What does physiology study? This science deals with the study of living organisms, animals or plants, as well as their constituent tissues or cells. Starting from the middle of the XIX century, this term implies the use of experimental methods, as well as techniques and concepts of the physical sciences, the study of the causes and mechanisms of activity of all living things. Discoveries of the unity of structure and functions common to creatures that live on our planet have led to the development of the concept of physiology, which is engaged in the search for common principles and concepts.
What is physiology?
Physiology is a study of how organisms function . "Physi" - part of the word comes from the Greek root and in the broad sense means "natural origin." When we think about physics today, we think about how matter and energy work, but another way of thinking about physics is to study wildlife.
In this sense, physiology is also the study of how nature functions, in this case in a living organism. This science can be divided into many sections, including plants, animals, bacteria, and more, but most of the early physiological records focused on how human systems work.
Organization Levels
What does physiology study? Different levels of organization are distinguished, all of which can be studied by physiologists. The body has numerous organ systems, such as the digestive and respiratory, which usually consist of several organs and glands. An organ is an ideal starting point for a structure that has a specific function within the body. For example, the stomach is part of the digestive system. There, food is mechanically and chemically destroyed to facilitate the absorption of nutrients.
Organs consist of one or more types of tissue, which are a set of cells having similar structures and functions. Smooth muscle is a type of tissue that makes up most of the stomach. At the lowest level of organization is a cell, for example, one muscle fiber inside a muscle. Some physiologists study how parts work inside a cell, or how different proteins or chemicals interact inside a cell.
Physiology history
Physiology has long been studied along with anatomy and medicine. In the ancient civilizations of Greece, Egypt, India and China, records were made describing human physiology and the treatment of various diseases. The study of physiology topics in Europe during the Renaissance from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries rose to a new level. The influence of classical Greek works of natural philosophers such as Hippocrates, Aristotle and Galen was strongly manifested.
The history of physiology is also rooted in ancient India and Egypt. This medical discipline was carefully studied by the so-called father of medicine Hippocrates about 420 BC. This ingenious man put forward in his time the theory of 4 elements, according to which the human body contains 4 fluids: black bile, sputum, blood and yellow bile. The theory says that any violation of their ratio leads to disease.
The main modifier of Hippocrates' theory was the founder of experimental physiology, Claudius Galen, who conducted experiments to obtain information about body systems. Then others followed. The physicist from France, Jean Fernell (1497-1558) introduced the term "physiology", which in translation from the ancient Greek language means "study of nature, origin."
What does physiology study?
Have you ever wondered why your heart rate increases when you are scared, or why your stomach rumbles when you are hungry? If you have answers and you know the reasons, then you can thank physiology for this knowledge. General physiology is the study of life in all guises. This is the science of the functions of living organisms and their parts. This means that physiology is a very broad scientific discipline that underlies many related subjects.
The subjects of physiology cover the molecular and cellular level to the level of organs, tissues and the entire system. A bridge is provided between scientific discoveries and their application in medical science. For example, much has been announced about the genetic revolution of recent years, which included sequencing of the human genome. A physiological understanding is behind every major medical breakthrough. for example, the survival of infants born after 24 weeks was made possible by understanding the physiology of the fetus.
Learning life
What does physiology study? This is a study of life, in particular, how cells, tissues and organisms function. Physiologists are constantly trying to answer key questions in areas from the functions of individual cells to the interactions between human populations and our environment here on Earth, the Moon and beyond. To answer these questions, physiologists work in laboratories, in libraries, in space.
For example, a physiologist may study how a particular enzyme contributes to the function of a particular cell or subcellular organelle. He can use simple neural networks found in sea snails to answer questions about the fundamental mechanisms of learning and memory. A physiologist can examine the animal’s cardiovascular system to answer questions about heart attacks and other human diseases.
The study of physiological processes can cover a wide range of other disciplines, such as neurophysiology, pharmacology, cell biology and biochemistry, and these are just some of them. Physiology is important because it is the foundation on which we build our knowledge of what life is, how to treat diseases and how to cope with the stresses that affect our bodies in different environments.