Hey what's up everyone, my name is Pat Kelly and today I’ve got some book recommendations
for you. So back when I was a student i would have internships or a clinical rotation all summer.
But I didn’t want to stop learning altogether, so I usually picked up a book or two
so I could read /something/ over the summer time, but not resort to like a dry pharmacology book.
I didn't want to study, but I did want to learn /something/
And because you all are also a beautiful bunch of nerds that love the human body like I do, I decided
to compile 7 of my favorite anatomy and physiology themed books that I seriously recommend if
you’re looking for something to read this summer.
All of these are gonna have Amazon links down in the description if you're interested
First up is Human Errors by Nathan Lents and I chose it because it strikes such a lovely balance of
being informative but not so science heavy that you’ll get lost.
It’s pretty light at 218 pages of material and each section is well organized so it’s
easy to follow.
In this book the author breaks down some of our anatomy’s
features that are just poorly designed. Whether that's because our lifestyle has outpaced
evolution, or because we inherited some design flaw from our ancestors.
And he leads with the more mechanical flaws of our bodies, like why our eyes have a blind
spot and why our nasal sinuses are so high up in our skull.
One thing I found particularly interesting from this book was how bad our bodies are at diet.
Like you’ve probably heard the term essential nutrient before, essential just means that
we have to consume that nutrient from in diet because our bodies can't make it by itself.
Well, thanks to something called the GULO gene, our ancestors' bodies were actually able
to make Vitamin C. /But/ thanks to a mutation in that gene many many years ago
we’re stuck eating oranges forever.
While Human Errors talks about poor design, The Story of the Human Body by Daniel Lieberman takes
the approach of evolutionary mismatch design flaws and diseases to an entire book.
I was a little hesitant before reading this book because like, I get it.
I’ve heard the same narrative over and over again about our sedentary lifestyles and how we're designed to exercise
and no processed foods and like, I get it, I’m a garbage human who doesn't know how to use my body.
But this book took a much more scientific approach, probably because the author is
the chair of evolutionary biology at /freaking Harvard University/, so he probably knows what he's talking about
This book itself isn't trying to guilt you into being a marathon runner or anything.
But it does present a really good balance between epidemiology and the
history of human development.
And I like that - I like how he gave such a big section towards the development
of bipedalism and all the orthopedic problems it presented.
Having worked in physical therapy myself, I’ve seen a lot of spine problems,
a lot of which can be attributed to our bipedal nature.
Overall, if you want a pretty science packed, long form read over the summer, I’d recommend
this one.
Likewise, Spark: The Revolutionary Science Behind Exercise and the Brain by John Ratey,
gives me plenty of science while keeping the narrative interesting.
This book came out in 2008, so it’s a little older, but that ends up being kind of a benefit in disguise
because in the decade since then, plenty of peer reviewed research has been written verifying
the central idea of this book: aerobic exercise benefits the brain in like, every way imaginable
He does a good job of breaking down the neurotransmitter, hormonal, and other chemical pathways that
end up enhancing brain performance, but like is it too much to ask for some illustrations every now and then?
One thing I like about this book is how it treats certain aspects of mental health.
It seems like everyone in modern day /knows/ exercise will help with depression symptoms, but of course,
it’s never that simple.
He [Ratey] compares the efficacy of exercise with pharmaceuticals
like Zoloft, but doesn’t do it in the same ignorant way that fitness people and self
help gurus do.
“About half the patients in studies on exercise and depression drop out… This is critical
for doctors to keep in mind when recommending exercise. With people who are already feeling
hopeless, it’s important to keep expectations reasonable, so as to not reinforce the negative”
Exercise is /a/ treatment, but it’s not magic.
So if you want to learn the benefits of exercise as it relates to memory and learning
and of course depression and ADHD, I'd recommend Spark.
Alright, book number 4 on the list came out in 2008 as well but fair warning, this one gets a little PG-13 so if you’ve
got little kids around, I’ll give you a chance for them to skedaddle.
Bonk: the Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach was /fascinating/ and it’s
not as scandalous as you’re expecting.
This isn’t a book about sexuality or relationships,
it’s about how we learned what we know about
the physiology of sex, so that includes the classic work of Alfred Kinsey or Masters and Johnson.
But she also includes firsthand interviews with genitourinary surgeons, sexologists, which yes, are a real
thing, and of course, plenty of primary research references.
Bonk is a sequence of stories about how we learned what we learned in different aspects
of the sexual response, and in doing so, shows how the scientific method applies to still
a taboo science.
Like the work of Masters and Johnson famously measured vital signs like heart rate
and blood pressure while people were doing the deed,
but that was decades ago by now, and new technology has come out since then
that has enabled researchers to investigate...further
So without a doubt my favorite chapter from this book is where Roach looks into research done in MRI,
or magnetic resonance imaging machines.
These kind of studies literally requires the participants doing the thing
on a tiny tray in a tiny machine.
And it might seem kinda silly, but this was actual funded research, so what did it teach us?
And that's what this book is all about.
Roach is incredibly open about all of her questions that she had during the writing of this book
which makes for a compelling read that you’re
probably never going to get the chance to read during the semester.
Now, my next two recommendations are Aroused by Randi Hutter Epstein and of course The
Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris. You probably saw these coming since I’ve made
multiple videos about each of these books, but if you haven’t watched those yet, you
can find links in the description.
The final book on my list is the Sawbones Book by Justin McElroly and Dr. Sydnee McElroy.
If you somehow don’t know who they are and you watch this channel, then your homework is to watch their podcast
like, NOW.
Well, after this video...
They do medical history content like I do, but like better in every way.
Sydnee is a brilliant
doctor that's a great science communicator and Justin is hilarious,
and as a married couple their podcast is comedy.
So when the book came out complete with these awesome illustrations,
I was like "yeah, I need that"
I’m not even gonna give you my favorite part on this one, it was informative
and entertaining the entire way through.
You can read little sections at a time
or just read it in one straight shot.
Either way, gonna heavily recommend this one.
So there you have it.
7 book recommendations for all you anatomy nerds out there.
If you
have any other recommendations, leave them down in the comments section and I’ll try
to do an updated video around the holidays.
Otherwise make sure to leave a like on the
video, subscribe for more videos and of course, have fun be good.