The Human Body in Health and Illness

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To the Instructor
I would like to present another edition that is older and
wiser with the help of your comments and sugges-
tions. Even after minor surgery, a few transplants, and
some trimming and plumping, the fifth edition of The
Human Body in Health and Illness has emerged with the
same sense of humor!
The Human Body in Health and Illness tells the story
of the human body with all its parts and the way these
parts work together. It is a story that we have told
many times in our classes. It is also a story that gets
better with each telling as the body continues to reveal
its mysteries and how marvelously it has been created.
I hope that you enjoy telling the story as much as I do.
The Human Body in Health and Illness is a basic
anatomy and physiology text addressed to the student
preparing for a career in the health professions. It is
written for students with minimal preparation in the
sciences; no prior knowledge of biology, chemistry, or
physics is required. The text provides all the back-
ground science information needed for an understand-
ing of anatomy and physiology.
The basic principles of chemistry and biochemistry
are presented in Chapters 2 and 4, and they set the
stage for an understanding of cellular function, fluid
and electrolyte balance, endocrine function, and diges-
tion. Chapter 5, Microbiology Basics, presents clini-
cally relevant microbiological topics. Check out the
stories “Rick, Nick, and the Sick Tick” and “Dr. Sem-
melweis Screams: ‘Wash Those Mitts!’ ” The latter is an
amusing presentation of a sad tale in the history of
medicine and corresponds to the current emphasis on
hand hygiene and healthcare-associated infection.
The anatomy and physiology content is presented
in a traditional order, from simple to complex. The text
begins with a description of a single cell and progresses
through the various organ systems. There are two
key themes that run throughout the text: (1) the
relationship between structure and function—the
student must understand that an organ is anatomically
designed to perform a specific physiological function,
and (2) homeostasis—the role that each organ system
plays in sustaining life and what happens when that
delicate balance is disturbed.
The text addresses two concerns about the selection
of content. The first has to do with the amount
of content. The field of anatomy and physiology is
huge; therefore, there must be a selection of content
that can be mastered in the short period of time that a
vi
semester (or even two) allows. This text focuses on the
physiology that is basic and most clinically relevant.
Pathophysiology is introduced primarily to clarify
physiological function. For instance, the different types
of anemias illustrate the various steps in the making
of the red blood cell. A second concern has to do with
the recognition that we are not preparing physiolo-
gists; instead, we want the student to be able to use the
physiology to understand clinically relevant content
such as pathophysiology, physical assessment, diag-
nostics, and pharmacology. An understanding of phys-
iology is crucial for advancement in the medically
related sciences.
TEXTBOOK STRENGTHS
• Anatomy and physiology are clearly and simply
explained. A meticulously prepared set of
illustrations—complete with amusing cartoons—
supports the text. In fact, the story of the body is
told as much through the art as through the written
word.
• The text truly integrates pathophysiology; it is not
merely boxed in or tacked on at the end. The inte-
grated pathophysiology is used primarily to amplify
the normal anatomy and physiology. The expanded
Medical Terminology and Disorders tables and fre-
quent references to common medical terminology
allow the text to be used for an introductory course
in pathophysiology and medical terminology.
• In addition to the pathophysiology, other topics
are liberally integrated throughout the text. These
include common diagnostic procedures such as
blood count, lumbar puncture, urinalysis, and elec-
trocardiography. Pharmacological topics are also
introduced and, like the pathophysiology, are used
to amplify the normal anatomy and physiology. For
instance, the discussion of the neuromuscular junc-
tion is enhanced by a description of the effects of
the neuromuscular-blocking agents. Because of the
effort of the text to make clinical correlations, it sets
the stage for the more advanced health science
courses, including pharmacology and medical-
surgical nursing.
• Re-Think boxes are liberally distributed through-
out each chapter and encourage students to master
that content before progressing through the chapter.
New Ramp It Up boxes develop selected clinically

relevant topics that are simply too advanced to be
included in the text as critical information. These
boxed features contain new or advanced content
commonly used in the clinical setting and allow
instructors to scale their coverage in a manner
appropriate to the course. They offer students the
chance to make further connections between the
text and their future careers. (See the To the Student
preface on page ix for descriptions and examples of
each of the chapter features.)
• Medical terminology is introduced, defined, and
used throughout the text. Common clinical terms
such as hyperkalemia, vasodilation, hypertension, and
diagnosis are defined and reused so that the student
gradually builds up a substantial medical vocabu-
lary. The new and expanded Medical Terminology
and Disorders tables were deliberately constructed
to maximize the use of common medical terms and
disorders. To help foster broader understanding of
medical terminology, word parts and their mean-
ings are included for nearly every term presented.
Repetition of these helps students gain greater
ground in understanding the very specific medical
language they will be learning to use for a future in
the health professions. A description is also pro-
vided, which gives the definition or other pertinent
information on the topic.
• The Review Your Knowledge section has been
expanded to include questions that require an ana-
lytical response. The Go Figure questions are based
on the story told by the artwork. The questions can
only be answered by analyzing the art and/or the
information presented in the tables. This exercise
encourages the student to see beyond the “pretty
pictures” and realize that a picture is truly worth a
thousand words.
• The text is supported by many activities, exercises,
puzzles, and games (e.g., Body Bingo) on Evolve
(http://evolve.elsevier.com/Herlihy). These activi-
ties emphasize the focus of this text—clinically rel-
evant anatomy and physiology.
• Last, the text incorporates many amusing anec-
dotes from the history of medicine. Although the
human body is perfectly logical and predictable, we
humans think, do, and say some strange things.
Tales from the medical crypt provide some good
laughs and much humility.
CLASSROOM RESOURCES
Materials from the Study Guide and Evolve Instructor
Learning Resources can be used to:
1. Remediate students who are having difficulty in
grasping the content
2. Remediate students who have missed class(es)
3. Review students engaged in pathophysiology and
pharmacology whose memories need to be refreshed
in the physiology
To the Instructor vii
STUDY GUIDE
The Study Guide for The Human Body in Health and
Illness offers something for students at all levels of
learning and is a ready-made resource for instructors
looking for homework assignments. Each chapter
includes three parts: Part I, Mastering the Basics, with
matching, labeling, and coloring exercises; Part II,
Putting It All Together, containing multiple-choice
practice quizzes, completion exercises, and case
studies; and Part III, Challenge Yourself!, which has
grouping exercises and word puzzles. Textbook page
references are included with the questions, and the
answer key is available on the Evolve website, only to
instructors.
EVOLVE INSTRUCTOR LEARNING RESOURCES
The Evolve website for The Human Body in Health and
Illness (http://evolve.elsevier.com/Herlihy) includes
all of the Student Resources (see the inside back cover),
as well as the following Instructor Resources:
• Answer Key for the Study Guide, Audience Response
System questions, Image Collection, Teaching Tips,
and ExamView Test Banks that include over 2300
questions—more than 600 questions have been
added!
• Instructor’s Chapter Exams, Classroom Activities—
including Bingo, Line ‘Em Up, Sorting, and Word
Puzzles—and the TEACH Instructor Resource.
TEACH Instructor Resource on Evolve
Instructors who adopt the textbook will also receive
access to the TEACH Instructor Resource, which links
all parts of the Herlihy educational package with cus-
tomizable Lesson Plans based on objectives drawn
from the text. The TEACH Lesson Plans are based on
the chapter-by-chapter organization of The Human
Body in Health and Illness and can be modified or com-
bined to meet your curriculum’s scheduling and teach-
ing needs.
TEACH has been completely updated and revised
for this edition. The TEACH Lesson Plans help instruc-
tors prepare for class and make full use of the rich
array of ancillaries and resources that come with the
textbook. The content covered in each textbook chapter
is divided across one or more lesson plans, each
designed to occupy 50 minutes of class time. Lesson
plans are organized into easily understandable sec-
tions that are each tied to the chapter learning
objectives:
• Instructor Preparation This section provides a
checklist of all the things you need to do to prepare
for class, including a list of all the items you need
to bring to class to perform any activity or demon-
stration included in the lesson plan, and all perti-
nent key terms covered in that lesson.
• Student Preparation Textbook readings, study
guide exercises, online activities, and other applicable
viii To the Instructor
homework assignments for each lesson are pro-
vided here along with an overall estimated comple-
tion time.
• The 50-Minute Lesson Plan A lecture outline that
reflects the chapter lecture slides that come as part
of TEACH is included, as well as classroom activi-
ties and online activities, one or more critical think-
ing questions, and time estimates for the classroom
lecture and activities.
• Assessment Plan To ensure that your students
have mastered all the objectives, the new TEACH
includes a separate Assessment Plan section. An
easy-to-use table maps each assessment tool to the
lesson plans and chapter objectives so you can see
all your assessment options—by chapter, by lesson,
and by objective—and choose accordingly.
To the Student
This book will take you on an amazing journey through
the human body. You will learn many body parts, and
more importantly, how they work in an integrated
manner to keep you going. You will use this informa-
tion in your clinical practice when patients become
ill with disorders of those structures. The following
special features were created to help make learning
enjoyable and fun.
TEXTBOOK FEATURES
KEY TERMS
Key terms are listed at the beginning of each chapter
along with a page reference. Each is (1) presented in
the text in blue print, (2) accompanied by a pronuncia-
tion guide, (3) thoroughly explained within the chapter,
and (4) defined in the glossary.
OBJECTIVES
Numbered objectives identify the goals for each
chapter.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Original illustrations and full-color cartoons help you
make sense of anatomy and physiology using humor,
clarity, and insight.
DO YOU KNOW…
Most of these boxed vignettes refer to clinical situa-
tions; others relate to interesting and amusing histori-
cal events related to anatomy and physiology.
RAMP IT UP!
These features challenge you with more advanced
anatomy and physiology topics.
RE-THINK
Questions included cover key information found in
the chapter and help reinforce important concepts.
AS YOU AGE
These boxed features contain numbered lists describ-
ing how human anatomy and physiology is affected
by the aging process.
SUM IT UP!
These features appear regularly throughout the chap-
ters and help the student synthesize key concepts.
MEDICAL TERMINOLGY AND
DISORDERS TABLES
These tables describe medical terms and specific dis-
orders related to individual body systems, with a focus
on developing a strong working vocabulary, which is
necessary for a career in the health professions.
END-OF-CHAPTER FEATURES
Summary Outline
A detailed outline at the end of each chapter summa-
rizes key concepts and serves as an excellent review of
the chapter content. Use it as a study tool to review
your reading and prepare for exams.
Review Your Knowledge
The matching and multiple-choice questions in this
section cover the major points of the chapter and allow
you to test your comprehension.
Go Figure
This review section asks you to reflect on the figures
in the chapter and reinforces the importance of the
concepts presented.
ANSWERS TO REVIEW YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND
GO FIGURE QUESTIONS
The Appendix contains answers to all Review Your
Knowledge and Go Figure questions found in the
textbook.
GLOSSARY
The glossary includes a pronunciation guide and a
brief definition of all key terms and many other words
in the text.
STUDY GUIDE
Enhance your learning of the textbook content with the
accompanying Study Guide for The Human Body in
Health and Illness. The Study Guide has something to
offer students at all levels of learning, from labeling
and coloring exercises to multiple-choice practice tests
and case studies.
ix
Contents

1 Introduction to the Human Body, 1 Inside the Cell, 31

On the Cell Membrane, 35
Anatomy and Physiology: What They Are, 1 Movement across the Cell Membrane, 36
What’s It Mean?, 1 Passive Transport Mechanisms, 36
Why Do I Need to Know This?, 1 Active Transport Mechanisms, 40
The Body’s Levels of Organization, 2 Cell Division, 41
Major Organ Systems, 2 Cell Cycle, 42
Homeostasis: Staying the Same, 6 Cell Differentiation, 43
Anatomical Terms: Talking About the Body, 6 Stem Cells, 43
Anatomical Position, 6 Order, Disorder, and Death, 44
Relative Positions, 6
Planes of the Body, 7
Regional Terms, 8 4 Cell Metabolism, 48
Cavities of the Body, 9 Metabolism, 48
Dorsal Cavity, 9 Carbohydrates, 48
Ventral Cavity, 10 Monosaccharides, 48
Disaccharides, 49
2 Basic Chemistry, 15 Polysaccharides, 49
Uses of Glucose, 50
Matter, Elements, and Atoms, 15 The Breakdown of Glucose, 50
Matter, 15 The Making of Glucose, 51
Elements, 15 Lipids (Fats), 52
Atoms, 16 Uses of Lipids, 54
Chemical Bonds, 18 Metabolism of Lipids, 54
Ionic Bonds, 18 Proteins, 54
Covalent Bonds, 18 Amino Acids, 54
Hydrogen Bonds, 18 Uses of Proteins, 55
Ions, 20 Protein Synthesis and DNA, 56
Cations, Anions, and Electrolytes, 20 DNA Structure, 57
Ion Formation, 20 Steps in Protein Synthesis, 59
Ionization, 20
Molecules and Compounds, 20
Molecules, 20
5 Microbiology Basics, 64
Compounds, 21 What Is Disease?, 64
Some Important Compounds and Molecules, 21 Types of Pathogens, 64
Chemical Reactions, 22 Microorganisms (Microbes), 65
Acids and Bases, 22 Other (Multicellular) Disease-Causing
Acids, 23 Organisms, 67
Bases, 23 Laboratory Identification of Pathogens, 68
Neutralization of Acids and Bases, 23 The Spread of Infection, 69
Measurement: The pH Scale, 23 Portals of Entry and Exit, 69
Energy, 24 Five Germ-Laden Stories, 70
Forms of Energy, 24 Dr. Semmelweis Screams, “Wash Those Mitts!”, 70
Conversion of Energy, 25 Flora and Her Vaginal Itch, 71
Energy Transfer: The Role of Adenosine Rick, Nick, and the Sick Tick, 71
Triphosphate, 25 Why Typhoid Mary Needed to Lose Her
Mixtures, Solutions, Suspensions, and Gallbladder, 72
Precipitates, 25 A Pox News Alert!, 72

3 Cells, 30 6 Tissues and Membranes, 77

Typical Cell, 30 Epithelial Tissue, 77
Cell Membrane, 30 Where Is It Found?, 77
x

What Does It Do?, 77
What Is It Like?, 77
Classification, 78
Connective Tissue, 81
Where Is It Found?, 81
What Does It Look Like?, 81
Types of Connective Tissue, 82
Nervous Tissue, 85
Neurons, 85
Muscle Tissue, 85
Skeletal Muscle, 86
Smooth Muscle, 86
Cardiac Muscle, 86
Tissue Repair, 86
Membranes, 88
Classification of Membranes, 88
7 Integumentary System and Body
Temperature, 93
Functions of the Integumentary System, 93
Structure of the Skin, 94
Layers of the Skin, 94
Skin Color, 96
Accessory Structures of the Skin, 97
Hair, 97
Nails, 98
Glands, 99
Body Temperature, 101
Heat Production, 101
Heat Loss, 101
Regulation, 101
When Skin Is Burned, 103
A Note About Skin Care, 105
8 Skeletal System, 111
Arrangement and Functions of Bones, 111
The Skeletal System: What It Does, 111
Many Sizes and Shapes of Bones, 113
Bone Tissue and Bone Formation, 113
Compact and Spongy Bone, 114
Long Bones, 115
Ossification, 115
Growing Bones, 115
Divisions of the Skeletal System, 117
Axial Skeleton, 117
Appendicular Skeleton, 126
Joints (Articulations), 132
Joint Classification, 133
Naming Joints, 134
Moving Synovial Joints, 134
Clinically “Big” Synovial Joints, 135
9 Muscular System, 142
Types and Functions of Muscles, 142
Skeletal Muscle, 142
Smooth Muscle, 142
Cardiac Muscle, 143
Structure of the Whole Muscle, 143
Muscle, 143
Layers of Connective Tissue, 144
Contents xi
Muscle Attachments, 145
Structure and Function of a Single Muscle Fiber, 145
How Muscles Contract, 145
Sliding Filament Mechanism, 145
The Role of Calcium and Adenosine
Triphoshate, 145
Skeletal Muscles and Nerves, 147
Somatic Motor Neuron, 147
The Motor Unit, 147
The Neuromuscular Junction, 147
Force of Muscle Contraction, 150
Contractile Force of a Single Muscle Fiber, 150
Contractile Force of a Whole Muscle, 151
Muscle Tone, 151
Energy Source for Muscle Contraction, 151
Muscle Fatigue, 152
Muscle Terms, 152
Origin and Insertion, 152
Prime Mover, Synergist, and Antagonist, 152
Muscle Overuse and Underuse Terms, 153
How Skeletal Muscles Are Named, 153
Muscles from Head to Toe, 154
Muscles of the Head, 154
Muscles of the Neck, 160
Muscles of the Trunk, 160
Muscles of the Shoulder (Pectoral) Girdle and
Arm, 162
Muscles That Move the Forearm, 163
Muscles That Move the Wrist, Hand, and
Fingers, 163
Muscles That Move the Thigh, Leg, and Foot, 164
10 Nervous System: Nervous Tissue and
Brain, 172
The Nervous System: Structure and Function, 172
Divisions of the Nervous System, 172
Functions of the Nervous System, 172
Cells That Make Up the Nervous System, 173
Neuroglia, 173
Neuron, 173
White Matter Versus Gray Matter, 175
The Neuron Carrying Information, 175
The Nerve Impulse: What It Is, 175
The Nerve Impulse: What Causes It, 176
The Nerve Impulse: What Causes It to Move, 177
The Nerve Impulse: What Causes It to Move
Quickly, 178
Synapse across Neurons, 179
Parts of a Synapse, 179
Events at the Synapse, 180
Brain: Structure and Function, 182
Cerebrum, 182
Diencephalon, 186
Brain Stem, 187
Cerebellum, 188
Structures across Divisions of the Brain, 188
Protecting the Central Nervous System, 190
Bone: First Layer of Protection, 190
Meninges: Second Layer of Protection, 190
Cerebrospinal Fluid: Third Layer of Protection, 191
Blood–Brain Barrier: Fourth Layer of Protection, 193
xii Contents

11 Nervous System: Spinal Cord and Peripheral Hormone Receptors, 261

Nerves, 200 Control of Hormone Secretion, 262
Pituitary Gland, 263
What the Spinal Cord Is, 200 Pituitary Gland and Hypothalamus, 263
Location and Size, 200 Anterior Pituitary Gland, 263
Gray on the Inside, White on the Outside, 201 Posterior Pituitary Gland, 266
Spinal Nerves Attached to the Spinal Cord, 203 A Tiny Third Lobe … A Fetal Structure, 267
What the Spinal Cord Does, 203 Thyroid Gland, 267
Reflexes, 204 Thyroid Follicle, 268
What Reflexes Are, 204 What Thyroid Hormones (T3 and T4) Do, 268
The Reflex Arc, 205 Regulation of Secretion, 268
Many, Many Reflexes, 205 The Need for Iodine, 268
Peripheral Nervous System, 206 Calcitonin, 269
Nerves, 206 Parathyroid Glands, 269
Classifying the Peripheral Nervous System, 206 Blood Calcium Regulation: Imbalances, 269
Adrenal Glands, 271
12 Autonomic Nervous System, 218 Adrenal Medulla, 271
Adrenal Cortex, 271
Autonomic (Visceral) Reflexes, 218 Pancreas, 274
What They Do, 218 Insulin, 275
Pathway, 218 Glucagon, 276
Organization and Function of the Autonomic Gonads, 277
Nervous System, 219 Thymus Gland, 277
Division of the Autonomic Nervous System, 219 Pineal Gland, 277
Autonomic Tone and Vasomotor Tone, 221 Other Hormones, 277
Autonomic Nervous System Neurons, 221 Organ-Specific Hormones, 277
Numbers and Ganglia, 221 Prostaglandins, 277
Neurons of the Sympathetic Nervous System, 221 Adipose Tissue Hormones, 278
Neurons of the Parasympathetic Nervous
System, 222
Naming Fibers and Neurotransmitters, 223 15 Blood, 284
Neurotransmitters: Termination of Activity, 223 What Blood Does, 284
Receptors of the Autonomic Nervous Composition of Blood, 284
System, 224 Characteristics, 284
Cholinergic Receptors, 224 Blood Has Two Parts, 285
Adrenergic Receptors, 225 Origin of Blood Cells, 286
Autonomic Terminology: “Doing” Autonomic Bone Marrow Misery, 286
Pharmacology, 226 Blood Cells, 287
Red Blood Cells, 287
White Blood Cells, 291
13 Sensory System, 231 Platelets, 294
Receptors and Sensation, 231 Blood Counts, 295
Cells That Detect Stimuli, 231 Hemostasis: Prevention of Blood Loss, 295
What Sensation Is, 231 Blood Vessel Spasm, 295
Experiencing a Sensation, 231 Formation of a Platelet Plug, 295
The General Senses, 233 Blood Clotting, 296
Pain, 233 Blood Types, 299
Touch and Pressure, 235 Antigens and Blood Types, 299
Temperature, 235 Antibodies and Blood Type, 300
Proprioception, 236 Antigen–Antibody Interaction, 300
The Special Senses, 236 Compatibility and Incompatibility of Blood
Sense of Smell: The Nose, 236 Types, 300
Sense of Taste: The Tongue, 237 Rh Classification System, 301
Sense of Sight: The Eye, 238
Sense of Hearing: The Ear, 248
Sense of Balance: The Ear, 251
16 Anatomy of the Heart, 308
Function, Location, and Size of the Heart, 308
Layers and Covering of the Heart, 308
14 Endocrine System, 259 Endocardium, 308
Endocrine Glands, 259 Myocardium, 309
Hormones, 259 Epicardium, 309
Classification of Hormones, 261 Pericardium, 310
Targets, 261 A Double Pump and Two Circulations, 310
 Contents xiii

The Heart’s Chambers and Great Vessels, 311 Blood Vessels Act as Exchange Vessels, 364
Right Atrium, 311 What Is an Exchange Vessel?, 364
Right Ventricle, 312 Why Capillaries Are Good Exchange Vessels, 365
Left Atrium, 312 Capillary Forces: Exchange, 365
Left Ventricle, 312 Blood Vessels Distribute Blood, 367
Great Vessels of the Heart, 313 Blood Vessels Regulate Body Temperature, 367
Heart Valves, 313
Atrioventricular Valves, 313 20 Lymphatic System, 373
Semilunar Valves, 314
Heart Sounds, 315 The Lymphatic System, 373
Pathway of Blood Flow through the Heart, 315 Lymph: What It Is, Where It Comes From, 373
Blood Flow and Shunts, 315 Lymphatic Vessels, 373
Blood Supply to the Myocardium, 316 Movement through the Lymphatic Vessels, 374
Ischemia and Infarction, 317 Lymphoid Organs, 374
Cardiac Enzymes and Leaky Cells, 318 Lymph Nodes, 375
Cardiac Conduction System, 318 Tonsils, 376
Parts of the Cardiac Conduction System, 318 Thymus Gland, 376
Automaticity and Rhythmicity, 320 Spleen, 378
Electrocardiogram, 320
21 Immune System, 382
17 Function of the Heart, 325 Classification of the Immune System, 382
The Coordinated and Adaptable Pump, 325 Nonspecific Immunity, 382
Cardiac Cycle, 325 Specific Immunity: Third Line of Defense, 386
Autonomic Control of the Heart, 326 Types of Immunity, 390
Heart Talk, 330 Genetic Immunity, 391
Heart Talk: Clinical Terms, 330 Acquired Immunity, 391
Heart Talk: Receptor Language, 331 Other Immune Responses, 392
The Failing Heart: When the Heart Can’t Allergic Reactions, 392
Pump, 332 Autoimmune Disease, 393
Left Heart Failure, 332 Organ Rejection, 393
Right Heart Failure, 333
22 Respiratory System, 399
18 Anatomy of the Blood Vessels, 340 Structure: Organs of the Respiratory System, 399
Circles, Circuits, and Circulations, 340 Upper and Lower Respiratory Tracts, 399
Blood Vessels, 341 Nose and Nasal Cavities, 399
Naming the Blood Vessels, 341 Pharynx, 401
Blood Vessel Walls: The Layered Look, 341 Larynx, 401
Blood Vessels: What They Do, 342 Trachea, 404
Major Arteries of the Systemic Circulation, 343 Bronchial Tree: Bronchi, Bronchioles, and
Aorta, 343 Alveoli, 404
Branches of the Aorta, 344 Lungs, 406
Major Veins of the Systemic Circulation, 346 Pleural Membranes, 407
Venae Cavae, 346 Collapsed and Expanded Lungs, 407
Special Circulations, 348 Why Lungs Collapse, 408
Blood Supply to the Head and Brain, 348 Why Lungs Expand, 409
Blood Supply to the Liver and the Hepatic Portal Saying It Another Way: Compliance, 410
Circulation, 350 Respiratory Function, 411
Fetal Circulation, 351 Three Steps in Respiration, 411
Pulse, 353 Amounts of Air, 416
What Is a Pulse?, 353 Control of Breathing, 418
What Can You Learn About a Patient by Feeling the
Pulse?, 353
23 Digestive System, 428
19 Functions of the Blood Vessels, 357 Overview of the Digestive System, 428
Digestion and Absorption, 429
Blood Vessels Deliver, 357 Layers, Nerves, and Membranes, 429
Blood Vessels Regulate Blood Pressure, 357 Structures and Organs, 431
Measurement of Blood Pressure, 357 Mouth, 431
Blood Pressure in Different Blood Vessels, 359 Pharynx, 433
What Determines Blood Pressure?, 360 Esophagus, 434
How Blood Pressure Stays within Normal Limits, 362 Stomach, 434
xiv Contents

Small Intestine, 437 Electrolyte Balance, 481

Large Intestine, 438 Quick Reference: Electrolytes, 481
Accessory Digestive Organs, 443 Most Important Ions, 481
Liver, 443 Acid–Base Balance, 483
Gallbladder, 445 Quick Reference: Acids and Bases, 483
Pancreas, 445 Where the Acid (H+) Comes From, 483
When Accessory Digestive Organs Are Not How the Body Regulates pH, 483
Working Right, 446 Acid–Base Imbalances, 484
Digestion and Absorption, 448 Acidosis, 485
Carbohydrates and Carbohydrate-Splitting Alkalosis, 485
Enzymes, 448
Proteins and Protein-Splitting Enzymes, 449 26 Reproductive Systems, 490
Fats, Bile, and Fat-Splitting Enzymes, 449
Nutrition: Concepts to Know, 449 Male Reproductive System, 490
Carbohydrates, 450 Testes, 490
Proteins, 450 Genital Ducts, 491
Fats (Lipids), 451 Accessory Glands, 494
Vitamins, 451 Semen, 494
Minerals, 452 External Genitals, 494
Health and a Balanced Diet, 452 Male Sexual Response: Erection, Emission,
Body Energy, 453 Ejaculation, and Orgasm, 494
Male Sex Hormones, 495
Female Reproductive System, 496
24 Urinary System, 460 Ovaries, 496
Excretion, 460 Genital Tract, 498
Organs of Excretion, 460 External Genitals, 500
Urinary System Organs, 460 Female Sexual Response, 500
Urinary System Terms, 461 Hormonal Control of the Reproductive Cycles, 501
Kidneys, 461 Two Reproductive Cycles, 501
Location, 461 Methods of Birth Control, 504
Structure, 461
Blood Supply, 461 27 Human Development and Heredity, 511
Nerve Supply, 461 Fertilization, 511
Functions of the Kidneys, 461 When Fertilization Occurs, 511
Urine Making: The Nephron Unit, 462 Where Fertilization Occurs, 512
Structures, 462 How Fertilization Occurs, 512
Urine Formation, 463 Human Development, 512
Hormones That Work on the Kidneys, 465 Prenatal Development, 512
Aldosterone, 465 Early Embryonic Period, 512
Antidiuretic Hormone, 466 Embryonic Period, 514
Natriuretic Peptides, 467 Fetal Period, 518
Parathyroid Hormone, 467 Changes in the Mother’s Body during Pregnancy, 519
Composition of Urine, 467 Birth of Baby, 520
Uremia and Dialysis, 468 Labor, 520
Your Plumbing, 469 Female Breast and Lactation, 522
Ureters, 470 Structure of a Breast: The Mammary Glands, 522
Urinary Bladder, 470 Got Milk?, 522
Urination, 472 Postnatal Changes and Developmental Stages, 522
Urethra, 472 Immediate Adjustments, 522
An Autonomic Moment, 473 Development as a Lifelong Process, 524
Heredity, 524
25 Water, Electrolyte, and Acid–Base DNA, Genes, and Chromosomes, 524
Balance, 478 It’s a Boy, It’s a Girl: How the Sex of the Child Is
Determined, 527
Body Fluids: Distribution and Composition, 478 Congenital and Hereditary Disease, 527
Fluid Compartments, 478
Composition of Body Fluids, 478 Answers to Review Your Knowledge and Go
Water Balance, 479
Water Intake, 479
Figure Questions, 531
Water Output, 479
Water Imbalances, 479 Glossary, 535
Why Does Fluid Shift?, 480
Fluid Spacing—In Other Words, 481 Index, 545
 chapter

Introduction to the Human Body 1

http://evolve.elsevier.com/Herlihy

Key Terms
abdominopelvic cavity (p. 10) homeostasis (p. 6) sagittal plane (p. 7)
anatomical position (p. 6) mediastinum (p. 10) spinal (vertebral) cavity (p. 9)
anatomy (p. 1) organs (p. 2) thoracic cavity (p. 10)
cranial cavity (p. 9) pericardial cavity (p. 10) transverse plane (p. 7)
dorsal cavity (p. 9) physiology (p. 1) ventral cavity (p. 9)
frontal plane (p. 7) pleural cavities (p. 10) viscera (p. 9)

Objectives
1. Define the terms anatomy and physiology. 6. List common terms used for relative positions of the body.
2. List the levels of organization of the human body. 7. Describe the three major planes of the body.
3. Describe the 12 major organ systems. 8. List anatomical terms for quadrants and regions of the
4. Define homeostasis. body.
5. Describe the anatomical position. 9. Describe the major cavities of the body.

The human body is a wonderful creation. Millions of
microscopic parts work together in a coordinated
fashion to keep you going for about 75 years. Most of
us are curious about our bodies—how they work, why
they do not work, what makes us tick, and what makes
us sick. As you learn more about the body, you will
sometimes feel like this cartoon character: “What is
this? Why do I need it? How does it work? Why don’t
I have one?” As you study anatomy and physiology,
you will learn the answers to these questions.
describes what the heart looks like, how big it is, what
it is made of, how it is organized, and where it is
located. The word anatomy comes from the Greek word
meaning to dissect. The science of anatomy arose from
observations made by scientists centuries ago as they
dissected bodies that were usually stolen from the
local graveyard.
Physiology (fiz-ee-OL-o-jee) is the branch of science
that describes how the body functions. For example,
physiology describes how the heart pumps blood and
why the pumping of blood is essential for life. Patho-
physiology (path-o-fiz-ee-OL-o-jee) is the branch of
science that describes the consequences of the improper
functioning of the body—that is, how a body part
functions when a person has a disease. Pathophysiol-
ogy describes what happens during a heart attack,
when the heart functions poorly, or not at all.

WHY DO I NEED TO KNOW THIS?

Why study anatomy and physiology as part of your
professional curriculum? Unless you gain a good
understanding of normal anatomy and physiology,
you cannot understand the diseases and disorders
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY: experienced by your patients, nor can you understand
WHAT THEY ARE the basis for the various forms of treatment such as
drug therapy and surgical procedures. You want to
WHAT’S IT MEAN? give your patients the best possible care, so you must
have a sound understanding of the human body.
Anatomy (ah-NAT-o-mee) is the branch of science that Anatomy and physiology are closely related. Struc-
studies the structure of the body. For example, anatomy ture and function go together. When you examine the
1
2 CHAPTER 1 Introduction to the Human Body

anatomy of a body part, ask yourself how its structure

relates to its function. For example, the structure of the
hand is related to its function: its ability to grasp an
object (Figure 1-1). The heart pumps blood, and the
long, strong, flexible tail of the monkey allows it to
hang from the tree. Structure and function go together.

Re-Think
Using any household item, explain what is meant by “structure
and function are related.”

Do You Know…
Why This Grave Is Being Robbed, and Why the Grave Robber
Is in Big, Big Trouble?
Dissection of the human body during medieval times was not
allowed. Thus, the only way that the early anatomists had for
obtaining human bodies for dissection was to rob graves.
Medieval scientists hired people to rob graves. Punishment for
robbing graves was swift and severe. This lad will be in big,
big trouble if he is caught, and it looks as if he will be. Surpris-
ingly, grave robbing was common early in this century and in
this country. Many a medical student who enrolled in the most
prestigious medical schools had to “get” his own cadaver.

FIGURE 1-1 Structure and function are closely related.

MAJOR ORGAN SYSTEMS

THE BODY’S LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION
The body is organized from the very simple to the
complex, from the microscopic atom to the complex
human organism. Note the progression from simple to
complex in Figure 1-2. Tiny atoms form molecules.
These in turn form larger molecules. The larger mol-
ecules are eventually organized into cells, the basic unit
of life. Specialized groups of cells form tissues. Tissues
are then arranged into organs such as the heart,
stomach, and kidney. Groups of organs, in turn, create
organ systems. Each organ system has a function, such
as digestion, excretion, or reproduction. All the organ
systems together form the human organism. From
simple to complex, the body is built from the tiny atom
to the human being.
Twelve major organ systems make up the human body.
Each performs specific functions that enable the human
body to operate as a coordinated whole. Refer to Figure
1-3 and identify the location and distribution of the
organs of each system.
• The integumentary (in-teg-yoo-MEN-tar-ee) system
consists of the skin and related structures such as
hair and nails. The integumentary system forms a
covering for the body, helps regulate body tempera-
ture, and contains some of the structures necessary
for sensation.
• The skeletal system forms the basic framework of
the body. It consists primarily of bones, joints, and
cartilage. The skeleton protects and supports body
organs and enables us to move around.
• The muscular system has three types of muscles.
Skeletal muscles attach to the bones and are respon-
sible for movement of the skeleton and the mainte-
nance of body posture. Smooth and cardiac muscles
are found in various organs and tubes; contraction

Atoms
Molecules
Cells
Tissue
Organ
FIGURE 1-2 Levels of organization, from atoms to human organism.
and relaxation of these muscles help the organ
systems carry out their functions.
• The nervous system is made up of the brain, spinal
cord, nerves, and sense organs. Sensory nerves
receive information from the environment and
bring it to the spinal cord and brain, where it is
interpreted. Decisions made by the brain and spinal
cord are transmitted along motor nerves to various
body structures.
• The endocrine (EN-doh-krin) system contains
numerous glands that secrete hormones and chemi-
cal substances that regulate body activities such as
growth, reproduction, metabolism, and water
balance.
• The circulatory (SER-kyoo-lah-tor-ee) system con-
sists of the blood, heart, and blood vessels. This
system pumps (heart) and transports (blood vessels)
blood throughout the body. Blood carries nutrients
and oxygen to all the body’s cells and also carries
the waste away from the cells to the organs of
excretion.
• The lymphatic (lim-FAT-ik) system is made up of
the lymph nodes, lymphatic vessels, lymph, and
other lymphoid organs. Lymph and lymphoid
structures play an important role in fluid balance
Introduction to the Human Body CHAPTER 1 3
Organ
Organism
system
and in the defense of the body against pathogens
and other foreign material.
• The immune system is an elaborate defense system
that protects the body not only from pathogens, but
also from allergens, such as pollens, bee venom, and
some of our own cells that have gone awry (cancer
cells). The immune system is widely distributed
throughout the body (it is not shown in Figure 1-3).
• The respiratory system contains the lungs and other
structures that conduct air to and from the lungs.
Oxygen-rich air moves into the lungs; the oxygen is
picked up by the blood and distributed throughout
the body. Carbon dioxide–rich air moves out of the
lungs, thereby ridding the body of waste.
• The digestive system is comprised of organs
designed to ingest food and break it down into sub-
stances that can be absorbed by the body. Food that
is not absorbed is eliminated as waste.
• The urinary system contains the kidneys and other
structures that help excrete waste products from the
body through the urine. More importantly, the
urinary system helps control water, electrolyte, and
acid–base balance in the body.
• The reproductive system is made up of organs and
structures that enable humans to reproduce.
4 CHAPTER 1 Introduction to the Human Body

Integumentary system Skeletal system Muscular system

Nervous system Circulatory system Endocrine system

FIGURE 1-3 Major organ systems of the body.
 Introduction to the Human Body CHAPTER 1 5

Lymphatic system Digestive system Respiratory system

Urinary system Reproductive system

FIGURE 1-3, cont’d
6 CHAPTER 1 Introduction to the Human Body

HOMEOSTASIS: STAYING THE SAME

Homeostasis (ho-me-o-STAY-sis) literally means
staying (stasis) the same (homeo). The term refers to the
body’s ability to maintain a stable internal environ-
ment in response to a changing environment. For
example, in a healthy person, body temperature stays
around 98.6° F (37° C), even when room temperature
increases to 100° F or decreases to 60° F. The amount of
water in your cells stays the same whether you drink
2, 3, or 4 liters (L) of water per day. Your blood sugar
remains within normal limits whether you have just
eaten a turkey dinner or have fasted for 6 hours.
Mechanisms that help maintain homeostasis are
called homeostatic mechanisms. The body has hundreds
of homeostatic mechanisms, including those for tem-
perature control, blood sugar control, water balance,
blood pressure regulation, and regulation of plasma
sodium levels. Homeostatic imbalance results in
disease or dysfunction.

Sum It Up!
Anatomy and physiology describes the structure and function
of the body. The body is constructed from simple to complex
(atoms to molecules to cells to tissues to organs to organ
systems to the human organism). The 12 major organ systems
are shown in Figure 1-3. Homeostatic mechanisms enable the
body to “stay the same” despite changing internal and external FIGURE 1-4 Anatomical position.
environments.

ANATOMICAL TERMS: TALKING ABOUT
THE BODY
Special terms describe the location, position, and
regions of body parts. Because these terms are used
frequently, you should become familiar with them
now. People in the medical field are often accused of
speaking their own language. Indeed, we do! We
always use these terms as if the body were standing in
its anatomical position.
ANATOMICAL POSITION
In its anatomical position, the body is standing erect,
with the face forward, the arms at the sides, and
the toes and palms of the hands directed forward
(Figure 1-4).
RELATIVE POSITIONS
Specific terms describe the position of one body part
in relation to another body part. These are directional
terms. They are like the more familiar directions of
north, south, east, and west; however, whereas describ-
ing Canada as being located north of the United States
would be correct, describing the head as “north of the
chest” would sound strange. Therefore, in locating
body parts, we use other terminology. The terms come
in pairs. Note that the two terms in each pair are gener-
ally opposites. Remember, the references are valid only
for the body in its anatomical position.
• Superior and inferior. Superior means that a part is
above another part or is closer to the head. For
example, the head is superior to the chest. Inferior
means that a part is located below another part or
is closer to the feet. The chest, for example, is infe-
rior to the head.
• Anterior and posterior. Anterior means toward the
front surface (the belly surface). Posterior means
toward the back surface. For example, the heart is
anterior to the spinal cord, but the heart is posterior
to the breastbone. Another word for anterior is
ventral, and another word for posterior is dorsal.
Consider the dorsal fin of a fish. It is the dorsal part
of the shark that can be seen moving effortlessly and
very quickly toward your surfboard!
• Medial and lateral. Imagine a line drawn through the
middle of your body, dividing it into right and left
halves. This is the midline. Medial means toward the
midline of the body. The nose, for example is medial
to the ears. Lateral means away from the midline of
the body. For example, the ears are lateral to the
nose. In the anatomical position, the hand is closer
to the lateral thigh than to the medial thigh.
• Proximal and distal. Proximal means that the struc-
ture is nearer the point of attachment, often the

A B
FIGURE 1-5 Planes of the body. A, Sagittal. B, Frontal (coronal). C, Transverse.
trunk of the body. Because the elbow is closer to the
point of attachment than is the wrist, the elbow is
described as proximal to the wrist. The wrist is
proximal to the fingers, meaning that the wrist
is closer to the trunk than are the fingers. Distal
means that a part is farther away from the point of
attachment than another part. For example, the
wrist is distal to the elbow and the fingers are distal
to the wrist.
• Superficial and deep. Superficial means that a part is
located on or near the surface of the body. The skin
is superficial to the muscles. Deep means that the
body part is away from the surface of the body. The
bones, for example, are deep to the skin.
• Central and peripheral. Central means that the part is
located in the center. Peripheral means away from
the center. The heart, for example, is located cen-
trally, whereas the blood vessels are located periph-
erally (away from the center and extending toward
the limbs). The brain and spinal cord are called the
central nervous system and the nerves are called the
peripheral nervous system.
Re-Think
Use the terms medial and lateral in describing the parts of the
thigh. Do the same with the eye.
Introduction to the Human Body CHAPTER 1 7
C
PLANES OF THE BODY
When we refer to the left side of the body, the top
half of the body, or the front of the body, we are
referring to the planes of the body. Each plane divides
the body with an imaginary line in one direction.
Figure 1-5 shows the following three important
planes:
1. Sagittal plane (see Figure 1-5, A). The sagittal plane
divides the body lengthwise into right and left por-
tions. If the cut is made exactly down the midline
of the body, the right and left halves of the body are
equal. This division is a midsagittal section.
2. Frontal plane (see Figure 1-5, B). The frontal plane
divides the body into anterior (ventral) and poste-
rior (dorsal) portions. This plane creates the front
part of the body and the back part of the body. The
frontal plane is also called the coronal plane. Coronal
means “crown,” so the imaginary line for the coronal
plane is made across the part of the head where
a crown would sit and then downward through
the body.
3. Transverse plane (see Figure 1-5, C). The transverse
plane divides the body horizontally, creating an
upper (superior) and a lower (inferior) body. When
the body or an organ is cut horizontally or trans-
versely, it is called a cross section.
8 CHAPTER 1 Introduction to the Human Body

Cranial

Cephalic
Orbital
Occipital
Buccal Oral
Cervical

Deltoid
Sternal Scapular

Abdominal
Axillary
Brachial Lumbar

Antecubital
Flank

Caudal
Inguinal
Umbilical
Digital
Gluteal
Pubic
Femoral
Patellar
Popliteal

Pedal
Plantar
A B
FIGURE 1-6 Regional terms. A, Anterior view. B, Posterior view.

Flank: fleshy area along each side between the lower

REGIONAL TERMS
ribs and the top of the hip bones
Specific terms describe the different regions or areas of Inguinal: area where the thigh meets the trunk of the
the body. Figure 1-6 illustrates the terms used to iden- body; often called the groin
tify the regions on the anterior and posterior surfaces Oral: mouth
of the body. Orbital: area around the eye
On the anterior surface, identify the following Patellar: front of the knee over the kneecap
regions: Pedal: foot
Abdominal: anterior trunk just below the ribs Plantar: sole of the foot
Antecubital: area in front of the elbow Pubic: genital area
Axillary: armpit Sternal: middle of the chest (over the breastbone area)
Brachial: arm Umbilical: navel
Buccal: cheek area; cavity between the gum and cheek On the posterior surface, identify the following
Cephalic: head regions:
Cervical: neck region Caudal: near to the lower region of the spinal column
Cranial: nearer to the head (near the tailbone)
Digital: fingers, toes Deltoid: rounded area of the shoulder closest to the
Femoral: thigh area upper arm
 Introduction to the Human Body CHAPTER 1 9

Mediastinum

Pleural cavities

Cranial cavity

Spinal cavity
Dorsal
Thoracic cavity cavity
Diaphragm

Ventral
cavity
Abdominal
cavity
Abdomino–
pelvic cavity

Pelvic cavity

FIGURE 1-7 Major body cavities.

Gluteal: buttocks
Lumbar: area of the back between the ribs and the hips
Re-Think
Occipital: back of the head Of the following terms, which can be seen only on the posterior
Popliteal: behind, or back of, the knee area view of the body: umbilical, antecubital, gluteal, lumbar, sternal,
Scapular: shoulder blade area patellar, and popliteal?

CAVITIES OF THE BODY

Sum It Up!
Specific terms describe the relative positions of one body part
to the other. The terms are paired as opposites and include
superior and inferior, anterior (ventral) and posterior (dorsal),
medial and lateral, proximal and distal, superficial and deep,
and central and peripheral. The body can be cut into three
planes: sagittal (right and left), frontal or coronal (front and
back), and transverse (top and bottom) planes. Common
terms are used to identify specific areas of the anterior and
posterior surface areas.
DORSAL CAVITY
The organs, called viscera (VISS-er-ah), are located
within the cavities of the body. Cavities are large inter-
nal spaces. The body contains two major cavities: the
dorsal cavity and the ventral cavity (Figure 1-7). The
dorsal cavity is located toward the back of the body
and has two divisions, the cranial cavity and the spinal
(vertebral) cavity.
10 CHAPTER 1 Introduction to the Human Body
Do You Know…
What Your Postsurgical Patient Has Done If He Eviscerated?
His internal organs have protruded through his surgical inci-
sion. This word comes from the word viscera (organs). The
organs must be kept moist and sterile until they can be returned
to their home cavity.
The cranial cavity is located within the skull and
contains the brain. The spinal, or vertebral, cavity extends
downward from the cranial cavity and is surrounded by
bony vertebrae; it contains the spinal cord. The cranial
and spinal cavities form one continuous space.
VENTRAL CAVITY
The larger ventral cavity is located toward the front of
the body and has two divisions, the thoracic (thoh-
RASS-ik) cavity and the abdominopelvic (ab-DOM-i-
no-PEL-vik) cavity.
THORACIC CAVITY
The thoracic cavity is located above the diaphragm
and is surrounded by the rib cage. The thoracic cavity
is divided into two compartments by the mediastinum
(MEE-dee-ass-TI-num), a space that contains the heart,
esophagus, trachea, thymus gland, and large blood
vessels attached to the heart. The pericardial (pair-i-
KAR-dee-al) cavity (not shown) is located within the
mediastinum and contains the heart. The right and left
lungs are located on either side of the mediastinum in
the pleural cavities. The lungs occupy most of the space
within the thoracic cavity.
ABDOMINOPELVIC CAVITY
The abdominopelvic cavity is located below the dia-
phragm. The upper portion of this cavity is the abdom-
inal cavity. It contains the stomach, most of the
intestine, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, and
kidneys. The lower portion of the abdominopelvic
cavity is called the pelvic cavity. It extends downward
from the level of the hips and includes the remainder
of the intestines, the rectum, urinary bladder, and
internal parts of the reproductive system.
Because the abdominopelvic cavity is so large, it is
subdivided into smaller areas for study. Quadrants
and regions divide the abdominopelvic cavity. Note
the organs located in each quadrant or region, as
shown in Figure 1-8.
Division into Quadrants
The abdominopelvic cavity can be divided into four
quadrants (see Figure 1-8, A). The quadrants are named
for their positions: right upper quadrant (RUQ), left
upper quadrant (LUQ), right lower quadrant (RLQ),
and left lower quadrant (LLQ).
Quadrant terms are used frequently in the clinical
setting. For example, a patient in the emergency room
who has acute pain in the RLQ may be diagnosed with
appendicitis. Note that the RLQ appears to be on your
left. This is similar to looking in a mirror. Keep this in
mind when you are studying the diagrams in the text.
Here’s an easy way to remember this: Lower your right
arm. It will be lateral to the RUQ and RLQ.
Division into Regions
A second system divides the abdominopelvic cavity
into nine separate regions that resemble the squares for
tic-tac-toe (see Figure 1-8, B). The three central regions
(from top to bottom) include the epigastric, umbilical,
and hypogastric regions. The epigastric region is located
below the breastbone. Epigastric literally means upon
(epi) the stomach (gastric). The umbilical region is the
centermost region and surrounds the umbilicus, or
navel (belly button). The hypogastric region is located
just below the umbilical region. Hypogastric literally
means below (hypo) the stomach (gastric).
Six regions are located on either side of the central
regions. They include the hypochondriac, lumbar, and
iliac regions. The right and left hypochondriac regions
are located on either side of the epigastric region and
overlie the lower ribs. The word hypochondriac literally
means below (hypo) the cartilage (chondro) and refers
to the composition of the ribs (cartilage). The right and
left lumbar regions are located on either side of the
umbilical region and are inferior to the hypochondriac
regions. The right and left iliac regions, also called the
right and left inguinal regions, are located on either
side of the hypogastric region. Knowledge of these
regions helps you understand terms such as epigastric
pain and umbilical hernia. Remember that quadrants
and regions refer only to the abdominopelvic cavity
and not to the thoracic cavity.
Other Cavities
Four smaller cavities are located in the head. They
include the oral cavity, nasal cavities, orbital cavities,
and middle ear cavities. (These cavities are described
in later chapters.)
Re-Think
Of the following terms, determine which pertain to the ventral
cavity: thoracic cavity, brain, vertebral cavity, abdominopelvic
cavity, pleural cavity, dorsal cavity, mediastinum, stomach,
heart, and spinal cord.
Sum It Up!
The organs are located within body cavities. The two major
cavities are the dorsal cavity, located toward the back of the
body, and the larger ventral cavity, located in the front of the
body. The dorsal cavity is subdivided into the cranial cavity and
the spinal cavity. The ventral cavity is divided by the diaphragm
into the thoracic cavity (including the mediastinum, pericardial
cavity, and pleural cavities) and the abdominopelvic cavity. The
abdominopelvic cavity is divided into quadrants and regions.
 Introduction to the Human Body CHAPTER 1 11

Right Left
hypo- Epigastric hypo-
chondriac region chondriac
Right upper Left upper region region
quadrant quadrant
Right Left
Umbilical
lumbar region lumbar
region region
Right lower Left lower
quadrant quadrant Right Hypo- Left
iliac gastric iliac
region region region

A B
FIGURE 1-8 The abdominopelvic cavity. A, Four quadrants. B, Nine regions.

MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY AND DISORDERS Introduction to Medical Terminology

The medical profession has its own language, called medical terminology. In general, there are four main types or kinds
of word parts. By learning these and how they can be put together, you can often “translate” many long and challenging
medical words by breaking them up into their word parts.
A word root is the core of the word and provides the basic meaning or “subject” of the word. The other word parts, such
as suffixes and prefixes, modify the word root so that it takes on a new meaning. For example, in the word hepatitis,
the word root is hepat-, meaning liver.
A suffix is a word part attached to the end of the word root; it modifies the word root. If we add -itis, which is a suffix that
means inflammation, to the word root for liver, hepat-, we get hepatitis, which means inflammation of the liver.
A prefix is a word part attached to the beginning of the word root; it modifies the word root. For example, the word nutrition
refers to a normal and healthy food intake. By adding the prefix mal- (French for bad), as in malnutrition, the word root
has been modified to mean poor or bad nutrition.
Combining vowels are word parts used to ease the pronunciation, as in angioplasty (angi/o/plasty). Angi- means blood vessel,
and -plasty means repair of. The -o- joining the word parts eases the pronunciation; it does not modify the meaning of
the word. When you see angi/o-, you are seeing the word root and its combining vowel.
On the next page you will see many terms with which you are probably familiar, but what you may not be familiar with
is what their individual word parts are and how they are put together to make up many of the words you use every day.
For instance, take -ectomy, which means excision or removal of. Think of all the terms that have -ectomy at the end—such
as lobectomy, vasectomy, hysterectomy, appendectomy, tonsillectomy—and you will see how valuable knowing what this
one word part is.
Continued
12 CHAPTER 1 Introduction to the Human Body

MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY AND DISORDERS Introduction to Medical Terminology—cont’d

Word Part Meaning
Medical Term Word Parts or Derivation Description
anatomy ana- up or apart Anatomy is the branch of science that describes the structure of
-tomy incision; to cut a body, especially as revealed by dissection. For example, the
heart has four chambers.
antecubital ante- before; in front of Antecubital space is the area of the arm anterior to the elbow.
-cubital From the Latin word cubitum, A sample of blood is commonly drawn from a vein in
meaning “elbow” the antecubital space.
biology bio- life Biology is the study of life and living organisms.
-logy study of
diagnosis dia- apart Diagnosis is the process of identifying the nature and cause of
-gnos/o- knowing a disease or injury through an analysis of data such as the
patient’s symptoms and laboratory and x-ray studies.
-osis condition or increase
pathologist path/o- pertaining to disease A pathologist examines tissue for evidence of disease.
-logist one who specializes in
homeostasis home/o- sameness Homeostasis refers to the relative constancy of the internal
-stasis stand still environment of the body despite many challenges to upset the
balance.
transverse trans- across A transverse plane cuts across the body; an upper and
-verse From the Latin word vertere, lower body is created.
meaning “to turn”
midepigastric mid- middle Related to the middle of the epigastric region of the abdomen. A
-epi- above or upon person often complains of midepigastric discomfort.
-gastr/o- stomach
-ic pertaining to
prognosis pro- before Refers to a likely course or outcome of a disease. For example,
-gnos/o- knowing the prognosis of a person who seeks early treatment of a
basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer) is excellent; the
-osis process prognosis of a person with metastatic cancer is less
favorable.
quadrant quadr/i- four The abdominopelvic cavity is divided into four equal areas
-ant performing/promoting called quadrants.

Get Ready for Exams!

C. Homeostasis: the body’s ability to maintain a stable
Summary Outline
internal environment in response to various internal
Anatomy is the study of structure; physiology is the study and external challenges
of function. Structure (anatomy) and function (physiology) II. Anatomical Terms: Talking About the Body
are related. A. Anatomical position: the body standing erect,
I. The Body’s Levels of Organization arms by the side, with palms and toes facing
A. From simple to complex: Atoms to molecules to forward
cells to tissues to organs to organ systems to B. Relative positions: superior-inferior, anterior-
human organism posterior, medial-lateral, proximal-distal, superficial-
B. Major organ systems (12) deep, central-peripheral
1. Integumentary system C. Planes (three): sagittal, frontal (coronal), and
2. Skeletal system transverse planes
3. Muscular system D. Regional terms: listed in Figure 1-6
4. Nervous system E. Cavities of the body
5. Endocrine system 1. Dorsal cavity
6. Heart and circulatory system a. Cranial cavity: contains the brain
7. Lymphatic system b. Spinal (vertebral) cavity: contains the spinal
8. Immune system cord
9. Respiratory system 2. Ventral cavity
10. Digestive system a. Thoracic cavity: superior to the diaphragm;
11. Urinary system contains the pleural cavities (lungs) and
12. Reproductive system mediastinum (pericardial cavity)
 Introduction to the Human Body CHAPTER 1 13

b. Abdominopelvic cavity: located inferior to the 2. Describe the relationship of the mediastinum to the
diaphragm diaphragm.
c. Abdominal cavity: upper part that contains the a. Distal
stomach, most of the intestines, liver, spleen, b. Deep
and kidneys c. Anterior
d. Pelvic cavity: lower part that contains the d. Superior
reproductive organs, urinary bladder, and 3. The umbilical area is located
lower part of the intestines a. inferior to the inguinal region.
e. For reference: the abdominopelvic cavity is b. superior to the RUQ.
divided into four quadrants and nine c. inferior to the diaphragm.
regions d. within the midepigastric region.
4. The sternal area is
Review Your Knowledge a. superior to the diaphragm.
b. referred to as the breastbone area.
Matching: Directions of the Body c. superficial to the mediastinum.
Directions: Match the following words with their descriptions d. All of the above are true.
below. Some words may be used more than once or not 5. Which of the following is not descriptive of the
at all. mediastinum?
a. posterior a. Thoracic cavity
b. distal b. Dorsal cavity
c. medial c. Ventral cavity
d. anterior d. Superior to the diaphragm
e. proximal 6. The frontal plane
f. superior a. splits the body into right- and left-half sections.
g. deep b. is also the coronal plane.
c. splits the body into a top and a bottom section.
1. Toward the midline of the body; opposite of d. creates a transverse cross section.
lateral 7. Which of the following terms best describes when the
2. Structure that is nearer to the trunk than another blood vessels dilate and the person sweats in order to
part; opposite of distal decrease body temperature?
3. Part of the radius (forearm bone) that is closer to a. Pathophysiology
the wrist than to the elbow b. Evisceration
4. ___ The lungs are located above the diaphragm; their c. Homeostasis
position relative to the diaphragm is described as d. Midsagittal
being above. 8. Which of the following is true of these terms: sternal,
5. Toward the front (the belly surface); another word is umbilical, patellar, and antecubital?
ventral a. All are superior to the inguinal area.
b. All lie within the ventral cavity.
c. All can be viewed on the anterior body.
Matching: Regional Terms d. All lie within the dorsal cavity.
Directions: Match the following words with their descriptions
below.
a. inguinal 1. Armpit
b. oral 2. Kneecap area
Go Figure
c. lumbar 3. Breastbone area 1. According to Figure 1-6
d. axillary 4. Front part of the elbow area a. The brachial, lumbar, and antecubital areas can only
e. buccal 5. Fleshy area along the side be identified on the posterior view of the body.
f. patellar between the ribs and hip bone b. The inguinal and flank areas are the same.
g. flank 6. Pertaining to the mouth c. The gluteal, lumbar, and scapular areas are inferior
h. antecubital 7. Lower back area extending to the umbilicus.
i. sternal from the chest to the hips d. The popliteal and patellar areas are located in the
j. scapular 8. Pertains to the space between lower extremities.
the cheek and gum
9. Groin region 2. Refer to Figures 1-5 and 1-6. A midsagittal section
10. Shoulder blade area yields half of a body. Which body regions are
preserved in this half-body section?
Multiple Choice a. The patellar (right and left), flank (right and left), and
1. This part of the humerus (arm bone) is closer to the brachial (right and left) are preserved.
elbow than to the axillary region. b. Neither the right nor left patellar areas and neither
a. Anterior the right nor left antecubital areas are preserved.
b. Superior c. All areas displayed in Figure 1-6, B, are preserved.
c. Distal d. A left or right inguinal, pedal, and axillary area is
d. Proximal preserved.
14 CHAPTER 1 Introduction to the Human Body

3. According to Figure 1-7 5. According to Figure 1-8

a. The thoracic cavity is a ventral cavity that includes a. The left iliac region is located within the LUQ.
the mediastinum and pleural cavities. b. The hypogastric region is located within the RUQ.
b. The diaphragm separates the two pleural cavities. c. The umbilical region surrounds the navel or belly
c. The dorsal cavity includes the pleural cavities and button.
the mediastinum. d. The right lung is located within the RUQ.
d. All of the above are true.
4. According to Figure 1-8
a. The ventral cavity is divided into quadrants.
b. The dorsal cavity is divided into regions.
c. RUQ, LUQ, RLQ, and LLQ describe only the
abdominal cavity.
d. RUQ, LUQ, RLQ, and LLQ are quadrants that define
the abdominopelvic cavity.

Basic Chemistry
Key Terms
acid (p. 23) covalent bond (p. 18)
adenosine triphosphate (ATP) electrolyte (p. 20)
(p. 25) element (p. 15)
atom (p. 16) energy (p. 24)
base (p. 23) enzyme (p. 22)
catalyst (p. 22) hydrogen bond (p. 18)
compound (p. 21) ionic bond (p. 18)
Objectives
1. Define the terms matter, element, and atom, and do the
following:
• List the four elements that comprise 96% of body weight.
• Describe the three components of an atom.
• Describe the role of electrons in the formation of chemical
bonds.
2. Differentiate among ionic, covalent, and hydrogen bonds.
3. Explain ions, including the differences among electrolytes,
cations, and anions.
Why a chapter on chemistry? Because our bodies are
made of different chemicals. The food we eat, the
water we drink, and the air we breathe are all chemical
substances. We digest our food, move our bodies,
experience emotions, and think great thoughts because
of chemical reactions. To understand the body, we
must understand some general chemical principles.
MATTER, ELEMENTS, AND ATOMS
MATTER
Chemistry is the study of matter. Matter is anything
that occupies space and has weight. Anything that you
see as you look around is matter.
Matter exists in three states: solid, liquid, and gas.
Solid matter—such as skin, bones, and teeth—has a
definite shape and volume. Liquid matter—such as
blood, saliva, and digestive juices—takes the shape of
the container that holds it. A gas, or gaseous matter—
such as the air we breathe—has neither shape nor
volume.
Matter can undergo both physical and chemical
changes. The logs in a fireplace illustrate the difference
chapter
2
http://evolve.elsevier.com/Herlihy
isotope (p. 17)
molecule (p. 20)
pH (p. 23)
solution (p. 26)
suspension (p. 26)
4. Explain the difference between a molecule and a com­
pound, and list five reasons why water is essential to life.
5. Explain the role of catalysts and enzymes.
6. Differentiate between an acid and a base, and define pH.
7. List the six forms of energy and describe the role of adeno­
sine triphosphate (ATP) in energy transfer.
8. Differentiate among a mixture, solution, suspension, col­
loidal suspension, and precipitate.
between a physical and a chemical change (Figure 2-1).
The logs can undergo a physical change by being
chopped into smaller chips of wood with a hatchet.
The wood chips are smaller than the log, but they are
still wood. The matter (wood) has not essentially
changed; only the physical appearance has changed. A
chemical change occurs when the wood is burned.
When burned, the wood ceases to be wood. The chemi-
cal composition of the ashes is essentially different
from that of wood.
The body contains many examples of physical and
chemical changes. For example, digestion involves
physical and chemical changes. Chewing breaks the
food into smaller pieces; this is a physical change.
Potent chemicals digest or change the food into simpler
substances; this is a chemical change.
ELEMENTS
All matter, living or dead, is composed of elements.
An element is matter that is composed of atoms that
have the same number of positive charges in their
nuclei. Even a very small amount of an element
such as sodium contains millions and millions of
sodium atoms. The same name is used for both the
15
16 CHAPTER 2 Basic Chemistry

Physical change Chemical change

ATOMS
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
Elements are composed of atoms, the basic units of
matter. An atom is the smallest unit of an element with
that element’s chemical characteristics. An atom is
composed of three subatomic particles: protons, neu-
trons, and electrons. The arrangement of the subatomic
particles resembles the sun and planets (Figure 2-2, A),
with the sun in the center and the planets constantly
moving around the sun in orbits, or circular paths. The
atom is composed of a nucleus (the sun) and shells, or
orbits, that surround the nucleus (see Figure 2-2, B).
Ashes Where are the subatomic particles located? The
protons and the neutrons are located in the nucleus
FIGURE 2-1 Changes in matter.
(see Figure 2-2, C). Protons carry a positive (+) electri-
cal charge; neutrons carry no electrical charge. The
element and the atom. Although more than 100 ele- electrons are located in the shells, or orbits, surround-
ments exist, only about 25 elements are required by ing the nucleus like planets. Electrons carry a negative
living organisms. (−) electrical charge. In each atom, the number of
protons (+) is equal to the number of electrons (−). The
atom is therefore electrically neutral; it carries no net
Do You Know…
electrical charge.
Why Children Should Not Be Allowed to Play in Traffic and All protons are alike, all neutrons are alike, and all
Chew on Old Paint? electrons are alike. So what makes one atom different
Aside from the obvious safety issues, old paint and emissions from another atom? The difference is primarily in the
from motor vehicles contain high amounts of lead. Exposure numbers of protons and electrons in each atom. For
to high levels of lead causes lead poisoning, a serious condi­ example, hydrogen is the simplest and smallest atom.
tion that damages the major organs, including the brain, liver,
kidney, and bone marrow. The old name for chronic lead poi­
soning is plumbism, from the Latin word for lead (plumbum). Table 2-1 Common Elements in the Human Body
The chemical symbol for lead is Pb. (By the way, a plumber is PERCENTAGE OF
called a plumber because ancient water pipes were made of ELEMENT SYMBOL BODY WEIGHT (%)
plumbum, or lead.) Why does plumbism have such a great
history? Lead was used to make pipes that carried water and Oxygen O 65.0
was used to make pottery, particularly drinking vessels. This Carbon C 18.5
practice killed many of the rich and famous—those wealthy Hydrogen H 9.5
enough to afford leaded wine goblets. Because of the toxic
nature of lead, pipes and pottery in the United States are no Nitrogen N 3.2
longer made of lead, gasoline and paint are now lead-free by Calcium Ca
law, and the disposal of acid lead batteries is regulated. Is the
Phosphorus P
lead problem a done deal? No! Children are still huffing lead
fumes from car emissions, playing with toys laced with lead Potassium K
paint, and wearing clothing impregnated with lead. Go figure! Sulfur S
Sodium Na
The most abundant elements found in the body are Chlorine Cl
listed in Table 2-1. Four elements—carbon, hydrogen,
Magnesium Mg
oxygen, and nitrogen—make up 96% of the body
weight. The trace elements are present in tiny amounts, Iron Fe
but despite the small amounts required, the trace ele- Iodine* I
ments are essential for life. (Not all the trace elements Chromium* Cr
appear in Table 2-1.)
Cobalt* Co
Each of the elements included in Table 2-1 is repre-
sented by a symbol, and the first letter of the symbol Copper* Cu
is always capitalized. For example, the symbol O is for Fluorine* F
oxygen, N is for nitrogen, Na is for sodium, K is for Selenium* Se
potassium, and C is for carbon. These symbols are
Zinc* Zn
used frequently, so you should memorize the symbols
of the major elements. *Trace elements.
 Basic Chemistry CHAPTER 2 17

It has one proton and one electron. Helium has two

protons and two electrons. Lithium has three protons
and three electrons. Hydrogen, helium, and lithium
are different atoms because of the different numbers of
protons and electrons.

Earth Re-Think
Sun
1. How does the structure of an atom resemble the solar
system (sun and planets)?
2. What electrical charge is carried by the proton, electron,
and neutron?
3. Identify the locations of the proton, neutron, and electron.

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF ATOMS

Two terms describe individual atoms. The atomic
A
ATOM number is the number of protons in the nucleus. Thus,
hydrogen has an atomic number of 1, helium has an
atomic number of 2, and lithium has an atomic number
of 3. The atomic mass of an atom is determined by
adding the numbers of protons and neutrons in the
nucleus. Thus, the atomic mass of hydrogen is also 1
because the hydrogen nucleus contains one proton and
no neutrons. The atomic mass of helium is 4 because the
Inner
nucleus contains two protons and two neutrons. (The
Nucleus shell
atomic mass is roughly equivalent to the atomic weight.)
An isotope (EYE-so-tohp) is a different form of the
same atom. For example, hydrogen has different forms.
2nd shell
Hydrogen has an atomic number of 1 and an atomic
mass of 1; it has one proton and no neutrons in the
3rd or nucleus. A second and less common form of hydrogen
B outer shell is called heavy hydrogen. It has one proton and one
neutron in its nucleus; thus, its atomic number is 1, but
its atomic mass is 2. Because its atomic number is 1, it
is still a hydrogen atom. The additional neutron in the
nucleus, however, makes it heavy and changes its
atomic mass. Heavy hydrogen is an isotope of hydro-
gen. Remember that an isotope has the same atomic
number as an atom but a different atomic mass.
Isotopes are often unstable and their nuclei break
down, or decay, giving off energy. In doing so, the
unstable nuclei become more stable. Unstable isotopes
are called radioisotopes. The process of spontaneous
breakdown (decay) is called radioactivity. Radioiso-
C topes are damaging to tissue and are used clinically to
destroy cells. For example, radioactive iodine is used
Electron (–)
to destroy excess thyroid tissue. Other radioisotopes
Proton (+)
are used to destroy cancer cells, and radioisotopes can
Neutron (o) also be used diagnostically. For example, radioactive
FIGURE 2-2 Structure of the atom. A, Subatomic particles iodine (131I) is normally taken up by the thyroid gland
arranged like the sun and the planets. B, Nucleus and electron at a certain rate. Alterations in the rate of 131I uptake
shells. C, Protons and neutrons located in the nucleus and can indicate thyroid dysfunction.
electrons encircling the nucleus in orbits.

Re-Think
1. What is the difference between the atomic number and
atomic mass?
2. What is an isotope? A radioisotope?
18 CHAPTER 2 Basic Chemistry
ELECTRON SHELLS
Electrons surround the nucleus in orbits called energy
levels or electron shells (see Figure 2-2, C). The number
of shells varies from one atom to the next. Some atoms,
like hydrogen, have only one shell; other atoms, like
sodium, have three shells. Each shell can hold a spe-
cific number of electrons. The inner shell closest to the
nucleus can hold only two electrons. The second and
third shells can each hold eight electrons.
The only electrons that are important for chemical
bonding are the electrons in the outermost shell. If it
is not filled with its proper number of electrons, the
outer shell becomes unstable. It then tries to give up
electrons to empty the shell, acquire electrons to fill the
shell, or share electrons so that each participating atom
acquires the proper number of electrons in its outer
shells. The tendency of the outer shell to want to
become stable forms the basis of chemical bonding.
CHEMICAL BONDS
Atoms are attracted to each other because they want
to achieve a stable outer electron shell. In other words,
they want to fill or empty the outer electron shell. The
force of attraction between the atoms is similar to
the force of two magnets. When you try to separate the
magnets, you can feel the pull. The electrical attraction
between atoms is a chemical bond. The three types of
chemical bonds are ionic bonds, covalent bonds, and
hydrogen bonds.
IONIC BONDS
An ionic (eye-ON-ik) bond is caused by a transfer
of electrons between atoms. The interaction of the
sodium and chlorine atoms illustrates an ionic bond
(Figure 2-3, A). The sodium atom has 11 protons in the
nucleus and 11 electrons in the shells. Two electrons
are in the inner shell, eight in the second shell, and
only one in the outer shell. This single electron makes
the outer shell unstable. To become more stable, the
sodium atom would like to donate the single electron.
Donating an electron forms a bond between the
two atoms.
Sodium often bonds with chlorine. The chlorine (Cl)
atom has 17 protons in the nucleus and 17 electrons
orbiting in its shells. The electrons are positioned as
follows: two electrons in the inner shell, eight in the
second shell, and seven in the outer shell. The seven
electrons make the outer shell unstable. The chlorine
atom would like to add a single electron. The electrical
attraction occurs between the outer shells of the sodium
and chlorine atoms. The single electron in the outer
shell of the sodium (Na) atom is attracted to the seven
electrons in the outer shell of the chlorine atom. Thus,
the sodium atom and chlorine atom bond ionically to
form sodium chloride (NaCl), or table salt.
COVALENT BONDS
A second type of chemical bond is the covalent (ko-
VAYL-ent) bond. Covalent bonding involves a sharing
of electrons by the outer shells of the atoms. Covalent
bonding is like joining hands (see Figure 2-3, B). The
formation of water from hydrogen and oxygen atoms
illustrates covalent bonding. Oxygen has eight elec-
trons, two in the inner shell and only six in the outer
shell. An oxygen atom needs two electrons to complete
the outer shell. Hydrogen has only one electron and
requires one electron to complete its inner shell.
Water is formed when two hydrogen atoms, each
with one electron, share those electrons with one oxygen
atom. By sharing the electrons of the oxygen, each of
the two hydrogen atoms has completed the inner shells
(capacity is two electrons). By sharing the electrons of
two hydrogen atoms, the outer shell of the oxygen is
completed, with eight electrons. Water is represented as
H2O (two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom).
Carbon atoms always form covalent bonds. A
carbon atom has four electrons in the outer shell.
Carbon, one of the major elements in the body, most
commonly bonds with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen,
and other carbon atoms. Covalent bonding of carbon
with hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen forms complex
molecules such as proteins and carbohydrates. Cova-
lent bonds are strong and do not break apart in an
aqueous (water) solution. The strength of these bonds
is important because the protein produced by the body
must not fall apart when exposed to water.
Many proteins, such as hormones, are transported
around the body by blood, which is mostly water. If
the covalent bonds of the protein broke apart in
water, the hormones would be unable to accomplish
their tasks. So many chemical reactions in the body
involve carbon that a separate branch of chemistry—
organic chemistry—studies only carbon-containing
substances. In contrast, inorganic chemistry studies
non–carbon-containing substances.
HYDROGEN BONDS
A third type of bond is a hydrogen bond (see Figure 2-3,
C). It differs from the ionic and covalent bonds in that
the hydrogen bond is not caused by the transfer or
sharing of electrons of the outer shells of atoms. A
hydrogen bond is best illustrated by the weak attrac-
tion between water molecules. Water is composed of
hydrogen and oxygen. The weak positive charge
around the hydrogen of one water molecule is attracted
to the weak negative charge of the oxygen in a second
water molecule. Because the bond occurs between two
molecules it is called an intermolecular bond.
POLARITY
Water engages in hydrogen bonding because it is a
polar molecule. What makes water a polar molecule?
 Basic Chemistry CHAPTER 2 19

+ –

11 p+ 17 p+ 11 p+ 17 p+
12 n0 18 n0 12 n0 18 n0

Sodium atom (Na) Chlorine atom (Cl) Sodium ion (Na) Chloride ion (Cl)
A
Sodium chloride (NaCl)

1 p+
1 p+

8 p+ 8 p+
8 n0 8 n0

1 p+
1 p+
Oxygen atom (O)

Hydrogen atom (H) Water molecule (H2O)

B

–
+ + –

Attraction between water molecules

C
FIGURE 2-3 Chemical bonds. A, Ionic bond. B, Covalent bond. C, Hydrogen bond.

Because of the uneven sharing of electrons within a molecule is attracted to the negative end—oxygen—of
water molecule, there is a slight positive charge around a second water molecule.
the hydrogen end of the water and a slight negative
charge around the oxygen end. Note how lopsided the
water molecule appears in Figure 2-3, C; more impor- Re-Think
tantly, the charges are lopsided. A polar molecule is
defined as a molecule that has a lopsided charge—a 1. Explain the role of the outer electron shell to ionic and
covalent bonding.
positive end and a negative end. The lopsided charge
2. Explain why water is described as a polar molecule.
means that the positive end—hydrogen—of one water
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 DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI

Newala, too, suffers from the distance of its water-supply—at least

the Newala of to-day does; there was once another Newala in a lovely
valley at the foot of the plateau. I visited it and found scarcely a trace
of houses, only a Christian cemetery, with the graves of several
missionaries and their converts, remaining as a monument of its
former glories. But the surroundings are wonderfully beautiful. A
thick grove of splendid mango-trees closes in the weather-worn
crosses and headstones; behind them, combining the useful and the
agreeable, is a whole plantation of lemon-trees covered with ripe
fruit; not the small African kind, but a much larger and also juicier
imported variety, which drops into the hands of the passing traveller,
without calling for any exertion on his part. Old Newala is now under
the jurisdiction of the native pastor, Daudi, at Chingulungulu, who,
as I am on very friendly terms with him, allows me, as a matter of
course, the use of this lemon-grove during my stay at Newala.
 FEET MUTILATED BY THE RAVAGES OF THE “JIGGER”
(Sarcopsylla penetrans)

The water-supply of New Newala is in the bottom of the valley,

some 1,600 feet lower down. The way is not only long and fatiguing,
but the water, when we get it, is thoroughly bad. We are suffering not
only from this, but from the fact that the arrangements at Newala are
nothing short of luxurious. We have a separate kitchen—a hut built
against the boma palisade on the right of the baraza, the interior of
which is not visible from our usual position. Our two cooks were not
long in finding this out, and they consequently do—or rather neglect
to do—what they please. In any case they do not seem to be very
particular about the boiling of our drinking-water—at least I can
attribute to no other cause certain attacks of a dysenteric nature,
from which both Knudsen and I have suffered for some time. If a
man like Omari has to be left unwatched for a moment, he is capable
of anything. Besides this complaint, we are inconvenienced by the
state of our nails, which have become as hard as glass, and crack on
the slightest provocation, and I have the additional infliction of
pimples all over me. As if all this were not enough, we have also, for
the last week been waging war against the jigger, who has found his
Eldorado in the hot sand of the Makonde plateau. Our men are seen
all day long—whenever their chronic colds and the dysentery likewise
raging among them permit—occupied in removing this scourge of
Africa from their feet and trying to prevent the disastrous
consequences of its presence. It is quite common to see natives of
this place with one or two toes missing; many have lost all their toes,
or even the whole front part of the foot, so that a well-formed leg
ends in a shapeless stump. These ravages are caused by the female of
Sarcopsylla penetrans, which bores its way under the skin and there
develops an egg-sac the size of a pea. In all books on the subject, it is
stated that one’s attention is called to the presence of this parasite by
an intolerable itching. This agrees very well with my experience, so
far as the softer parts of the sole, the spaces between and under the
toes, and the side of the foot are concerned, but if the creature
penetrates through the harder parts of the heel or ball of the foot, it
may escape even the most careful search till it has reached maturity.
Then there is no time to be lost, if the horrible ulceration, of which
we see cases by the dozen every day, is to be prevented. It is much
easier, by the way, to discover the insect on the white skin of a
European than on that of a native, on which the dark speck scarcely
shows. The four or five jiggers which, in spite of the fact that I
constantly wore high laced boots, chose my feet to settle in, were
taken out for me by the all-accomplished Knudsen, after which I
thought it advisable to wash out the cavities with corrosive
sublimate. The natives have a different sort of disinfectant—they fill
the hole with scraped roots. In a tiny Makua village on the slope of
the plateau south of Newala, we saw an old woman who had filled all
the spaces under her toe-nails with powdered roots by way of
prophylactic treatment. What will be the result, if any, who can say?
The rest of the many trifling ills which trouble our existence are
really more comic than serious. In the absence of anything else to
smoke, Knudsen and I at last opened a box of cigars procured from
the Indian store-keeper at Lindi, and tried them, with the most
distressing results. Whether they contain opium or some other
narcotic, neither of us can say, but after the tenth puff we were both
“off,” three-quarters stupefied and unspeakably wretched. Slowly we
recovered—and what happened next? Half-an-hour later we were
once more smoking these poisonous concoctions—so insatiable is the
craving for tobacco in the tropics.
Even my present attacks of fever scarcely deserve to be taken
seriously. I have had no less than three here at Newala, all of which
have run their course in an incredibly short time. In the early
afternoon, I am busy with my old natives, asking questions and
making notes. The strong midday coffee has stimulated my spirits to
an extraordinary degree, the brain is active and vigorous, and work
progresses rapidly, while a pleasant warmth pervades the whole
body. Suddenly this gives place to a violent chill, forcing me to put on
my overcoat, though it is only half-past three and the afternoon sun
is at its hottest. Now the brain no longer works with such acuteness
and logical precision; more especially does it fail me in trying to
establish the syntax of the difficult Makua language on which I have
ventured, as if I had not enough to do without it. Under the
circumstances it seems advisable to take my temperature, and I do
so, to save trouble, without leaving my seat, and while going on with
my work. On examination, I find it to be 101·48°. My tutors are
abruptly dismissed and my bed set up in the baraza; a few minutes
later I am in it and treating myself internally with hot water and
lemon-juice.
Three hours later, the thermometer marks nearly 104°, and I make
them carry me back into the tent, bed and all, as I am now perspiring
heavily, and exposure to the cold wind just beginning to blow might
mean a fatal chill. I lie still for a little while, and then find, to my
great relief, that the temperature is not rising, but rather falling. This
is about 7.30 p.m. At 8 p.m. I find, to my unbounded astonishment,
that it has fallen below 98·6°, and I feel perfectly well. I read for an
hour or two, and could very well enjoy a smoke, if I had the
wherewithal—Indian cigars being out of the question.
Having no medical training, I am at a loss to account for this state
of things. It is impossible that these transitory attacks of high fever
should be malarial; it seems more probable that they are due to a
kind of sunstroke. On consulting my note-book, I become more and
more inclined to think this is the case, for these attacks regularly
follow extreme fatigue and long exposure to strong sunshine. They at
least have the advantage of being only short interruptions to my
work, as on the following morning I am always quite fresh and fit.
My treasure of a cook is suffering from an enormous hydrocele which
makes it difficult for him to get up, and Moritz is obliged to keep in
the dark on account of his inflamed eyes. Knudsen’s cook, a raw boy
from somewhere in the bush, knows still less of cooking than Omari;
consequently Nils Knudsen himself has been promoted to the vacant
post. Finding that we had come to the end of our supplies, he began
by sending to Chingulungulu for the four sucking-pigs which we had
bought from Matola and temporarily left in his charge; and when
they came up, neatly packed in a large crate, he callously slaughtered
the biggest of them. The first joint we were thoughtless enough to
entrust for roasting to Knudsen’s mshenzi cook, and it was
consequently uneatable; but we made the rest of the animal into a
jelly which we ate with great relish after weeks of underfeeding,
consuming incredible helpings of it at both midday and evening
meals. The only drawback is a certain want of variety in the tinned
vegetables. Dr. Jäger, to whom the Geographical Commission
entrusted the provisioning of the expeditions—mine as well as his
own—because he had more time on his hands than the rest of us,
seems to have laid in a huge stock of Teltow turnips,[46] an article of
food which is all very well for occasional use, but which quickly palls
when set before one every day; and we seem to have no other tins
left. There is no help for it—we must put up with the turnips; but I
am certain that, once I am home again, I shall not touch them for ten
years to come.
Amid all these minor evils, which, after all, go to make up the
genuine flavour of Africa, there is at least one cheering touch:
Knudsen has, with the dexterity of a skilled mechanic, repaired my 9
× 12 cm. camera, at least so far that I can use it with a little care.
How, in the absence of finger-nails, he was able to accomplish such a
ticklish piece of work, having no tool but a clumsy screw-driver for
taking to pieces and putting together again the complicated
mechanism of the instantaneous shutter, is still a mystery to me; but
he did it successfully. The loss of his finger-nails shows him in a light
contrasting curiously enough with the intelligence evinced by the
above operation; though, after all, it is scarcely surprising after his
ten years’ residence in the bush. One day, at Lindi, he had occasion
to wash a dog, which must have been in need of very thorough
cleansing, for the bottle handed to our friend for the purpose had an
extremely strong smell. Having performed his task in the most
conscientious manner, he perceived with some surprise that the dog
did not appear much the better for it, and was further surprised by
finding his own nails ulcerating away in the course of the next few
days. “How was I to know that carbolic acid has to be diluted?” he
mutters indignantly, from time to time, with a troubled gaze at his
mutilated finger-tips.
 Since we came to Newala we have been making excursions in all
directions through the surrounding country, in accordance with old
habit, and also because the akida Sefu did not get together the tribal
elders from whom I wanted information so speedily as he had
promised. There is, however, no harm done, as, even if seen only
from the outside, the country and people are interesting enough.
The Makonde plateau is like a large rectangular table rounded off
at the corners. Measured from the Indian Ocean to Newala, it is
about seventy-five miles long, and between the Rovuma and the
Lukuledi it averages fifty miles in breadth, so that its superficial area
is about two-thirds of that of the kingdom of Saxony. The surface,
however, is not level, but uniformly inclined from its south-western
edge to the ocean. From the upper edge, on which Newala lies, the
eye ranges for many miles east and north-east, without encountering
any obstacle, over the Makonde bush. It is a green sea, from which
here and there thick clouds of smoke rise, to show that it, too, is
inhabited by men who carry on their tillage like so many other
primitive peoples, by cutting down and burning the bush, and
manuring with the ashes. Even in the radiant light of a tropical day
such a fire is a grand sight.
Much less effective is the impression produced just now by the
great western plain as seen from the edge of the plateau. As often as
time permits, I stroll along this edge, sometimes in one direction,
sometimes in another, in the hope of finding the air clear enough to
let me enjoy the view; but I have always been disappointed.
Wherever one looks, clouds of smoke rise from the burning bush,
and the air is full of smoke and vapour. It is a pity, for under more
favourable circumstances the panorama of the whole country up to
the distant Majeje hills must be truly magnificent. It is of little use
taking photographs now, and an outline sketch gives a very poor idea
of the scenery. In one of these excursions I went out of my way to
make a personal attempt on the Makonde bush. The present edge of
the plateau is the result of a far-reaching process of destruction
through erosion and denudation. The Makonde strata are
everywhere cut into by ravines, which, though short, are hundreds of
yards in depth. In consequence of the loose stratification of these
beds, not only are the walls of these ravines nearly vertical, but their
upper end is closed by an equally steep escarpment, so that the
western edge of the Makonde plateau is hemmed in by a series of
deep, basin-like valleys. In order to get from one side of such a ravine
to the other, I cut my way through the bush with a dozen of my men.
It was a very open part, with more grass than scrub, but even so the
short stretch of less than two hundred yards was very hard work; at
the end of it the men’s calicoes were in rags and they themselves
bleeding from hundreds of scratches, while even our strong khaki
suits had not escaped scatheless.

NATIVE PATH THROUGH THE MAKONDE BUSH, NEAR

MAHUTA

I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
 The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.

MAKONDE LOCK AND KEY AT JUMBE CHAURO

 This is the general way of closing a house. The Makonde at Jumbe
Chauro, however, have a much more complicated, solid and original
one. Here, too, the door is as already described, except that there is
only one post on the inside, standing by itself about six inches from
one side of the doorway. Opposite this post is a hole in the wall just
large enough to admit a man’s arm. The door is closed inside by a
large wooden bolt passing through a hole in this post and pressing
with its free end against the door. The other end has three holes into
which fit three pegs running in vertical grooves inside the post. The
door is opened with a wooden key about a foot long, somewhat
curved and sloped off at the butt; the other end has three pegs
corresponding to the holes, in the bolt, so that, when it is thrust
through the hole in the wall and inserted into the rectangular
opening in the post, the pegs can be lifted and the bolt drawn out.[50]

MODE OF INSERTING THE KEY

With no small pride first one householder and then a second

showed me on the spot the action of this greatest invention of the
Makonde Highlands. To both with an admiring exclamation of
“Vizuri sana!” (“Very fine!”). I expressed the wish to take back these
marvels with me to Ulaya, to show the Wazungu what clever fellows
the Makonde are. Scarcely five minutes after my return to camp at
Newala, the two men came up sweating under the weight of two
heavy logs which they laid down at my feet, handing over at the same
time the keys of the fallen fortress. Arguing, logically enough, that if
the key was wanted, the lock would be wanted with it, they had taken
their axes and chopped down the posts—as it never occurred to them
to dig them out of the ground and so bring them intact. Thus I have
two badly damaged specimens, and the owners, instead of praise,
come in for a blowing-up.
The Makua huts in the environs of Newala are especially
miserable; their more than slovenly construction reminds one of the
temporary erections of the Makua at Hatia’s, though the people here
have not been concerned in a war. It must therefore be due to
congenital idleness, or else to the absence of a powerful chief. Even
the baraza at Mlipa’s, a short hour’s walk south-east of Newala,
shares in this general neglect. While public buildings in this country
are usually looked after more or less carefully, this is in evident
danger of being blown over by the first strong easterly gale. The only
attractive object in this whole district is the grave of the late chief
Mlipa. I visited it in the morning, while the sun was still trying with
partial success to break through the rolling mists, and the circular
grove of tall euphorbias, which, with a broken pot, is all that marks
the old king’s resting-place, impressed one with a touch of pathos.
Even my very materially-minded carriers seemed to feel something
of the sort, for instead of their usual ribald songs, they chanted
solemnly, as we marched on through the dense green of the Makonde
bush:—
 “We shall arrive with the great master; we stand in a row and have
no fear about getting our food and our money from the Serkali (the
Government). We are not afraid; we are going along with the great
master, the lion; we are going down to the coast and back.”
With regard to the characteristic features of the various tribes here
on the western edge of the plateau, I can arrive at no other
conclusion than the one already come to in the plain, viz., that it is
impossible for anyone but a trained anthropologist to assign any
given individual at once to his proper tribe. In fact, I think that even
an anthropological specialist, after the most careful examination,
might find it a difficult task to decide. The whole congeries of peoples
collected in the region bounded on the west by the great Central
African rift, Tanganyika and Nyasa, and on the east by the Indian
Ocean, are closely related to each other—some of their languages are
only distinguished from one another as dialects of the same speech,
and no doubt all the tribes present the same shape of skull and
structure of skeleton. Thus, surely, there can be no very striking
differences in outward appearance.
 Even did such exist, I should have no time
to concern myself with them, for day after day,
I have to see or hear, as the case may be—in
any case to grasp and record—an
extraordinary number of ethnographic
phenomena. I am almost disposed to think it
fortunate that some departments of inquiry, at
least, are barred by external circumstances.
Chief among these is the subject of iron-
working. We are apt to think of Africa as a
country where iron ore is everywhere, so to
speak, to be picked up by the roadside, and
where it would be quite surprising if the
inhabitants had not learnt to smelt the
material ready to their hand. In fact, the
knowledge of this art ranges all over the
continent, from the Kabyles in the north to the
Kafirs in the south. Here between the Rovuma
and the Lukuledi the conditions are not so
favourable. According to the statements of the
Makonde, neither ironstone nor any other
form of iron ore is known to them. They have
not therefore advanced to the art of smelting
the metal, but have hitherto bought all their
THE ANCESTRESS OF
THE MAKONDE
iron implements from neighbouring tribes.
Even in the plain the inhabitants are not much
better off. Only one man now living is said to
understand the art of smelting iron. This old fundi lives close to
Huwe, that isolated, steep-sided block of granite which rises out of
the green solitude between Masasi and Chingulungulu, and whose
jagged and splintered top meets the traveller’s eye everywhere. While
still at Masasi I wished to see this man at work, but was told that,
frightened by the rising, he had retired across the Rovuma, though
he would soon return. All subsequent inquiries as to whether the
fundi had come back met with the genuine African answer, “Bado”
(“Not yet”).
 BRAZIER

Some consolation was afforded me by a brassfounder, whom I

came across in the bush near Akundonde’s. This man is the favourite
of women, and therefore no doubt of the gods; he welds the glittering
brass rods purchased at the coast into those massive, heavy rings
which, on the wrists and ankles of the local fair ones, continually give
me fresh food for admiration. Like every decent master-craftsman he
had all his tools with him, consisting of a pair of bellows, three
crucibles and a hammer—nothing more, apparently. He was quite
willing to show his skill, and in a twinkling had fixed his bellows on
the ground. They are simply two goat-skins, taken off whole, the four
legs being closed by knots, while the upper opening, intended to
admit the air, is kept stretched by two pieces of wood. At the lower
end of the skin a smaller opening is left into which a wooden tube is
stuck. The fundi has quickly borrowed a heap of wood-embers from
the nearest hut; he then fixes the free ends of the two tubes into an
earthen pipe, and clamps them to the ground by means of a bent
piece of wood. Now he fills one of his small clay crucibles, the dross
on which shows that they have been long in use, with the yellow
material, places it in the midst of the embers, which, at present are
only faintly glimmering, and begins his work. In quick alternation
the smith’s two hands move up and down with the open ends of the
bellows; as he raises his hand he holds the slit wide open, so as to let
the air enter the skin bag unhindered. In pressing it down he closes
the bag, and the air puffs through the bamboo tube and clay pipe into
the fire, which quickly burns up. The smith, however, does not keep
on with this work, but beckons to another man, who relieves him at
the bellows, while he takes some more tools out of a large skin pouch
carried on his back. I look on in wonder as, with a smooth round
stick about the thickness of a finger, he bores a few vertical holes into
the clean sand of the soil. This should not be difficult, yet the man
seems to be taking great pains over it. Then he fastens down to the
ground, with a couple of wooden clamps, a neat little trough made by
splitting a joint of bamboo in half, so that the ends are closed by the
two knots. At last the yellow metal has attained the right consistency,
and the fundi lifts the crucible from the fire by means of two sticks
split at the end to serve as tongs. A short swift turn to the left—a
tilting of the crucible—and the molten brass, hissing and giving forth
clouds of smoke, flows first into the bamboo mould and then into the
holes in the ground.
The technique of this backwoods craftsman may not be very far
advanced, but it cannot be denied that he knows how to obtain an
adequate result by the simplest means. The ladies of highest rank in
this country—that is to say, those who can afford it, wear two kinds
of these massive brass rings, one cylindrical, the other semicircular
in section. The latter are cast in the most ingenious way in the
bamboo mould, the former in the circular hole in the sand. It is quite
a simple matter for the fundi to fit these bars to the limbs of his fair
customers; with a few light strokes of his hammer he bends the
pliable brass round arm or ankle without further inconvenience to
the wearer.
SHAPING THE POT

SMOOTHING WITH MAIZE-COB

CUTTING THE EDGE

 FINISHING THE BOTTOM

LAST SMOOTHING BEFORE

BURNING

FIRING THE BRUSH-PILE

 LIGHTING THE FARTHER SIDE OF
THE PILE

TURNING THE RED-HOT VESSEL

NYASA WOMAN MAKING POTS AT MASASI

Pottery is an art which must always and everywhere excite the
interest of the student, just because it is so intimately connected with
the development of human culture, and because its relics are one of
the principal factors in the reconstruction of our own condition in
prehistoric times. I shall always remember with pleasure the two or
three afternoons at Masasi when Salim Matola’s mother, a slightly-
built, graceful, pleasant-looking woman, explained to me with
touching patience, by means of concrete illustrations, the ceramic art
of her people. The only implements for this primitive process were a
lump of clay in her left hand, and in the right a calabash containing
the following valuables: the fragment of a maize-cob stripped of all
its grains, a smooth, oval pebble, about the size of a pigeon’s egg, a
few chips of gourd-shell, a bamboo splinter about the length of one’s
hand, a small shell, and a bunch of some herb resembling spinach.
 Nothing more. The woman scraped with the
shell a round, shallow hole in the soft, fine
sand of the soil, and, when an active young
girl had filled the calabash with water for her,
she began to knead the clay. As if by magic it
gradually assumed the shape of a rough but
already well-shaped vessel, which only wanted
a little touching up with the instruments
before mentioned. I looked out with the
MAKUA WOMAN closest attention for any indication of the use
MAKING A POT. of the potter’s wheel, in however rudimentary
SHOWS THE a form, but no—hapana (there is none). The
BEGINNINGS OF THE embryo pot stood firmly in its little
POTTER’S WHEEL
depression, and the woman walked round it in
a stooping posture, whether she was removing
small stones or similar foreign bodies with the maize-cob, smoothing
the inner or outer surface with the splinter of bamboo, or later, after
letting it dry for a day, pricking in the ornamentation with a pointed
bit of gourd-shell, or working out the bottom, or cutting the edge
with a sharp bamboo knife, or giving the last touches to the finished
vessel. This occupation of the women is infinitely toilsome, but it is
without doubt an accurate reproduction of the process in use among
our ancestors of the Neolithic and Bronze ages.
There is no doubt that the invention of pottery, an item in human
progress whose importance cannot be over-estimated, is due to
women. Rough, coarse and unfeeling, the men of the horde range
over the countryside. When the united cunning of the hunters has
succeeded in killing the game; not one of them thinks of carrying
home the spoil. A bright fire, kindled by a vigorous wielding of the
drill, is crackling beside them; the animal has been cleaned and cut
up secundum artem, and, after a slight singeing, will soon disappear
under their sharp teeth; no one all this time giving a single thought
to wife or child.
To what shifts, on the other hand, the primitive wife, and still more
the primitive mother, was put! Not even prehistoric stomachs could
endure an unvarying diet of raw food. Something or other suggested
the beneficial effect of hot water on the majority of approved but
indigestible dishes. Perhaps a neighbour had tried holding the hard
roots or tubers over the fire in a calabash filled with water—or maybe
an ostrich-egg-shell, or a hastily improvised vessel of bark. They
became much softer and more palatable than they had previously
been; but, unfortunately, the vessel could not stand the fire and got
charred on the outside. That can be remedied, thought our
ancestress, and plastered a layer of wet clay round a similar vessel.
This is an improvement; the cooking utensil remains uninjured, but
the heat of the fire has shrunk it, so that it is loose in its shell. The
next step is to detach it, so, with a firm grip and a jerk, shell and
kernel are separated, and pottery is invented. Perhaps, however, the
discovery which led to an intelligent use of the burnt-clay shell, was
made in a slightly different way. Ostrich-eggs and calabashes are not
to be found in every part of the world, but everywhere mankind has
arrived at the art of making baskets out of pliant materials, such as
bark, bast, strips of palm-leaf, supple twigs, etc. Our inventor has no
water-tight vessel provided by nature. “Never mind, let us line the
basket with clay.” This answers the purpose, but alas! the basket gets
burnt over the blazing fire, the woman watches the process of
cooking with increasing uneasiness, fearing a leak, but no leak
appears. The food, done to a turn, is eaten with peculiar relish; and
the cooking-vessel is examined, half in curiosity, half in satisfaction
at the result. The plastic clay is now hard as stone, and at the same
time looks exceedingly well, for the neat plaiting of the burnt basket
is traced all over it in a pretty pattern. Thus, simultaneously with
pottery, its ornamentation was invented.
Primitive woman has another claim to respect. It was the man,
roving abroad, who invented the art of producing fire at will, but the
woman, unable to imitate him in this, has been a Vestal from the
earliest times. Nothing gives so much trouble as the keeping alight of
the smouldering brand, and, above all, when all the men are absent
from the camp. Heavy rain-clouds gather, already the first large
drops are falling, the first gusts of the storm rage over the plain. The
little flame, a greater anxiety to the woman than her own children,
flickers unsteadily in the blast. What is to be done? A sudden thought
occurs to her, and in an instant she has constructed a primitive hut
out of strips of bark, to protect the flame against rain and wind.
This, or something very like it, was the way in which the principle
of the house was discovered; and even the most hardened misogynist
cannot fairly refuse a woman the credit of it. The protection of the
hearth-fire from the weather is the germ from which the human
dwelling was evolved. Men had little, if any share, in this forward
step, and that only at a late stage. Even at the present day, the
plastering of the housewall with clay and the manufacture of pottery
are exclusively the women’s business. These are two very significant
survivals. Our European kitchen-garden, too, is originally a woman’s
invention, and the hoe, the primitive instrument of agriculture, is,
characteristically enough, still used in this department. But the
noblest achievement which we owe to the other sex is unquestionably
the art of cookery. Roasting alone—the oldest process—is one for
which men took the hint (a very obvious one) from nature. It must
have been suggested by the scorched carcase of some animal
overtaken by the destructive forest-fires. But boiling—the process of
improving organic substances by the help of water heated to boiling-
point—is a much later discovery. It is so recent that it has not even
yet penetrated to all parts of the world. The Polynesians understand
how to steam food, that is, to cook it, neatly wrapped in leaves, in a
hole in the earth between hot stones, the air being excluded, and
(sometimes) a few drops of water sprinkled on the stones; but they
do not understand boiling.
To come back from this digression, we find that the slender Nyasa
woman has, after once more carefully examining the finished pot,
put it aside in the shade to dry. On the following day she sends me
word by her son, Salim Matola, who is always on hand, that she is
going to do the burning, and, on coming out of my house, I find her
already hard at work. She has spread on the ground a layer of very
dry sticks, about as thick as one’s thumb, has laid the pot (now of a
yellowish-grey colour) on them, and is piling brushwood round it.
My faithful Pesa mbili, the mnyampara, who has been standing by,
most obligingly, with a lighted stick, now hands it to her. Both of
them, blowing steadily, light the pile on the lee side, and, when the
flame begins to catch, on the weather side also. Soon the whole is in a
blaze, but the dry fuel is quickly consumed and the fire dies down, so
that we see the red-hot vessel rising from the ashes. The woman
turns it continually with a long stick, sometimes one way and
sometimes another, so that it may be evenly heated all over. In
twenty minutes she rolls it out of the ash-heap, takes up the bundle
of spinach, which has been lying for two days in a jar of water, and
sprinkles the red-hot clay with it. The places where the drops fall are
marked by black spots on the uniform reddish-brown surface. With a
sigh of relief, and with visible satisfaction, the woman rises to an
erect position; she is standing just in a line between me and the fire,
from which a cloud of smoke is just rising: I press the ball of my
camera, the shutter clicks—the apotheosis is achieved! Like a
priestess, representative of her inventive sex, the graceful woman
stands: at her feet the hearth-fire she has given us beside her the
invention she has devised for us, in the background the home she has
built for us.
At Newala, also, I have had the manufacture of pottery carried on
in my presence. Technically the process is better than that already
described, for here we find the beginnings of the potter’s wheel,
which does not seem to exist in the plains; at least I have seen
nothing of the sort. The artist, a frightfully stupid Makua woman, did
not make a depression in the ground to receive the pot she was about
to shape, but used instead a large potsherd. Otherwise, she went to
work in much the same way as Salim’s mother, except that she saved
herself the trouble of walking round and round her work by squatting
at her ease and letting the pot and potsherd rotate round her; this is
surely the first step towards a machine. But it does not follow that
the pot was improved by the process. It is true that it was beautifully
rounded and presented a very creditable appearance when finished,
but the numerous large and small vessels which I have seen, and, in
part, collected, in the “less advanced” districts, are no less so. We
moderns imagine that instruments of precision are necessary to
produce excellent results. Go to the prehistoric collections of our
museums and look at the pots, urns and bowls of our ancestors in the
dim ages of the past, and you will at once perceive your error.
MAKING LONGITUDINAL CUT IN
BARK

DRAWING THE BARK OFF THE LOG

REMOVING THE OUTER BARK

 BEATING THE BARK

WORKING THE BARK-CLOTH AFTER BEATING, TO MAKE IT

SOFT

MANUFACTURE OF BARK-CLOTH AT NEWALA

To-day, nearly the whole population of German East Africa is
clothed in imported calico. This was not always the case; even now in
some parts of the north dressed skins are still the prevailing wear,
and in the north-western districts—east and north of Lake
Tanganyika—lies a zone where bark-cloth has not yet been
superseded. Probably not many generations have passed since such
bark fabrics and kilts of skins were the only clothing even in the
south. Even to-day, large quantities of this bright-red or drab
material are still to be found; but if we wish to see it, we must look in
the granaries and on the drying stages inside the native huts, where
it serves less ambitious uses as wrappings for those seeds and fruits
which require to be packed with special care. The salt produced at
Masasi, too, is packed for transport to a distance in large sheets of
bark-cloth. Wherever I found it in any degree possible, I studied the
process of making this cloth. The native requisitioned for the
purpose arrived, carrying a log between two and three yards long and
as thick as his thigh, and nothing else except a curiously-shaped
mallet and the usual long, sharp and pointed knife which all men and
boys wear in a belt at their backs without a sheath—horribile dictu!
[51]
Silently he squats down before me, and with two rapid cuts has
drawn a couple of circles round the log some two yards apart, and
slits the bark lengthwise between them with the point of his knife.
With evident care, he then scrapes off the outer rind all round the
log, so that in a quarter of an hour the inner red layer of the bark
shows up brightly-coloured between the two untouched ends. With
some trouble and much caution, he now loosens the bark at one end,
and opens the cylinder. He then stands up, takes hold of the free
edge with both hands, and turning it inside out, slowly but steadily
pulls it off in one piece. Now comes the troublesome work of
scraping all superfluous particles of outer bark from the outside of
the long, narrow piece of material, while the inner side is carefully
scrutinised for defective spots. At last it is ready for beating. Having
signalled to a friend, who immediately places a bowl of water beside
him, the artificer damps his sheet of bark all over, seizes his mallet,
lays one end of the stuff on the smoothest spot of the log, and
hammers away slowly but continuously. “Very simple!” I think to
myself. “Why, I could do that, too!”—but I am forced to change my
opinions a little later on; for the beating is quite an art, if the fabric is
not to be beaten to pieces. To prevent the breaking of the fibres, the
stuff is several times folded across, so as to interpose several
thicknesses between the mallet and the block. At last the required
state is reached, and the fundi seizes the sheet, still folded, by both
ends, and wrings it out, or calls an assistant to take one end while he
holds the other. The cloth produced in this way is not nearly so fine
and uniform in texture as the famous Uganda bark-cloth, but it is
quite soft, and, above all, cheap.
Now, too, I examine the mallet. My craftsman has been using the
simpler but better form of this implement, a conical block of some
hard wood, its base—the striking surface—being scored across and
across with more or less deeply-cut grooves, and the handle stuck
into a hole in the middle. The other and earlier form of mallet is
shaped in the same way, but the head is fastened by an ingenious
network of bark strips into the split bamboo serving as a handle. The
observation so often made, that ancient customs persist longest in
connection with religious ceremonies and in the life of children, here
finds confirmation. As we shall soon see, bark-cloth is still worn
during the unyago,[52] having been prepared with special solemn
ceremonies; and many a mother, if she has no other garment handy,
will still put her little one into a kilt of bark-cloth, which, after all,
looks better, besides being more in keeping with its African
surroundings, than the ridiculous bit of print from Ulaya.
MAKUA WOMEN