Physiology

(Latin or Greek: physiologia; Greek: physis- nature, + logos- study)

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Physiology is the study of how living things function, and is therefore, a branch of biology. Historically, physiology has embraced many subjects, like biochemistry, pharmacology and immunology that are now regarded as quite separate disciplines. For some, what still distinguishes physiology from other related fields is the concept of physiological relevance - that is the intrinsic importance of an observed mechanism or phenomenon in the normal function of the organism involved. Thus a pharmacological response merely demonstrates the presence of functional receptors, a physiological response entails showing the involvement of an endogenous ligand in an effect that has demonstrably adaptive consequences.

A relatively recent offshoot of physiology is the field of biophysics.

Important physiologists of the Twentieth Century

Major names in the history of physiology in the first half of the 20th century might include Hodgkin and Huxley (physiology of the nervous impulse), Starling (endocrine scretions), Ringer (frog heart), Katz (neuromuscular junction), Adrian (nerve impulses), Sharpey-Shafer (adrenals and other endocrine systems), Sherrington (spinal reflexes), Dale (transmitter release), Eccles (synapses), Geoffrey Harris (neuroendocrine systems) (a very UK-centric list of our glory days), but also Nernst, Cajal, Banting and Best, Howard Florey. All living thing ( by most definitions) are composed of cells, and so the life functions that are present in every cell, like metabolism are an important part of physiology. Specialized functions of cells and organs are also included in this branch of biology. So, in the heart, for example, the electrical conducting system for the co-ordination of the beat of muscle cells is an important part of cardiac physiology. In Medicine, normal healthy functioning of tissues is called physiologic, and pathophysiology describes the specific mechanisms of disease processes.

Some fields within physiology focus on certain kinds of living things, such as microbial physiology.