reading

Appendix 3. Examination Technique

Appendix 4. Answers to Test Questions

Appendix 5. Glossary

Index