Description

Preface

Ross and Wilson has been a core text for students of
anatomy and physiology for over 50 years. This latest
edition continues to be aimed at healthcare professionals
including nurses, students of nursing, the allied health
professions and complementary therapies, paramedics
and ambulance technicians, many of whom have found

previous editions invaluable. It retains the straightfor-
ward approach to the description of body systems and

how they work. The anatomy and physiology of health is
supplemented by new sections describing common
age-related changes to structure and function, before
considering the pathology and pathophysiology of some
important disorders and diseases.
The human body is presented system by system. The
reader must, however, remember that physiology is an

integrated subject and that, although the systems are con-
sidered in separate chapters, all function cooperatively to

maintain health. The first three chapters provide an over-
view of the body and describe its main structures.

The later chapters are organised into three further sec-
tions, reflecting those areas essential for normal body

function: communication; intake of raw materials and
elimination of waste; and protection and survival. Much
of the material for this edition has been revised and
rewritten. Many of the diagrams have been revised and,
based on reader feedback, more new coloured electron

micrographs and photographs have been included to

provide detailed and enlightening views of many ana-
tomical features.

This edition is accompanied by a companion
website (https://evolve.elsevier.com/Waugh/anatomy/)
with over 100 animations and an extensive range of
online self-test activities that reflect the content of each
chapter. The material in this textbook is also supported
by the new 4th edition of the accompanying study guide,
which gives students who prefer paper-based activities
the opportunity to test their learning and improve their
knowledge.
The features from the previous edition have been
retained and revised, including learning outcomes, a list
of common prefixes, suffixes and roots, and extensive

in-text chapter cross-references. The comprehensive glos-
sary has been extended. New sections outlining the impli-
cations of normal ageing on the structure and function of

body systems have been prepared for this edition. Some
biological values, extracted from the text, are presented
as an appendix for easy reference. In some cases, slight
variations in ‘normals’ may be found in other texts and
used in clinical practice.

Anne Waugh
Allison Grant