Published in 1994 by Dorling Kindersley Publishing (New York.) Forty-two articles divided into three sections--the Body Machine, the Body Organs, and the Body Systems--provide a multimedia tour of the human body and how it works. Highly recommended for grades 6-10. $79.95 ISBN: 1-56458-900-5. CD-ROM for Windows.
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Ever wonder why you yawn? Low oxygen levels trigger yawning after
a period of shallow breathing. A yawn forces oxygen rich air into
your lungs where it can be passed into the bloodstream. This
CD-ROM from Dorling Kindersley is filled with answers to many why
and how questions. Why do we have reflex actions and how do they
work? Why do you blink? How do we swallow? Where does energy
come from? How are babies created and formed?
The more than forty-two articles are divided into three sections: the "Body Machine", the "Body Organs", and the "Body Systems". The "Body Machine" provides a graphical tour of the human body with the largest number of animations. The "Body Organs" shows how body organs fit together inside the body. Organs are shown in their proper location and the student can remove them one by one to see the underlying organs. Text is available if the student wishes to find out more about a particular organ. The "Body Systems" is divided into the ten different body systems: skeletal, muscular, circulatory, digestive, urinary, nervous, reproductive, lymphatic, hormonal, and respiratory.
Specific topics can be accessed by clicking on the "A-Z" index
button. Click on any item in red for additional information. The
"Options" button is the downward arrow and provides copy and print
capabilities. It also has a sound on/off option. I recommend
having the sound set to off. When the sound is on, annoying
noises occur whenever a window is opened or closed as well as when
sections of the body are "exploded."
Having the sound off does not affect audio statements when a new section is opened. Neither does it affect pronunciation and audio during animations. Both male and female voices are used for audio portions.
Some may be upset by the explicit discussion and graphic representation of the reproductive system, but it is done in an explanatory, factual tone.
Informative and interesting, this CD-ROM is well worth the purchase price. [Top of Page]
Animated sequences such as the ones showing what happens to our
heart and lungs when we exercise, how the blood circulates, what
happens when we chew and swallow, and how the digestive system
works are indispensable to visual instruction. Explaining the four
different types of joints used by the human skeletal system for
movement is made easier by use of such animated illustrations. It
definitely is a case where a picture is worth a thousand words.
Text as well as illustrations can be exported to wordprocessing programs via the Windows clipboard. Printing the screen in black and white provides a reasonable facsimile of the illustration being viewed. [Top of Page]
"...clearly organized and appealing."
Reviewed by
G. Elaine Davis, graduate student, GSLIS, University of
Texas at Austin.