To know the features of the functioning of the body, each of its parts, structure, to be able to explore and predict changes and pathologies is an important task for specialists in the field of medicine. There is a whole science that deals with the study of just such issues. It is called physiology. This is the science of those processes that accompany the normal functioning of the body. It arose a long time ago, even Hippocrates for the first time showed interest in the functioning of living systems. Today, there are various methods of studying physiology that help to fully understand certain mechanisms and characteristics of the body.
General concept of physiology
You should start with a general concept. Physiology is a science about the life of a living creature, its relationship with external environmental conditions, their impact on the state of health and the normal functioning of organs and their systems. In general, the main idea of this science is to identify the underlying mechanisms of the living being, to understand how its self-regulation and all other processes occur.
The object of physiology is only a living organism, because it is in this way that it is possible to identify all the laws that interest people in its structure and functioning. The tasks of the discipline are clearly seen in the definition itself.
Thus, the subject, tasks and methods of physiology are three components of the theoretical foundations of science. Many scientists at all times tried to understand the essence of the changes occurring in the body, including the human. However, this became fully possible only with the invention of modern instruments and devices, that is, science was fully developed only from the 20th century.
This did not stop her from becoming one of the leading among the biological sciences. Physiology, anatomy and medicine are three closely interconnected disciplines that are the foundation for each other. Therefore, the methods of anatomy and physiology in some cases are similar to each other.
Sections of physiology
In itself, this science has several daughter disciplines. So, physiology is distinguished:
- general;
- comparative;
- private.
General is engaged in the study of life processes in general. That is, it considers the laws of the course of those reactions that are manifestations of life. For example, nutrition, respiration, excretion, regulation, change of sleep and wakefulness and others. This also includes such a section as cell physiology, which is engaged in a detailed study of all its life manifestations.
Comparative physiology compares the vital processes of one or different types of organisms in the process of ontogenesis. As a result, a whole branch is formed - evolutionary physiology.
The private is engaged in narrower specific studies. So, we can distinguish several options for disciplines included in this group.
- Human physiology, the research methods of which we will consider a little later.
- Physiology of certain groups of living organisms (insects, birds, mammals, reptiles and so on).
- Separate organs and tissues.
- Body systems (physiology of digestion, blood circulation, respiration, etc.).
Recently, a study of man from the point of view of this science has received especially widespread development. After all, his body has the most complex structure. The methods of human physiology are diverse and effective enough to reveal all the things necessary for understanding the essence. Allocate:
- age physiology;
- nutrition;
- labor;
- sports;
- space;
- pathological;
- clinical.
The combined data of these disciplines help to embrace all the immense processes occurring within a person and find access to manage them.
Research Methods in Physiology
There are several of them. There are historical ones that were used in antiquity. Today, new ones are formed, based on the latest scientific achievements in the field of technology, electronics, and the study of electromagnetic radiation.
The following physiology methods are distinguished.
- Extirpation is one of the most ancient ways of studying. It consisted in the removal of a particular organ in a living creature with further observation of the body's reaction and fixation of the results.
- Fistular method . Its basis is the introduction into the organs having a cavity tubes of metal or plastic and thus fixing biological fluids. Data are obtained on the change in the chemical nature of substances, that is, the secretory function of the body is investigated.
- The method of catheterization is the introduction through thin tubes into the organs and blood vessels of special drugs that cause changes in functioning. So the work of the heart, blood vessels, glands of external and internal secretion (not all) is studied.
- Denervation method. Used to study the relationship between nerves and working organs. For this, a method of irritation is used with further fixation of the results.
- Methods of studying physiology based on the use of tools and equipment. This includes the implantation of macro- and micronutrients in organs and tissues, registration of nerve impulses, exposure to radiation, taking readings of the heart and brain, and so on.
Some methods of research in physiology, we consider in more detail below. They are the most commonly used and important.
Observation
These methods of physiology were used as far back as Ancient Egypt, Rome, China, and the Ancient East. Already then there were researchers interested in the changes occurring in living organisms. For example, in Egypt, during the mummification of the pharaohs and their families, autopsies were performed and changes in the internal environment were recorded. The following indicators were evaluated:
- color and quality of biological fluids and masses;
- coloration of organs;
- eye sclera color;
- quality and color of sputum;
- puffiness of the skin, its turgor and structure.
These characteristics were compared with those of healthy people and certain conclusions were drawn. It was even possible to establish in some cases the cause of death.
Today, observation has not lost its relevance, especially when it comes to psychophysiology. The behavior of a person, his emotions, temperament, external manifestations of trembling, sweating - all these signs serve as certain calls to the study. They make it clear the relationship of the structure and the external manifestation of certain indicators, physiological functions, processes in the body.
The doctrine of human temperament was created by the scientist Pavlov precisely on the basis of studying the processes of inhibition and excitement, which externally manifested various emotional colors in behavior and reaction to certain events, words, actions. He proved that the basis of choleric, sanguine, melancholic and phlegmatic manifestations are precisely the nervous processes associated with the mental activity of the brain, its reactions.
These findings have been repeatedly confirmed by various scientists and psychologists, researchers. Therefore, such methods of human physiology as observation and experiment, which will be discussed later, were and are relevant, important and effective.
Experiment
Experimental methods for studying physiology are fundamental and historically the most ancient and popular. Indeed, how else to find out if you do not look? Therefore, along with observation, various tests were carried out, most often on animals. It was they who gave an almost one hundred percent result in research, made it possible to obtain the most reliable data.
There are experimental methods for the study of anatomy and physiology, which are reduced to two main groups.
- Sharp experiments. This method of research was used until the end of the 19th century, until the Russian scientist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov found another option. What was the essence of such an intervention in the body? The experiment was carried out on a living animal organism, which was attached to a special machine. Then, a live section was performed to the organ necessary for the study, and thus the observed results of its work were recorded. However, a number of significant drawbacks made this method ineffective. In addition to the fact that on the moral side, this is inhuman and cruel, because the animal was subjected to terrible torment and torture, very painful operations, even anesthesia did not help, so did emotional suffering, the physical pain experienced by the victim of the experiment significantly distorted the results. It was a vicious circle. To get to the right organ, one had to inflict suffering. They, in turn, distorted the normal course of physiological processes, and the result was not very effective.
- Chronic experiment. It was this method that Pavlov proposed. He himself was against sharp experiments because of their extreme cruelty, perhaps this prompted him to invent a more humane version. The experimental organism was also an animal. However, the procedure was very different. Before surgery, a high-quality anesthesia was performed. Then a fistula was implanted into the walls of the desired organ - a plastic or metal tube that was sewn to the skin from the outside. After that, the animal was given time to recover, heal the formed wound and completely normalize the processes of life. So they received information through the fistula on the course of certain processes in the studied part of the body, while it was completely reliable, since the body was functioning normally. Research could be carried out for a long time without harming the health of the animal and in accordance with all the rules of its natural existence.
Thus, the basic methods of physiology worked, which are relevant in some cases to this day. Although, of course, modern technological innovations are gradually completely crowding out human intervention directly into the body. Now it is possible to obtain the necessary information in completely different, less painful, more accurate and suitable ways for humans.
Graphic Registration
Methods of human physiology are based precisely on the use of certain equipment. Among such devices, the following occupy an important place.
- Electrocardiograph An apparatus used to fix cardiac bioelectric potentials. As a result, an electrocardiogram drawn on paper comes out of the device, which a knowledgeable medical specialist decrypts and draws a conclusion about the state of health of the heart and circulatory system. Today, this device has saved the lives of millions of people. After all, timely detection of a problem is the key to successful treatment.
- Microelectrodes The smallest structures that can be implanted directly into the cell and fix the membrane biopotential. Today this is one of the most important achievements in electronics, which relates to physiological studies of the human body. These electrodes can even be introduced into the human brain, which makes it possible to observe and record psychosomatic changes in the state of health and vital activity.
- Radionuclide methods of physiology - are used to obtain quantitative characteristics of physiological processes.
- A variety of sensors that emit electromagnetic waves. The opposite answer in the form of an electric pulse is recorded by a special device - an oscilloscope - and then transmitted for processing to a computer. Here, detailed processing of the received information is already taking place and certain conclusions are being formed. So you can set the chemical concentration of certain ions, pressure, temperature, motion and other parameters).
Thus, modern methods of the science of physiology, based on the use of instruments, are the most accurate, painless and scientifically informative of all of us considered above.
Chemical and biochemical methods
The methods of anatomy and physiology are not only similar to each other. They are also associated with other sciences. So, there is biological physiology, biochemistry, as well as physical physiology. These sciences study the processes inside the body from their point of view, that is, from the chemical, physical and biological.
So, using precisely these methods, the effect of a substance (mediator, hormone, enzyme) on the processes occurring in the body is established. Chemistry helps in establishing the properties of this compound, physics reveals its thermodynamic parameters that can affect the body. Physiology requires studying the effects not only on a specific process, but also on the body, organ and on the totality of external conditions. Together, these sciences are united under the general name of biological chemistry.
Methods of pathological physiology
The subject and methods of physiology are closely related and interdependent concepts. However, a normal science studying a healthy living organism is not everything. There is also pathophysiology, or pathological, which examines the violation of vital processes, their course, the effect on the body as a whole and each of its organs and so on. Therefore, this discipline has its own set of methods by which it is possible to study the identified issues.
What are these physiological methods?
- Modeling . It is divided into two groups: on a living object of research and in vitro, that is, an artificial physical system. To create a model of the pathogenic process using a computer or mathematical calculations on paper. Also, they often use the usual logical conclusions and conclusions. The model, as a rule, is built on the basis of theoretical data obtained on any issue.
- Theoretical analysis. Based on the data obtained in laboratory studies of a material (living object), a theory is constructed. It includes presumptive answers to the questions: "What is the matter with the patient? How is the pathological process going on? What is its state and scale of influence? What control measures are appropriate in this case to stop?"
- Clinical researches. Mandatory method, without which the existence of all the others is impossible. After all, theoretical knowledge appears precisely on the basis of the results of the patient’s clinic. For this method, a number of related techniques are used:
- biochemical;
- chemical;
- physical;
- histochemical;
- morphological;
- statistical and other.
Only on the basis of material obtained using all methods, the doctor can make a diagnosis and prescribe a course of treatment.
Plant physiology
This is the science of the vital functions (functioning) of plant organisms. We are talking about all forms of life: from unicellular to higher, including algae. The tasks of plant physiologists are as follows:
- consider and identify the mechanisms of functioning of plants;
- create the theoretical basis for the possibility of photosynthesis in artificial conditions;
- to build a model that reflects the essence of the methodology for obtaining increased yields of important crops.
Of course, the tasks are far from simple. After all, plants are real living organisms in which hundreds of biochemical reactions occur every second, as in humans. A physiologist should study each of them. Plants breathe, feed, carry out the process of photosynthesis, multiply, grow and develop - these are normal types of life for any living creatures. The study of all these processes is the task of physiologists.
To solve the problem of photosynthesis in artificial conditions is to give people the opportunity to access a huge potential source of nutrition. After all, then hunger in the world will disappear, the quality of life of people will increase significantly. But so far this problem has not been completely resolved, although many issues in the field of the photochemical side of the process have already been resolved.
Methods of this science
Plant physiology is closely bordered by the following modern sciences:
- biotechnology;
- molecular biology;
- genetic engineering;
- biophysics;
- cell engineering.
Naturally, this also affects the methods by which studies of plant organisms are carried out. So, the methods of plant physiology are as follows.
- Cultivation.
- Methods of light and electron spectroscopy.
- Electrochemical.
- Optical-acoustic.
- Chromatographic
- Spectrophotometric.
Obviously, all of them are aimed at measuring numerical indicators: productivity, mass, growth, development, results of plastic and energy metabolism. What can solve such methods? Very important agricultural tasks, such as:
- plant breeding;
- obtaining heterotic forms;
- introduction;
- acclimatization;
- regionalization of varieties;
- artificial irrigation;
- .
, - , .