Picture: Gary Sissons
STOP consulting ‘Dr Google’. A practical new book written by a medical expert, Frankston GP Dr Tony Marshal, aims to give people a basic understanding of how the human body works and its common ailments.
Written in layman’s terms, Human Machine is a handy condensation of a six year medical school course tailored to the everyday person for consultation on daily health issues.
With 25 years’ experience in his field, Dr Marshal, of Playne Street Mediclinic, is a regular columnist for medical magazines including Australian Doctor and Medical Observer.
He said he decided to write Human Machine after finding people generally lacked an understanding of basic health literacy.
Dr Marshal said that although owner’s manuals are provided for all types of appliances, gadgets, and even mobile phones, there is still no ‘owner’s manual’ for the complex machine that is the human body.
“The reality is that people often go their whole lives without ever having read a basic book about their body,” he said.
“This manual was an opportunity for me to fill this gap and help to educate people about how the human body works.”
The book begins with a simple description of a cell and covers the basics of anatomy, physiology and pathology, illustrating the components of all the systems that make up the human body and includes symptoms of some of the most common diseases that each organ or system can suffer, for example hypertension, asthma, stroke and diabetes and also focuses on general health issues, such as obesity, sleep disturbances, travel medicine and first aid.
There is also a useful compendium of addresses and telephone numbers of local and national organisations in the Australian health system.
Human Machine is on sale now at Bookpal, Amazon and other leading booksellers. A copy can also be picked up at the Playne Street Mediclinic, 490 Nepean Hwy, Frankston.