Sign in  |  Register
Advanced search
Publication Cover

CITATION

Layman, Dale. Biology Demystified. US: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2003.

Biology Demystified

Authors: Dale Layman

Published:  June 2003

eISBN: 9780071433877 0071433872 | ISBN: 9780071410403
Open eBook
  • Contents
  • Preface
  • Part 1: Getting Ready for Biology
  • Chapter 1 The Coming of Biology
  • Biology, organisms, and order
  • Structure and anatomy
  • Gross versus microscopic anatomy
  • Function and physiology
  • Characteristics of living things
  • What did the cavemen know about biology?
  • Biological disorder: A reality since ancient times
  • Order beyond the individual organism: The spider and its web
  • Natural history: The search for order begins in earnest
  • The 1800s: Experimental physiology comes of age
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 2 Patterns of Life
  • The Pyramid of Life (levels of biological organization)
  • Cells to organism: Where the pyramid comes to life
  • Life beyond the organism: Populations, communities, and ecosystems
  • Homeostasis versus ecological relationships
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 3 Evolution: From Dawn to Darwin
  • Important theories about the origin of life
  • Dinosaurs help make a fossil record
  • Charles Darwin and the Theory of Evolution
  • Quiz
  • Test: Part 1
  • Part 2: The Universal Building Blocks of Life
  • Chapter 4 Chemicals: The Tiniest Blocks
  • Chemical bonds: Builders of order
  • Water and the breakdown of salt: A ‘‘dissolving’’ of order
  • The body-builders: Highly-ordered ‘‘skeletons’’ of carbon atoms
  • Four major types of chemical body-builders
  • Chemicals for metabolism
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 5 Cells: The ‘‘Little Chambers’’ in Plants and Animals
  • Development of the Cell Theory
  • Normal organelles: Biological order in cells of prokaryotes versus eukaryotes
  • Protein synthesis: Copying the codons
  • Abnormal organelles: Biological disorder in cells
  • Transport through the cell membrane
  • Cell division and the Cell Cycle
  • Cancer: A severe disorder of mitosis
  • Quiz
  • Test: Part 2
  • Part 3: The Five Kingdoms of Life, Plus Viruses
  • Chapter 6 Bacteria and the ‘‘Homeless’’ Viruses
  • Classifying and ordering: The work of taxonomy
  • Classifying and ordering bacteria: The ‘‘kings’’ of monera
  • Bacterial order versus disorder
  • Viruses: Non-living parasites of cells
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 7 The Protists: ‘‘First of All’’
  • Protists = All single-celled eukaryotes
  • The protozoa or ‘‘first animals’’
  • The algae: Plant-like protists
  • The slime molds: Fungus-like protists
  • Biological disorders: Some parasitic protozoa of humans
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 8 The Fungi: Not Just Mushrooms!
  • The basic body plan and reproduction of the fungi
  • The major groups of fungi
  • The lichens: Where fungi mix with algae
  • Parasitic fungi and their victims
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 9 The Plants: ‘‘Kings and Queens’’ of the World of Green
  • The human sole–plant connection
  • Here come the land plants!
  • An overview of the bryophytes (nonvascular plants)
  • An overview of the tracheophytes (vascular plants)
  • The ferns: Vascular plants without seeds
  • Gymnosperms: Vascular plants with ‘‘naked seeds’’
  • Angiosperms: Vascular plants with ‘‘flowers’’
  • Monocots versus dicots: Two different kinds of flowering plant embryos
  • Medicinal plants: Plants promoting biological order
  • Poisonous plants: Promoters of disease and disorder
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 10 Invertebrates As Special Animals: ‘‘Have You No Spine?’’
  • The invertebrates: Animals without backbones
  • Coelom or no coelom: Body cavities in the bilateria
  • The mollusks: ‘‘Clam up, would ya’?’’
  • Echinoderms: ‘‘Such a prickly skin may make you a star!’’
  • Invertebrates respond to ‘‘breaking symmetry’’ of their body form
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 11 The Arthropods: No Jointed Backbone, but ‘‘Jointed Feet’’
  • Common characteristics of the arthropods
  • Major types of arthropods
  • Metamorphosis: A caterpillar becomes a butterfly
  • Insects: Inducers of Biological Order and Disorder in the environment
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 12 The Chordata: Animals with a ‘‘Chord’’ In Their ‘‘Back’’
  • The notochord: Ancient forerunner of the vertebral column
  • The phylum chordata and its groups
  • Wide diversity in backboned creatures: Eight different classes of vertebrates
  • Quiz
  • Test: Part 3
  • Part 4: Anatomy and Physiology of Animals
  • Chapter 13 Skins and Skeletons
  • Skins and skeletons: Tough reminders of a former life
  • ‘‘Ain’t we just peachy?’’: The skin as our integument
  • Hyperthermia or hypothermia: Body heat out of control!
  • The human endoskeleton: Our hard ‘‘dried body’’ lying within
  • Anatomy of a long bone
  • Bone development, bone matrix, and blood calcium homeostasis
  • Bone development and bone matrix
  • Breaking of bone-related patterns
  • Joints: A meeting of the bones
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 14 The Neuromuscular (Nerve–Muscle) Connection
  • Bone–muscle lever systems
  • Some characteristics used for naming muscles
  • The general anatomy of a skeletal muscle
  • Myofilaments and the sliding filament theory
  • The neuromuscular junction and muscle excitation
  • Motor pathways
  • Sensory pathways
  • The cerebellum and hypothalamus
  • Integration and association areas of the brain
  • Neuromuscular disorders: Breaking the connections
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 15 Glands and Their Hormone Messengers
  • Two solutions to communication: Neurotransmitters versus secretions
  • The neuroendocrine system
  • Hormones (First Messengers) and their partners inside cells
  • Endocrine diseases as uncontrolled secretion
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 16 Blood and the Circulatory System
  • The heart and blood vessels: The pump and its pipes
  • Internal anatomy, pacemaker tissue, and valves of the heart
  • The Cardiac Cycle
  • Blood pressure and blood flow
  • Hypertension, hypotension, and arteriosclerosis
  • The blood connective tissue
  • Serum cholesterol, atherosclerosis, and ‘‘heart attacks’’
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 17 Immune and Lymphatic Systems: ‘‘The Best Survival Offense Is A Good Defense!’’
  • The lymphatic system: A shadow circulation of the blood
  • Antibodies and macrophages attack the antigens
  • The major lymphatic organs
  • The tonsils: ‘‘Little almonds’’ in the back of our throat
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 18 The Respiratory System: Breath of Life
  • Respiration versus ventilation
  • Fish gills: Respiration and ventilation through the water
  • The path of airflow in humans
  • Frogs versus mammals: The mechanism of inspiration
  • Major lung volumes and capacities
  • Control of respiration and body acid–base balance
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 19 ‘‘Getting the Goodies’’: Nutrition and the Digestive System
  • The digestive tube and its basic processes
  • The digestive tube (alimentary canal) in mammals
  • Too many, or too few calories?
  • Quiz
  • Chapter 20 Urine and (Gulp!) Sex in Animals
  • The genitourinary (urogenital) system concept
  • Major urinary structures in animals
  • The process of (‘‘making water’’) or excreting urine
  • Reproduction in animals: Sexual or asexual?
  • Reproductive system of the male mammal
  • Reproductive system of the female mammal
  • Embryo development leading to birth
  • Sexual dysfunctions and reproductive failure
  • Quiz
  • Test: Part 4
  • Final Exam
  • Appendix: Answers to quiz, test, and final exam questions
  • Index