October 19, 2005

Curious George: Medical monkey! I want to get a very real and serious summary of human biology and the medical profession. What television shows/documentaries/books can you recommend? (I am used to covering a lot of material very quickly)

I'm not sure why I want to know, it's a burning desire to learn about these capsules that every human lives within (bodies). I'm asking for a general overview so I can get a feel for these fields of study. I may want to study biology/medicine as second and third degrees, my first being Computer Science.

posted by niccolo 19 years ago
  • Check out Anatomy for Beginners. A UK Channel4 TV production showing the anatomy of the human body by cutting up cadavers. No holds barred. There's a DVD of it out somewhere.
  • From all I know, Gray's Anatomy, if you really want to cover a lot of material in a short time. A biology survey course wouldn't hurt, either, if you still need to fill out your breadth. Your choice of major & future hurts my brain. Have you considered Cog-Sci?
  • I very much doubt if you will get a real and serious summary of human biology and the medical profession from a television show. Most people try medical school.
  • Here's the page from the class I'm currently taking, which discusses all of the current issues in Biology, including stem cell research, cloning, etc. It doesn't cover the traditional things like anatomy and such, but there are plenty of references to that available. Current lectures, including reading material. Here are the previous lectures.
  • I'd recommend Anatomy and Physiology for Emergency Care. It's a comprehensive guide, quite detailed and nicely illustrated. Despite the title, it's a good resource for any starting medical professional.
  • Take a course in Physiology. There are many books about the human body, but it really comes to life if you can find a good teacher who explains the interconnection of the bodies systems. Also, get the Merk manual and the CMDT as quick references for understanding pathologies.
  • info
  • I want to get a very real and serious summary of human biology and the medical profession. What television shows can you recommend? I'd just like to remind myself that comments in Curious George threads should attempt to answer the question and not contain any personal attacks at the poster's expense. Thanks.
  • The standard textbook for internal medicine is Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. I have an old copy of the 7th edition; now in its 15th edition, it seems to have doubled in size, currently weighing in at 2629 pages - ouch. Hope you're used to covering a lot of material very quickly,
  • I second "Kingdom" ... the way Udo Kier is born at the end is very educational indeed.
  • I took a general Human Anatomy class at a junior college in the US. Small classes, lots of hands-on labwork (cats, the usual eyes and hearts, and a couple of human cadavers), and you learn a whole lot in a semester. The textbook we used is Martini, Timmons et al's Human Anatomy.
  • You could try this; Annenberg at learner.org.