Human Body Collection

Obsessed with its beauty, humbled by its flaws, humans are covered by a unique ultra-thin shield that instantly defines and shapes the body living inside it. Now, National Geographic invites you on an in-depth adventure revealing not just the science but the vital cultural meanings we attach to this largest of all human organs. A trip back in time explores the evolution of human skin - and the rainbow diversity of skin color today. Cutting-edge research unveils the role skin plays in human sexual attraction. And we go beyond biology to trace the influence of skin on our perceptions of race, our skittishness about nudity and the intriguing riddle of personal identity.

Embark on an incredible journey as National Geographic traces one "everywoman's" story, using milestones to examine the everyday workings of a living, functioning body in ways not seen before. From the producers of the acclaimed Inside the Womb, Inside the Living Body reveals the life story of the human body from first cry to final breath. With microscopic filmmaking, advanced medical technology, and state-of-the-art cardiac tomography (CT) imaging techniques, Inside the Living Body presents a new and uniquely revealing perspective on how our bodies function, grow, and mature from infancy through puberty, adulthood, and old age. It's the journey of a human lifetime... from the outside in.

Over the last three decades, science has been advancing our understanding of stress - how it impacts our bodies and how our social standing can make us more or less susceptible. From baboon troops on the plains of Africa, to neuroscience labs at Stanford University, scientists are revealing just how lethal stress can be. Research reveals that the impact of stress can be found deep within us, shrinking our brains, adding fat to our bellies, even unraveling our chromosomes. Yet understanding how stress works can help us figure out ways to combat it and how to live a life free of the tyranny of this contemporary plague. In Stress: Portrait of a Killer, scientific discoveries in the field and in the lab prove that stress is not a state of mind, but something measurable and dangerous.

Imagine breaking a rib just by coughing or having an internal organ turning to bone. These are just two of the many life-threatening challenges faced by Jake Grys and Holly Pullano, two people with extraordinary genetic bone disorders. Jake is a spirited 9-year-old boy who has broken practically every bone in his body, and Holly is a 28-year-old whose muscles and tendons can turn to bone after the slightest impact. Using advanced animation, National Geographic travels inside Jake's diminutive frame to discover what make his bones so brittle and explores Holly's inner workings to find out how organs can turn into bone, progressively encasing her in a second skeleton.

Twelve-year-old Son Pham's face has been taken over by a huge balloon-like mass, caused by abnormal blood vessels. The severity of his condition is so staggering that leading specialists have designed a complex, years-long treatment program specifically for him. National Geographic follows as Son undergoes an invasive and risky procedure, part of a series designed to diminish the malformation. Sixteen-year-old Michael Politzer's vascular system has spread into a labyrinth that mangles and reshapes his organs, causing bone and tissue overgrowth. Follow Michael as he tries to live like a normal teenager, while fighting the continuous attacks of his own body that have forced him to have amputations and his spleen removed.

National Geographic investigates the science of muscle by taking a journey inside the bodies of two remarkable humans with startling muscular disorders. 31-year old Jason Dunn lives with Dystonia, a rare disease that causes his brain to send faulty messages to his muscular system. Every waking moment his muscles flex out of his control, twisting his body into unusual positions. Ami Ankileweitz has Spinal Muscle Atrophy, a genetic disorder that has caused his muscles to wither away.