Physiology is the science of the functioning of living systems. It is a subcategory of biology Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. In physiology, the scientific method Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable, empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning. A scientific method consists of is applied to determine how organisms, organ systems, organs In biology and anatomy, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in structural unit to serve a common function, cells The cell is the functional basic unit of life. It was discovered by Robert Hooke and is the functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. Some organisms, such as most bacteria, are unicellular . Other organisms, such as humans, and biomolecules carry out the chemical or physical function that they have in a living system. The word physiology is from Ancient Greek Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning the Archaic , Classical (c. 5th–4th centuries BC), and Hellenistic (c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD) periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek. Its Hellenistic phase is known as Koine (&: φύσις, physis, "nature, origin"; and -λογία, -logia, "study of".

Human physiology

Human physiology is the science of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of humans in good health, their organs, and the cells of which they are composed. The principal level of focus of physiology is at the level of organs and systems. Most aspects of human physiology, and animal experimentation has provided much of the foundation of physiological knowledge. Anatomy and physiology are closely related fields of study: anatomy, the study of form, and physiology, the study of function, are intrinsically tied and are studied in tantem as part of a medical curriculum.

History

Human physiology dates back to at least 420 B.C. and the time of Hippocrates Hippocrates of Cos or Hippokrates of Kos - Greek: Ἱπποκράτης; Hippokrátēs was an ancient Greek physician of the Age of Pericles (Classical Athens), and is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is referred to as the Western father of medicine in recognition of his lasting contributions to the,^[1] the father of medicine. The critical thinking of Aristotle Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology. Together with Plato and Socrates (Plato's teacher), Aristotle is one of the most and his emphasis on the relationship between structure and function marked the beginning of physiology in Ancient Greece Ancient Greece is the civilization belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. At the center of this time period is Classical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries BC, at first under Athenian, while Claudius Galenus (c. 126-199 A.D.), known as Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamum (modern-day Bergama, Turkey), was a prominent Roman physician and philosopher of Greek origin, and probably the most accomplished medical researcher of the Roman period. As the son of a wealthy architect with scholarly interests, Galen received a comprehensive and quality, was the first to use experiments to probe the function of the body. Galen was the founder of experimental physiology.^[2] The ancient Indian books of Ayurveda Ayurveda Ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to the Indian subcontinent and practiced in other parts of the world as a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, the word ayurveda consists of the words āyus, meaning "longevity", and veda, meaning "related to knowledge" or "science". Evolving, the Sushruta Samhita The Sushruta Samhita is a Sanskrit redaction text on all of the major concepts of ayurvedic medicine with innovative chapters on surgery, attributed to Sushruta. He is widely considered the "Father of Surgery" and Charaka Samhita The Caraka Saṃhitā Sutra is an ancient Indian Ayurvedic text on internal medicine written by Caraka. It is believed to be the oldest of the three ancient treatises of Ayurveda. It is central to the modern-day practice of Ayurvedic medicine; and, along with the Sushruta Samhita it is now identified worldwide as an important early source of, also had descriptions on human anatomy and physiology. The medical world moved on from Galenism Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamum (modern-day Bergama, Turkey), was a prominent Roman physician and philosopher of Greek origin, and probably the most accomplished medical researcher of the Roman period. As the son of a wealthy architect with scholarly interests, Galen received a comprehensive and quality only with the appearance of Andreas Vesalius Andreas Vesalius was an anatomist, physician, and author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, De humani corporis fabrica (On the Workings of the Human Body). Vesalius is often referred to as the founder of modern human anatomy and William Harvey William Harvey was an English physician who was the first to describe correctly and in exact detail the systemic circulation and properties of blood being pumped around the body by the heart.^[3]

During the Middle Ages The Middle Ages is a period of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The period followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and preceded the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period in a three-period division of history: Classical, Medieval, and Modern. The term "Middle Ages" (medium aevum) was coined in, the ancient Greek and Indian medical traditions were further developed by Muslim physicians In the history of medicine, Islamic medicine or Arabic medicine refers to medicine developed in the medieval Islamic civilization and written in Arabic, the lingua franca of the Islamic civilization. Despite these names, a significant number of scientists during this period were not Arab. Some consider the label "Arab-Islamic" as, most notably Avicenna Abū ‘Alī al-Ḥusayn ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Sīnā', known as Abū Alī Sīnā or, more commonly, Ibn Sīnā (Arabic: ابن سینا‎), but most commonly known in English by his Latinized name Avicenna (Greek: Aβιτζιανός, Avitzianós), (c. 980 - 1037) was a polymath of Persian origin and the foremost physician and philosopher of his (980-1037), who introduced experimentation Experiment is the step in the scientific method that arbitrates between competing models or hypotheses. Experimentation is also used to test existing theories or new hypotheses in order to support them or disprove them. An experiment or test can be carried out using the scientific method to answer a question or investigate a problem. First an and quantification Quantification has several distinct senses. In mathematics and empirical science, it is the act of counting and measuring that maps human sense observations and experiences into members of some set of numbers. Quantification in this sense is fundamental to the scientific method into the study of physiology in The Canon of Medicine The Canon of Medicine is a 14-volume medical encyclopedia written by Persian scientist and physician Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) and completed in 1025. The book was based on a combination of his own personal experience, medieval Islamic medicine, the writings of the Roman physician Galen, the Indian physicians Sushruta and Charaka, and Persian medicine,. Many of the ancient physiological doctrines were eventually discredited by Ibn al-Nafis Ala al-Din Abu al-Hassan Ali ibn Abi-Hazm al-Qurashi al-Dimashqi (born 1213), commonly known as Ibn al-Nafis (Arabic: ابن النفيس‎), was an Arab Muslim polymath—a physician, anatomist, physiologist, surgeon, ophthalmologist, Hafiz, Hadith scholar, Shafi`i jurist and lawyer, Sunni theologian, Islamic philosopher, logician, Arabic (1213–1288), who was the first physician to correctly describe the anatomy Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy (zootomy) and plant anatomy (phytotomy). In some of its facets anatomy is closely related to embryology, comparative anatomy and comparative embryology, through common roots in of the heart The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions. The term cardiac (as in cardiology) means "related to the heart" and comes from the Greek καρδιά, kardia, for "heart.", the coronary circulation Coronary circulation is the circulation of blood in the blood vessels of the heart muscle . The vessels that deliver oxygen-rich blood to the myocardium are known as coronary arteries. The vessels that remove the deoxygenated blood from the heart muscle are known as coronary veins, the structure of the lungs The lung is the essential respiration organ in all air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located in the chest on either side of the heart. Their principal function is to transport oxygen from the atmosphere into the bloodstream, and to release, and the pulmonary circulation Pulmonary circulation is the portion of the cardiovascular system which carries oxygen-depleted blood away from the heart, to the lungs, and returns oxygenated blood back to the heart. The term is contrasted with systemic circulation. A separate system known as the bronchial circulation supplies blood to the tissue of the larger airways of the, for which he is considered the father of circulatory physiology Cardiovascular physiology is the study of the circulatory system. More specifically, it addresses the physiology of the heart and blood vessels ("vascular").^[4] He was also the first to describe the relationship between the lungs and the aeration Aeration is the process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or dissolved in a liquid or substance of the blood Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's cells – such as nutrients and oxygen – and transports waste products away from those same cells, the cause of pulsation In medicine, a person's pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the heartbeat. Sphygmology is a term from perhaps the 2nd century AD that roughly translates as "all that is known about the pulse". The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed against a bone, such as at the neck , at the wrist (,^[5] and an early concept of capillary Capillaries are the smallest of a body's blood vessels and are part of the microcirculation. They are only 1 cell thick. These microvessels, measuring 5-10 μm in diameter, connect arterioles and venules, and enable the exchange of water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and many other nutrient and waste chemical substances between blood and surrounding circulation.^[6]

Following from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historic era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not uniform across Europe, this is a general use of the brought an increase of physiological research in the Western world The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term that can have multiple meanings depending on its context (e.g., the time period, the region or social situation). Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes "the West" varies, expanding and contracting over time, in relation to various historical that triggered the modern study of anatomy and physiology. Andreas Vesalius Andreas Vesalius was an anatomist, physician, and author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, De humani corporis fabrica (On the Workings of the Human Body). Vesalius is often referred to as the founder of modern human anatomy was an author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy Human anatomy , which, with human physiology and biochemistry, is a complementary basic medical science, is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy (also called topographical anatomy, regional anatomy, or anthropotomy) is the study of, De humani corporis fabrica De humani corporis fabrica libri septem is a textbook of human anatomy written by Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564) in 1543.^[7] Vesalius is often referred to as the founder of modern human anatomy.^[8] Anatomist Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy (zootomy) and plant anatomy (phytotomy). In some of its facets anatomy is closely related to embryology, comparative anatomy and comparative embryology, through common roots in William Harvey William Harvey was an English physician who was the first to describe correctly and in exact detail the systemic circulation and properties of blood being pumped around the body by the heart described the circulatory system The circulatory system is an organ system that passes nutrients , gases, hormones, blood cells, etc. to and from cells in the body to help fight diseases and help stabilize body temperature and pH to maintain homeostasis in the 17th century,^[9] 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 Herman Boerhaave was a Dutch botanist, humanist and physician of European fame. He is regarded as the founder of clinical teaching and of the modern academic hospital. His main achievement was to demonstrate the relation of symptoms to lesions is sometimes referred to as a father of physiology due to his exemplary teaching in Leiden and textbook Institutiones medicae (1708).^{[citation needed]}

In the 18th century, important works in this field were by Pierre Cabanis Pierre Jean George Cabanis was a French physiologist and materialist philosopher, a french doctor and physiologist.^{[citation needed]}

In the 19th century, physiological knowledge began to accumulate at a rapid rate, most notably^{[peacock term]} in 1838 with the Cell theory Cell theory refers to the idea that cells are the basic unit of structure in every living thing. Development of this theory during the mid 1600s was made possible by advances in microscopy. This theory is one of the foundations of biology. The theory says that new cells are formed from other existing cells, and that the cell is a fundamental unit of Matthias Schleiden Matthias Jakob Schleiden was a German botanist and co-founder of the cell theory, along with Theodor Schwann and Rudolf Virchow and Theodor Schwann Theodor Schwann was a German physiologist. His many contributions to biology include the development of cell theory, the discovery of Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system, the discovery and study of pepsin, the discovery of the organic nature of yeast, and the invention of the term metabolism, which radically stated that organisms are made up of units called cells. Claude Bernard Claude Bernard was a French physiologist. Historian of science I. Bernard Cohen of Harvard University called Bernard "one of the greatest of all men of science". Among many other accomplishments, he was one of the first to suggest the use of blind experiments to ensure the objectivity of scientific observations's (1813–1878) further discoveries ultimately led to his concept of milieu interieur Milieu interieur or interior milieu, from the French, milieu de l’intérieur, is a term coined by Claude Bernard to refer to the extra-cellular fluid environment, and its physiological capacity to ensure protective stability for the tissues and organs of multicellular living organisms (internal environment), which would later be taken up and championed as "homeostasis Homeostasis is the property of a system, either open or closed, that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition. Typically used to refer to a living organism, the concept came from that of milieu interieur that was created by Claude Bernard and published in 1865. Multiple dynamic equilibrium adjustment" by American physiologist Walter Cannon Walter Bradford Cannon was an American physiologist, Professor and chairman of the Department of Physiology at Harvard Medical School, who developed secondarily to Claude Bernard the concept of homeostasis , and popularized it in his book The Wisdom of the Body, published in 1932 by W. W. Norton, New York (1871–1945).^{[clarification needed]}

In the 20th century, biologists also became interested in how organisms other than human beings function, eventually spawning the fields of comparative physiology and ecophysiology.^[10] Major figures in these fields include Knut Schmidt-Nielsen and George Bartholomew. Most recently, evolutionary physiology has become a distinct subdiscipline^[11].

The biological basis of the study of physiology, integration refers to the overlap of many functions of the systems of the human body, as well as its accompanied form. It is achieved through communication which occurs in a variety of ways, both electrical and chemical.

In terms of the human body, the endocrine and nervous systems play major roles in the reception and transmission of signals which integrate function. Homeostasis is a major aspect with regards to the interactions within an organism, humans included.

Schools

There is an abundance of different universities that allow students to major in physiology.^[12][13] It is considered one of the fastest growing majors for undergraduate students^{[citation needed]}.

Honors and awards

The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology, awarded since 1901 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

See also

• Anatomy
• Biophysical Society
• Comparative physiology
• Defense Physiology
• Ecophysiology
• Evolutionary physiology
• Human physiology
• Physiome
• The Physiological Society
• Somatopsychic
• Applied Physiology
• American Physiological Society

References

1. ^ Physiology - History of physiology, Branches of physiology
2. ^ Thoracic Surgery Clinics: Historical Perspectives of Thoracic Anatomy, Stanley C. Fell and F. Griffith Pearson
3. ^ Galen
4. ^ Chairman's Reflections (2004), "Traditional Medicine Among Gulf Arabs, Part II: Blood-letting", Heart Views 5 (2), p. 74-85 [80].
5. ^ Nahyan A. G. Fancy (2006), "Pulmonary Transit and Bodily Resurrection: The Interaction of Medicine, Philosophy and Religion in the Works of Ibn al-Nafīs (died 1288)", pp. 224-229, Electronic Theses and Dissertations, University of Notre Dame.[1]
6. ^ Paul Ghalioungui, Ibn an-Nafis, Cairo, 1966, pp. 109-129, and "The West denies Ibn Al Nafis's contribution to the discovery of the circulation" for the Symposium on Ibn al-Nafis, Second International Conference on Islamic Medicine: Islamic Medical Organization, Kuwait, 1982.
7. ^ Page through a virtual copy of Vesalius's De Humanis Corporis Fabrica
8. ^ Andreas Vesalius (1514-1567)
9. ^ Zimmer, Carl. 2004. Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain - and How It Changed the World. New York: Free Press.
10. ^ Feder, M. E., A. F. Bennett, W. W. Burggren, and R. B. Huey, eds. 1987. New directions in ecological physiology. Cambridge Univ. Press, New York.
11. ^ http://www.biology.ucr.edu/people/faculty/Garland/GarlCa94.pdf Garland, T., Jr., and P. A. Carter. 1994. Evolutionary physiology. Annual Review of Physiology 56:579-621.
12. ^ "© The American Physiological Society - Departments and Programs (US)". http://www.the-aps.org/sites/us.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
13. ^ "© The American Physiological Society - Departments and Programs (Non-US)". http://www.the-aps.org/sites/non-us.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-21.

External links

• Developmental physiology
• physiologyINFO.org, a public information website sponsored by The American Physiological Society
• Physiwiki

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