100 FACTS SERIES
T his hugely popular series continues to go
from strength to strength. Information is
supported by dramatic design and illustrated
with superb artwork and photographs. These
books celebrate their subjects and provide a
fun approach to learning.
100 numbered facts
encourage reading from
start to finish
Includes cartoons,
activities and quizzes
Cartoons on
every spread
Facts, activites and
quizzes throughout
48 pages
Ages 69
Steve Parker
Consultant: Dr. Kristina Routh MB ChB
First published as hardback in 2003 by Miles Kelly Publishing Ltd
Hardings Barn, Bardfield End Green, Thaxted, Essex, CM6 3PX, UK
Copyright Miles Kelly Publishing Ltd 2011
Editorial Director: Belinda Gallagher
Art Director: Jo Brewer
Assistant Editor: Lucy Dowling
Volume Designer: John Christopher, White Design
Copy Editor: Sarah Ridley
Proofreader: Hayley Kerr
Indexer: Jane Parker
Production Manager: Elizabeth Collins
Reprographics: Anthony Cambray, Liberty Newton, Ian Paulyn
Assets Manager: Bethan Ellish
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
prior permission of the copyright holder.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The publishers would like to thank the following artists
who have contributed to this book:
Syd Brak, Mike Foster/Maltings Partnership, Janos Marffy,
Martin Sanders, Mike Saunders, Rudi Vizi
Cartoons by Mark Davis at Mackerel
All other images from the Miles Kelly Archives
Every effort has been made to acknowledge the source and
copyright holder of each picture. Miles Kelly Publishing
apologises for any unintentional errors or omissions.
www.mileskelly.net
info@mileskelly.net
There are more than six billion human
beings in the world. If you could say hello
to all of them, even quickly, it would take
you more than 300 years. In some ways,
all human bodies are very similar,
especially on the inside. Each one has
a heart and brain, bones and guts,
arms and legs and skin. But each
human body is also individual,
especially on the outside. You have
your own appearance, size and shape,
facial features, hairstyle and clothes.
You also have your own personality,
with likes and dislikes, and special
things that make you happy or
sad. So human bodies may be
very similar in how they look,
but not in what they do. You
are unique, your own self.
We tend to notice small differences on the
outside of human bodies, such as height, width,
hair colour and clothes. This allows us to
recognize our family and friends.
A full-grown human body is made of
billions of microscopic parts, called cells.
But in the beginning, the body is a single
cell, smaller than this full stop. Yet it contains
all the instructions, known as genes, for the
whole body to grow and develop.
Successful sperm
Egg cell
Wall of uterus
Fluid around
baby
Two months
Bones of skeleton
start to form
Face has
taken shape
Three months
Hair begins to
grow on head
Baby begins to
move and kick
Five months
Placenta
(afterbirth)
Umbilical cord
Seven months
Thousands of sperm cells reach the egg
(top), but only one is successful and joins
with it, at fertilization. This starts the
growth of the baby, shown here after two,
three, five and seven months.
The body begins when an egg cell inside
the mother joins up with sperm from the
father. The egg cell splits into two cells, then
into four cells, then eight, and so on. The bundle
of cells embeds itself in the mothers womb
(uterus), which protects and nourishes it. Soon
there are thousands of cells, then millions, forming
a tiny embryo. After two months the embryo has
grown into a tiny baby, as big as your thumb,
with arms, legs, eyes, ears and mouth.
After nine months in the
womb, the baby is ready to be
born. Strong muscles in the walls
of the womb tighten, or contract.
They push the baby through the
opening, or neck of the womb,
called the cervix, and along the
birth canal. The baby enters
the outside world.
A newborn baby may be frightened and
usually starts to cry. Inside the womb it was
warm, wet, dark, quiet and cramped. Outside
there are lights, noises, voices, fresh air and room
to stretch. The crying is also helpful to start the
baby breathing, using its own lungs.
Nine months
Wall of womb is stretched
Placenta
Baby is born
head-first
Cervix
(neck of womb)
I DONT
BELIEVE IT!
The human body never grows
as fast again as it does during
the first weeks in the womb.
If the body kept growing at that
rate, every day for 50 years,
it would be bigger than the
biggest mountain in the world!
Inside the womb, the baby cannot
breathe air or eat food. Nutrients