What Is Physiology? History And Theoretical And Practical Bases
Over the centuries, human beings have tried to find an explanation for what happens around us and we have wanted to understand how our body works.
Understanding how living organs work and why their different parts (cells, muscles, joints, etc.) work has great applications. For example, greater knowledge of cancer cells has been key to medicine and is necessary to improve our health. Likewise, knowing the role of our muscles can help us in sports performance or in injury recovery.
Faced with this need for knowledge, physiology was born: This is a subdiscipline of Biology that studies the functions and Anatomy of living systems.
The word Physiology comes from the Greek φυσις, “physis”, which refers to the term “nature”, and λογος, “logos”, which means knowledge.
1. Ancient and Middle Ages
Its origins date back to the 5th century BC, at the time of Hippocrates, the father of Medicine, who was born in Greece in 460 BC. He is known for his theory of the Humors and his great contributions to medical sciences. However, Aristotle’s critical thinking and his ideas of the relationship between structure and function, as well as Galen’s interest in experimenting, were also decisive for this biological science to develop.
The Middle Ages was also a crucial period in the development of Physiology with contributions from the Arabs, who integrated the Greek and Indian knowledge of those times. Some figures of the time were very important, such as Avicenna and Ibn al-Nafis, the latter known as the father of circulatory physiology (he correctly described the anatomy of the heart, the structure of the lungs and the circulation of the themselves).
2. Modern and contemporary age
The Renaissance is known for being the era of physiological research in the Western world, since during this time the modern study of this discipline was activated. The works of Andreas Vesalio are considered very influential and this author is usually called the founder of human anatomy. Later, William Harvey, as a developer of experimental physiology, and Herman Boerhaave, as a founder of clinical teaching, allowed progress. of physiological knowledge and its dissemination in academic environments.
This knowledge continued to accumulate over the centuries, especially beginning in the 19th century, when the American Physiological Association was founded and when the Cell Theory of Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann appeared. Other authors such as Iván Pávlov also made findings that were crucial for other disciplines such as Psychology or Education.
In the 20th century, Evolutionary Physiology became a distinct discipline. The technological advances of recent decades have allowed this science to increase its discoveries and contributions to humanity.
Basis of Physiology
The structure and life of living beings is more complex than the sum of its separate parts (cells, tissues, organs, etc.). For this reason, Physiology is based on the foundations of other disciplines related to Biology:
Given the number of fields that Physiology covers, it is possible to classify this discipline into different specialties:
1. Plant physiology
Study of those physiological components that affect plants and vegetables, such as photosynthesis, plant nutrition and reproduction or the functions of plant hormones.
2. Animal physiology
It is the branch of Physiology that is responsible for the biological study of animal species.
3. Human physiology
This branch of Physiology belongs to Animal Physiology, but focuses on the study of the human body and its different parts and functions.
4. General physiology
The study of both plant physiology and animal physiology is what is known as general physiology.
5. Comparative physiology
Its objective is the comparison of the functioning and structures of animals and man.
6. Cellular physiology
Focused on studying the functions and anatomy of cells and how they capture stimuli and process information, reproduce and grow, feed, etc.
7. Physiological Psychology
It is responsible for the study of biological structures, elements and processes that are related to mental life and normal or pathological behavior.
Other types of Physiology
The previous classification is the most important, however, there are other types of Physiology according to different authors.
Conclusion
Physiology can be classified into different types; However, all of them refer to general physiology: a science closely linked to Biology that has allowed us to understand how our organism, and that of other animals, works plants and microorganisms.
Discoveries in Physiology have been key to the development of other disciplines such as Medicine, Psychology or Sports Training.
