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'Physiology' (from Greek: φυσις, ''physis'', “nature, origin”; and λόγος, ''logos'', "knowledge") is the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of living organisms.
Physiology has traditionally been divided between plant physiology and animal physiology but the principles of physiology are universal, no matter what particular organism is being studied. For example, what is learned about the physiology of yeast cells may also apply to human cells.
The field of animal physiology extends the tools and methods of human physiology to non-human animal species. Plant physiology also borrows techniques from both fields.
Its scope of subjects is at least as diverse as the tree of life itself. Due to this diversity of subjects, research in animal physiology tends to concentrate on understanding how physiological traits changed throughout the evolutionary history of animals.
Other major branches of scientific study that have grown out of physiology research include biochemistry, biophysics, paleobiology, biomechanics, and pharmacology.

Contents

History

Areas of physiology

Human and animal

Plant

Microorganisms

See also

References

External links

History

Physiology can trace its roots back more than two millennia to classical antiquity, with the critical thinking of Aristotle and his emphasis on the relationship between structure and function. Claudius Galenus (A.D. 126-circa 199), known as Galen, was the first to use systematic and carefully designed experiments to probe the function of the body.
During the Middle Ages the ancient Greek medical traditions were further developed by physicians in the Muslim world, most notably Avicenna, who introduced experimentation and quantification into the study of physiology, and Ibn al-Nafis (1213-1288), who was the first to correctly describe the anatomy of the heart, the coronary circulation, the structure of the lungs, and the pulmonary circulation. He was also the first to describe the relationship between the lungs and the aeration of the blood.
Following from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance brought an increase of physiological research in the Western world that triggered the modern study of anatomy and physiology. Anatomist William Harvey described blood circulation in the 17th century,^[1] demonstrating the fruitful combination of close observations and careful experiments to learn about the functions of the body, which was fundamental to the development of experimental physiology. Herman Boerhaave is sometimes referred to as a father of physiology due to his exemplary teaching in Leiden and textbook 'Institutiones medicae'(1708).
In the 19th century, physiological knowledge began to accumulate at a rapid rate, most notably with Matthias Schleidan and Theodor Schwann's "Cell theory" which radically stated in 1838 that organisms are made up of units called cells, along with Claude Bernard's (1813-1878) many discoveries that ultimately led to his concept of, ' interieur' (internal environment) which would later be taken up and championed as ''Homeostasis'' by American physiologist Walter Cannon (1871-1945).

Areas of physiology

Human and animal

Main articles: Human physiology

Human physiology is the largest subfield of physiology, although model organisms are often used even in studies designed to increase knowledge of human physiology.

★ Myophysiology deals with the operation of muscles

★ Neurophysiology concerns the physiology of brains and nerves

★ Sociophysiology studies the physiology of social behaviour and social interactions

★ Cell physiology addresses the functioning of individual cells

★ Comparative or Environmental physiology examines how animals adapt to their environment

★ Evolutionary physiology studies how biological function has responded to selective forces

★ Membrane physiology focuses on the exchange of molecules across the cell membrane

★ Respiratory physiology describes the mechanics of gas exchange at the cellular level and also at a gross anatomic level within the lungs

★ Circulation also known as cardiovascular physiology, deals with the heart, blood and blood vessels and issues arising

★ Renal physiology focuses on the excretion of ions and other metabolites at the kidney

★ Endocrinology covers endocrine hormones which affect every cell in the body

★ Neuroendocrinology concerns the complex interactions of the neurological and endocrinological systems which together regulate physiology

★ Reproductive physiology concerns the reproductive cycle

★ Exercise physiology addresses the mechanism and response of the body to movement

★ Histology pertains to the study of tissues in the body

Plant

Plant physiology has differing subdivisions. For example, since plants do not have muscles and nerves, neither myophysiology nor neurophysiology applies.

★ Transpiration is the study of water loss from the plant leaves

★ Photosynthesis is the conversion of sunlight energy, water and CO₂ to form sugars (glucose).

Microorganisms

In 'microorganism physiology', some areas of both plant and animal physiology are relvant, in addition to areas of physiology specific to microorganisms, below:

★ 'Microbial physiology', a subfield of microbiology, is the study of how microorganisms function

★ Similarly, 'bacteria physiology', a subfield of bacteriology, is the study of how bacteria function

★ 'Microbe-host interactions' deals with the physiology of microorganisms and higher organisms in intimate contact, sometimes in symbiotic or transient relationships.

★ Likewise, 'bacteria–host interactions' deal with the physiology of bacteria and higher organisms, as in bacteria in the human body^[2]

★ 'Biofilm physiology' is the study of how microorganisms function together in a specialized community, or biofilm

See also

★ The Physiological Society

★ Physiome

★ Virtual Physiological Human

★ Claude Bernard

★ Krogh Principle

References

1. Zimmer, Carl. 2004. ''Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain - and How It Changed the World.'' New York: Free Press.
2. The Influence of Cooperative Bacteria on Animal Host Biology cited on 2007-04-14

External links

★ The Physiological Society

★ Developmental physiology

★ The American Physiological Society