Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach, 9th edition

For courses in human physiology.

A McGuffey Award winner

Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach moves students beyond memorization, helping them construct a global view of the body, its systems, and the many processes that keep the systems working. Silverthorn builds on her active learning instruction style and integrates big-picture themes with the most current cellular and molecular physiology topics.

The 9th Edition now highlights core physiology concepts with openers that preview the chapters in each unit to help students make connections, and provides new Visual Summaries for each chapter. Updated and added discussion and research are incorporated throughout, and a new correlation guide is provided in instructor resources to align with the recent HAPS Physiology Learning Outcomes for Human Physiology.

Hallmark features of this title 

• Core Concepts of Physiology and their icons are introduced in Chapter 1, and are featured in every subsequent chapter to help students learn the repeating themes that occur throughout the body systems.
• Visual Summaries replace written synopses at the end of each chapter, offering a clear, quick overview of key concepts with links to detailed discussions. They serve as effective advance organizers to introduce a chapter or reinforce key points at the end of a chapter.
• Running Problems explore a real-world disease or disorder throughout the chapter. Students check their understanding by comparing their answers with the Problem Conclusion at the end of the chapter.
• Figure Questions and Graph Questions challenge students to apply what they are learning and build visualization and graphing skills. In the print textbook, answers are provided in Appendix A; in the available Pearson+ eTextbook, answers appear below the figures for immediate feedback.
• Concept Checks are embedded throughout each chapter to assess understanding before students move forward. In the available Pearson+ eTextbook, answer feedback is provided for each question.

New and updated features of this title

• More prominent treatment of the immune system relocates coverage to Chapter 7; material has been rewritten to highlight its role as the third control system, coordinating with the nervous and endocrine systems through chemical signals. This change reflects that the pathophysiology of COVID-19 alerted biomedical scientists to how the immune system influences body functions in ways not realized previously.
• Content and research updated or added in this edition include extracellular vesicles, organoids, newly identified airway epithelial cells, glymphatics, branching sarcomeres, loss of taste and smell in COVID-19, sex as a biological variable, and much more.
• Unit openers now focus on core physiology concepts that highlight the start of the 4 text units (Core Concepts in Physiology; Homeostasis, Communication, and Control; Integration of Function; Metabolism, Growth, and Reproduction). The 8 selected core concepts are introduced and discussed in Unit 1, then become a unifying theme throughout the remaining chapters.
  • A brief introduction to featured core concepts now begins each chapter. Core concept icons on many pieces of art challenge students to find the core concept represented.
• Visual summaries with brand-new art replace the text chapter summaries and provide a quick review of key ideas covered in the chapter.
• Learning Outcomes driven by the new HAPS Physiology Learning Outcomes for Human Physiology are incorporated. As there can be tremendous variability in how introductory physiology is taught, a correlation guide between book learning outcomes for this revision and the HAPS Physiology is available within the Instructor Resources.