We explain what physiology is and some main characteristics of this science. Also, the types of physiology that exist.
What is Physiology?
physiology (from Greek physiologyknowledge of nature) is the science that is responsible for knowing and analyzing the functions of living beings. From the meeting of the principles proposed by other exact sciences (physics, chemistry, biology), this discipline gives meaning to the relationships between the elements that give life to the living being.
The basic unit of living beings is the cellwithin it are the components that determine its characteristics and functions. As the cellular structure becomes more complex, the functions expand. Physiology, for this reason, is fundamental in its relationship with all parts of medicine, especially with anatomy.
While the second deals with the formation of the individual (of animals, human beings, plants, etc.), physiology deals with the functions they perform.
The origins of physiology date back to many centuries before Christ, when the Greeks used the term to talk about the 'rules or logic that govern life'. The figure of Aristotle meant a fundamental transformation in the matter, and proposed a new conception of philosophy and human happiness. Aristotle interpreted the Hippocratic precedents of medicine, and understood that everything that exists is composed of matter and form.
Jean Fernel used the concept of physiology to talk about the discipline that studies the functioning of living beings. The existence of a scientific method produced substantial advances in the matter with experiments carried out in most cases on animals. Claude Bernard believed in physiological science as the knowledge of the causes of the phenomena of life in a normal state. He gave importance to experimentation and the fact that theories contradict and reformulate each other.
The interactions carried out between the parts of the body are governed by laws that are not completely autonomous, but rather the opposite: these are physical, meteorological or electrical issues. Yeah All body functions have to be in balance physiology will have a lot to do with that state, called homeostasis.
A physiology could be mentioned and characterized for each of the functions that the human body has, but only a few will be mentioned below, which stand out for their importance:
- Cardiac physiology It has managed to divide the heart as a single organ that has two different systems, one left and one right. The physiology of the heart has managed to understand the movements of systole and diastole, heart rate (with which it was possible to determine the issues of tachycardia and bradycardia), anaerobic metabolism and hypertension.
- Respiratory physiology. It is the one that takes care of precisely that device, the one in charge of providing the body with a sufficient amount of oxygen. It will then be the circulatory system that is responsible for transport in hemoglobin or plasma. Respiratory movement was understood as the combination of inspiration (air reaching the alveoli) and expiration (air flowing outward due to pressure in the airways).
- Reproductive physiology It is understood as the set of body structures that enable reproduction, and therefore the conservation of the species, as well as its functioning. This is not the same in men and women, each having their uniqueness.
- Physiology of the musculoskeletal system. It deals with bones, tendons, muscles, joints, among others.
See also: Natural sciences
