Human Physiology, 14th edition (2016)

iv

Stuart Ira Fox earned a Ph.D. in human physiology

from the Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, at

the University of Southern California, after earning degrees

at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA);

California State University, Los Angeles; and UC Santa

Barbara. He has spent most of his professional life teach-

ing at Los Angeles City College; California State University,

Northridge; and Pierce College, where he has won numer-

ous teaching awards, including several Golden Apples.

Stuart has authored thirty-nine editions of seven textbooks,

which are used worldwide and have been translated into sev-

eral languages, and two novels. When not engaged in profes-

sional activities, he likes to hike, fly fish, and cross-country

ski in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains.

I wrote the first edition of Human Physiology to provide

my students with a readable textbook to support the

lecture material and help them understand physiology

concepts they would need later in their health curricula

and professions. This approach turned out to have wide

appeal, which afforded me the opportunity to refine

and update the text with each new edition. Writing

new editions is a challenging educational experience,

and an activity I find immensely enjoyable. Although

changes have occurred in the scientific understanding

and applications of physiological concepts, the students

using this fourteenth edition have the same needs as

those who used the first, and so my writing goals have

remained the same. I am thankful for the privilege of

being able to serve students and their instructors through

these fourteen editions of Human Physiology.

—Stuart Ira Fox

About the Author

To my wife, Ellen;

and to Laura, Eric, Kayleigh, and Jacob Van Gilder; for

all the important reasons.

fox36375_fm_i-xxii.indd ivfox36375_fm_i-xxii.indd iv 1/28/15 5:41 PM1/28/15 5:41 PM