Self Defense: Ouch! How Your Body Makes It Through A Very Bad Day by Richard Walker

Witness germ-filled droplets being blasted out of the nostrils, stand back as a pus-filled pimple explodes..., learn how ears repel bugs, see the scab making team in action, or plunge into a churning stomach preparing to vomit!

It may seem like a very bad day if just a few of these things happens, but in reality our body's self defenses are always performing heroic rescues whether we know it or not. Dorling Kindersley's Ouch! How Your Body Makes It Through A Very Bad Day uses its "nanocam" to explore twenty such scenarios, as benign as sleeping or getting a tan to as arresting as being stung by a bee or experiencing a sudden barf attack--all ways in which our immune system and autonomic nervous system keep us alive and keep us going.

For example, in "Bee Sting," the nanocam takes us just under the skin to show what happens when a bee's stinger penetrates the epidermis and begins to pump venom into the nerve- and blood vessel-rich area just below. Nerve cells generate a reflex motion which tries to withdraw from the point of pain and scrape away the bee and its embedded stinger. Blood flow increases, delivering mast cells and histamines, neutrophils, antibodies, and extra fluids to dilute and fight the venom and any bacteria who enter with the stinger. In less than a minute, the body has everything under control, and with the help of the recommended quick wash with soap and water and ice bag applied to the sting, for most of us it's soon forgotten.

From what happens when we brush our teeth to what happens when a threat floods our bloodstream with adrenalin, this book traces the biomechanical processes which help us meet daily threats to health and safety. Most of us know about head lice and dust mites, but who knew there were parasitic eyelash mites, invisible wormlike critters which live happily in our lash follicles without our permission? From pathogens and parasites which can do us in to mucus and cilia, tears and digestive juices which fight them off, our bodies are always busy--whether we are or not.

Other processes covered in this book include choking, asthmatic response, sneezing and even taking a bathroom break. All, even the obvious "yucky!" processes which will appeal to gross-out fans, remind the reader that the human body is a miraculous wonder!

A CD included inside the book lets the reader select animations which show these natural functions in action, great for reviewing material in the text. The design and layout of the pages presents the facts in an eye-catching but logical sequence. Vocabulary introduced in the text is fully defined in the colorfully illustrated glossary. Types of body cells, tissues, and organ systems are also explained in the appendix, and an excellent index ties it all together. For middle readers, there is plenty of basic and advanced biology described here in clear and humorous style.