Josh On Design

When I first picked up this book I thought it was for kids; similar to No Starch Press’ other comic science series: Survive! Inside the Human Body.  I was completely wrong. This is real physiology at the high school to early college level. I’ve learned quite a bit by reading through the book, and I’m a 40 year old engineer who reads constantly.

The plot concerns a student nurse, Kumiko, who flunked her physiology exam and must do a crash course study before her one last shot with a makeup exam. She of course meets up with a young assistant professor Kaisei who wants to test out his new lesson plans.  I personally found the cutesy interactions between the nurse and professor a bit to soap-operaish. Perhaps I’m too old for these stories,  but the educational content is amazing. 

I find the prose to be readable and the pace pretty swift.  The best part is the diagrams.  So muchof the human body is interlocking systems that combine different parts of the bodies into complete circuits.  The illustrated diagrams really make these systems understandable.  Now I finally know why the heart has four chambers and what the two numbers of a blood pressure test really mean.

If you have the even the slightest interest in how the human body works, even if you don’t need to study for a test with a dreamy assistant professor,  The Manga Guide to Physiology is for you.

https://www.nostarch.com/physiology

http://www.amazon.com/The-Manga-Guide-Physiology-Guides/dp/1593274408