Table Of ContentBLOOD
RED?
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WWHHYY
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BLOOD
RED?
Emily Dodd
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Contents
Author Emily Dodd Body basics
Consultant Dr Bipasha Choudhury
Illustrators Dan Crisp, Arran Lewis
DK LONDON 8–9 What’s my body made of?
Editor Katie Lawrence
Senior art editor Ann Cannings 10–11 What is the largest organ?
Additional editing Manisha Majithia, Olivia Stanford
12–13 What’s smaller than a cell?
Managing editor Jonathan Melmoth
Managing art editor Diane Peyton Jones 14–15 Why is blood red?
Senior production editor Robert Dunn
Production controller Barbara Ossowska 16–17 What is DNA?
Jacket designer Ann Cannings
18–19 Why do twins look the same?
Jacket coordinator Issy Walsh
Publishing manager Francesca Young 20–21 Why don’t I have my mum’s nose?
Creative director Helen Senior
Publishing director Sarah Larter 22–23 Are bacteria alive?
DK DELHI 24–25 What are hormones?
Project editor Radhika Haswani
Senior art editor Nidhi Mehra
Project art editor Bharti Karakoti
Managing editor Monica Saigal
Managing art editor Romi Chakraborty Piece by piece
Jacket designer Rashika Kachroo
Jacket editor Radhika Haswani
DTP designers Sachin Gupta, Vijay Kandwal
CTS manager Balwant Singh 28–29 What are bones made of?
Production manager Pankaj Sharma
Project picture researcher Sakshi Saluja 30–31 What is my biggest muscle?
Delhi creative heads Glenda Fernandes,
32–33 What’s between my brain and skull?
Malavika Talukder
34–35 What’s inside my heart?
First published in Great Britain in 2021
by Dorling Kindersley Limited 36–37 Are my ribs bendy?
One Embassy Gardens, 8 Viaduct Gardens,
38–39 How does my spine fit together?
London, SW11 7BW
40–41 Why do I need plants to breathe?
Copyright © 2021 Dorling Kindersley Limited
A Penguin Random House Company 42–43 How does my brain control my emotions?
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
001–321271–Mar/2021 44–45 Why doesn’t it hurt when I cut my nails?
46–47 Why are my teeth different shapes?
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
48–49 Why does sugar taste sweet?
or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, 50–51 Why does my foot fall asleep?
photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the
prior written permission of the copyright owner.
A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library.
How it works
ISBN: 978-0-2414-6141-9
Printed and bound in China
For the curious 54–55 How can I feel light things?
www.dk.com
56–57 Why don’t I ever forget to breathe?
58–59 Why can I jump?
This book was made with Forest
Stewardship Council™ certified paper –
one small step in DK’s commitment to
a sustainable future. For more information
go to www.dk.com/our-green-pledge
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Find out how
doctors can see
inside your body
on page 118.
60–61 How do bones help me hear? Medical marvels
62–63 Why do my pupils change size?
64–65 How do I balance?
114–115 How do X-rays work?
66–67 Why don’t icy drinks make me
116–117 Why do I need vaccinations?
cold all over?
118–119 Can magnets show what’s
68–69 Am I taller in the morning?
inside my body?
70–71 How do I remember things?
120–121 How do antibiotics kill bacteria?
72–73 What happens to the food I eat?
122–123 How do doctors know what’s wrong?
74–75 Why can’t I breathe underwater?
124–125 Can my cells change jobs?
76–77 Why do I burp?
126–127 How does sun cream work?
78–79 How do babies grow?
128–129 Can robots perform surgery?
80–81 Does my skin last forever?
130–131 How can doctors create body parts?
82–83 How do I hold my pee?
84–85 Why do I get goosebumps?
86–87 Why do I have eyebrows?
88–89 Why do my ears pop?
132–133 Answers
134–137 Quiz your friends!
138–139 Glossary
Healthy habits
140–143 Index
144 Credits and acknowledgements
92–93 Why do I need food?
94–95 What happens when I exercise?
96–97 What is mental health?
98–99 Why do I feel happy and sad?
100–101 How does soap kill germs?
?
102–103 Why do people think differently? Quick quiz
104–105 What happens when I age?
106–107 Why do I need water? Test your knowledge! Look
108–109 What is my body clock? out for the “Quick quiz” box
110–111 What happens when I’m scared? throughout this book to see
how much you’ve learned.
You’ll find some of the
answers on the pages, but
Find out how you may have to look up
or give your best guess for
you breathe
the others. Turn to pages
on page 56.
132–133 for the answers.
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Body basics
The human body is made of cells, which contain
unique instructions that make you who you are.
Each organ in your body has an important job
to do, and your blood helps to supply them
with everything they need to work.
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8 BODY BASICS
What’s my
Tissue
Tissue builds every part of
body made of? the body. Some tissue
creates strong structures,
such as bone, while others
make soft parts, such
as nerves or muscle.
The smallest living building blocks in the
body are cells. There are many different
types of cell. The same cells join together
to build tissue. Groups of tissues build
organs, which work together in organ
systems, such as the respiratory system.
Cells
Cells hold the instructions
to make a body, which
are written in a coded
sequence of chemicals
called DNA. The DNA
is kept in the nucleus –
the centre of the cell.
This cell is about
to divide into two
cells. It has copied
itself and made
another nucleus.
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9
There are
about 100 trillion
cells in the body.
Organ
Organs are body parts that have
a job to do. For example, the
lungs take oxygen gas from
the air and release it into the
blood. They also remove carbon
dioxide gas from the blood.
Organ system
Groups of organs work together in
organ systems. The lungs are part of the
respiratory system. This group of organs
works together to help you breathe.
Where did all my
cells come from? ?
Quick quiz
1. What are the smallest
living building blocks
in the body called?
2. What is the centre
of a cell called?
Egg Sperm 3. What do groups
Half of the instructions to make Instructions to make the other of tissues build?
your body came from an egg cell half of your body came from
from your mother. your father’s sperm cell.
See pages 132–133 for the answers
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10 BODY BASICS
What is the
largest organ?
The skin! It weighs about
4 kg (9 lb). Each organ in
the body is a different After the skin,
shape and size, and the liver is the
each does a different job. heaviest organ
in the body.
The heart pumps blood,
the eyes help you to see,
and the brain controls
everything you do.
Skin
The skin keeps your body at a healthy
temperature, and stops your insides
from falling out. It protects you, too,
by blocking out water, germs,
and the Sun’s rays.
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