Physiology
We explain physiology and some of this science’s main characteristics. In addition, the types of physiology exist.
What is Physiology?
Physiology (from the Greek physiology, knowledge of nature) is the science responsible for knowing and analyzing the functions of living beings. From meeting the principles proposed by the other exact sciences (physics, chemistry, biology), this discipline gives meaning to the relationships between the elements that give life to living beings.
The basic unit of living beings is the cell; within it is the components that determine its characteristics and functions. As the cell structure becomes more complex, the operations expand. Physiology is fundamental in its relationship with all parts of medicine, especially anatomy.
While the second deals with the conformation of the individual (of animals, humans, plants, etc.), physiology deals with their functions.
The origins of physiology go back many centuries before Christ when the Greeks used the term to talk about the ‘rules or logic that governs life’. The figure of Aristotle meant a fundamental transformation in the matter, and he 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. A scientific method produced substantial advances in the matter, with experiments on animals in most cases. Claude Bernard believed in physiological science as the knowledge of the causes of the phenomena of life in the normal state. He gave importance to experimentation and the fact that theories contradict and reformulate.
The interactions between the parts of the body are governed by laws that are not autonomous but rather the opposite: they are physical, meteorological or electrical issues. If all body functions have to be balanced, physiology will have a lot to do with that state, called homeostasis.
Physiology could be mentioned and characterized for each of the functions that the human body has, but only a few will be discussed below, which stand out for their importance:
Cardiac physiology. He has managed to divide the heart into a single organ with two different systems, one left and one right. The physiology of the heart has been able 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 deals precisely with that device, the one in charge of providing the body with a sufficient amount of oxygen. It will then be the circulatory system responsible for haemoglobin or plasma transport. The 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 to be the set of body structures that enable reproduction and, therefore, the conservation of the species and its functioning. The same in men and women, each having its singularities.
Physiology of the musculoskeletal system. It deals with bones, tendons, muscles, and joints.
