Human Body: Facts at Your Fingertips

158 Pages·2013·102.29 MB·English

by  Richard Walker

Pocket Genius Pocket Genius
P
o HUMAN BODY
Your body is an amazing machine. It contains c
k
more than 200 bones and millions of cells, and e
t

performs complex functions without you being G
e
n
aware of them. Find out all about it—what reflexes
i
u
are, why we need food, and how the heart s
beats—in this pocket-sized encyclopedia. h
u
All about your body, from bones and m
breathing to blood and the brain
a
Clear and crisp photographs and diagrams n
with bite-sized chunks of information
b
o
Spectacular full-page images
d
Amazing stats and incredible facts y
$7.99 USA
$8.99 Canada
Printed in China
SUPPORTS THE
COMMON
CORE
STATE STANDARDS FACTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
Discover more at
www.dk.com

Pocket Genius
human
body
FACTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
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LONDON, NEW YORK, MUNICH,
MELBOURNE, and DELHI
Written by Richard Walker
DK DELHI
Project editor Bharti Bedi
Project art editor Isha Nagar
Senior editor Samira Sood
Senior art editor Govind Mittal
Assistant editor Neha Chaudhary
DTP designers Jaypal Singh Chauhan, Pradeep Sharma
Picture researcher Sakshi Saluja
Managing editor Alka Thakur Hazarika
Managing art editor Romi Chakraborty
CTS manager Balwant Singh
Production manager Pankaj Sharma
DK LONDON
Senior editor Fleur Star
Senior art editor Rachael Grady
US editor Margaret Parrish
US senior editor Rebecca Warren
Jacket editor Manisha Majithia
Jacket designer Laura Brim
Jacket manager Sophia M. Tampakopoulos Turner
Production editor Rebekah Parsons-King
Production controller Mary Slater
Publisher Andrew Macintyre
Associate publishing director Liz Wheeler
Art director Phil Ormerod
Publishing director Jonathan Metcalf
TALL TREE LTD.
Editors Jon Richards, Camilla Hallinan
Designer Ed Simkins
First American Edition, 2013
Published in the United States by
DK Publishing
375 Hudson Street
New York, New York 10014
13 14 15 16 17 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
001–187503–Jun/13
Copyright © 2013 Dorling Kindersley Limited
All rights reserved
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above,
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any
form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of
both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
A catalog record for this book
is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978-1-4654-0882-2
DK books are available at special discounts when purchased
in bulk for sales promotion, premiums, fund-raising, or
educational use. For details, contact: DK Publishing Special
Markets, 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
or [email protected]
Printed and bound in China by South China Printing Company
Discover more at
www.dk.com
US_002-003_Contents.indd 2 01/02/13 5:48 PM
contents
4 Being human 82 Inside the lungs
6 Body builders 84 Speech
8 Types of cell
86 the digestive
10 Dividing cells
12 From cells to systems system
14 Looking inside 88 Feeding the body
90 Chew and swallow
18 shaping the body
92 Into the stomach
20 Skin 94 Small intestine
22 Hair and nails 98 Large intestine
24 Keeping warm 100 The liver
26 Skeletal system
102 controlling
30 Inside bones
the body
32 Bone types
34 Healing fractures 104 Nervous system
36 How joints work 106 The brain
38 Types of joint 110 Spinal cord
40 Muscles and movement 112 Seeing
42 Types of muscle 116 Tasting
44 Inside a muscle 118 Smelling
48 How muscles work 120 Touching
122 Hearing
50 blood and lymph
124 Balance
52 Blood system 126 Chemical messengers
54 Blood vessels 128 Hormones in action
58 The heart
130 reproduction
60 Heartbeat
and growth
62 What’s in blood?
132 Female and male
64 Blood clotting
134 Fertilization
66 Fighting disease
136 In the womb
70 The body’s drain
140 Genes and DNA
72 Filtering blood
142 Growing up
74 Getting rid of waste
76 lungs and
146 Your amazing body
breathing
150 Glossary
78 Breathing system 152 Index
80 Breathe in, breathe out 156 Acknowledgments
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Being human
In touch
Being able to talk to people
The human body has unique features that have enabled us using spoken language is unique
to become the most successful animals on the Earth. We are to humans. It helps us to make and
maintain social relationships. Other
the most intelligent and we have special ways of moving,
animals do this with calls and body
communicating, and staying warm.
language but not with words.
A group of
children chatting
On two legs
Humans stand on two
legs, which allows us
to walk or run long
distances. Being
upright raises the
head, letting us see
farther, and leaves the
hands free for tasks
such as using tools.
4 | HUMAN BODY BEING HUMAN | 5
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Being human
In touch Skillful hands
Being able to talk to people Human hands are
The human body has unique features that have enabled us using spoken language is unique incredibly flexible
to become the most successful animals on the Earth. We are to humans. It helps us to make and and can perform
maintain social relationships. Other a wide range
the most intelligent and we have special ways of moving,
animals do this with calls and body of movements.
communicating, and staying warm.
language but not with words. The thumbs and
fingers can grip
precisely for
delicate tasks
such as painting,
or grip powerfully to
pull a heavy weight.
Keeping warm
Humans are the only animals that
wear clothes. This way of keeping warm
allowed early humans to migrate from
tropical Africa, where they first appeared,
to colder climates, including the Arctic.
4 | HUMAN BODY BEING HUMAN | 5
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Body builders
The human body is made up of trillions
of microscopic cells. Each cell is a living
unit with a complex structure. Inside each
cell are even smaller structures called
organelles that control, produce, and
move materials, release energy, and
work together to keep the cell alive.
Inside a cell
Although cells come in many
shapes and sizes, they all share
the same basic structure. Each Lyosomes
cell has a membrane, or outer recycle worn-out
organelles
layer, that surrounds the cell.
Inside the membrane is a
The nucleus
liquid, called cytoplasm, is the cell’s
which supports all the control center
different organelles.
Cytoplasm is
a jellylike fluid
that contains
organelles
An organelle called the
Golgi complex prepares
proteins for use inside
and outside the cell.
Structure of
a typical cell,
showing organelles
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The cell membrane
forms the cell’s
outer layer
Mitochondria are the
cell’s powerhouses. They
release energy, which
is used to power the
cell’s activities.
Endoplasmic reticulum
stores and transports proteins that
are made by tiny ribosomes (shown
as purple dots) on its surface.
Microtubules are rods that
support and shape the cell
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Types of cell
There are around 200 different types of cell in a human body,
each with its own job to do. Cells of the same type work together
in groups called tissues. The size and shape of cells are linked
to the specific roles they perform.
Cell variety
The six types of body cell shown here all have very different
Adipose cells
shapes and roles. For example, thin nerve cells carry signals
contain a large
over long distances, allowing the brain to communicate with droplet of fat—one of the body’s
other parts of the body, while round adipose cells store fuel. sources of energy. These cells
also help insulate the body.
Nerve cells, or neurons, carry
electrical signals and make up the
brain, the nerves, and the rest of
the nervous system—the
Red blood cells travel around the body in the body’s control network.
blood. They are small and, unlike other cells, do
not have a nucleus. They give blood its red color
and carry oxygen from the lungs to all other cells.
Axon terminal
Epithelial cells are tightly packed transmits signals
together and form a protective to the next neuron
barrier that stops germs from invading
body tissues. They cover the skin
and line hollow organs such
as the mouth and lungs.
8 | HUMAN BODY TYPES OF CELL | 9
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