Getting Introduced to

Physiology
Physiology (physis, nature; logos, discourse) literally means
knowledge of nature. The term belongs to an era when physiology and philosophy w
ere not much different. But now physiology means the study of the function of li
ving organisms. It is
difficult and usually unnecessary for one person to study the
function of all living organisms. Accordingly a student chooses
to study viral physiology, bacterial physiology, plant physiology, animal physio
logy or human physiology. Medical physiology concentrates on human physiology. H
owever, man is
unmistakably similar to animals,1 and a lot of human physiology has been learnt
from animals. Therefore medical physiology is based to a very large extent on an
imal physiology.
Physiology may be learnt at various levels. One may take a
holistic view of the entire organism, or study it at organ-system
level, or at cellular or molecular level. The knowledge of mechanisms of life at
cellular and molecular level has expanded so
much during the last few decades that cellular biology, molecular biology, bioch
emistry, biophysics and biotechnology have
become independent disciplines of study in their own right.
All these disciplines may be considered daughter disciplines
of physiology. But since taking a holistic view of mecha nisms
of life has its own importance, the mother discipline continues
to flourish. However, divisions between different branches of
knowledge are artificial; therefore we will be making frequent
references to cellular and molecular level in this book as well.
It is interesting that when we study function at cellular and
molecular level, the distinction between different categories of
living organisms tends to vanish. A lot has been learnt about
the molecular biology of man through experiments on insects,
plants and even bacteria and viruses.
The living organism functions somewhat differently at
different stages of life such as childhood, youth and old age,
pregnancy and lactation, during rest and exercise, and at different environmenta
l temperatures and atmos pheric pressures.
Function under all these circumstances is still within the normal
range, and therefore a part of physiology. Hence, the offshoots
such as sports physio logy and environmental physiology.
PHYSIOLOGY AS THE BASIS OF MEDICINE
Life is a dynamic process. The even tenor of health conceals
the continuous storm raging in every nook and corner of the
body. The reason why disturbance is an essential part of the
tranquility characterizing health is that the living body is like a
running engine. The trillions of cells which constitute the body
consume fuels and produce waste. The cells are wonderful
machines but have exacting requirements for optimum function. The fuels, or nutr
ients should be replenished, the waste
products should be removed, and the cells should be bathed
by a fluid of the right composition at an appropriate pH and
temperature. If the conditions deviate far from optimum, the
cells cannot function, and the organism ceases to be alive. In a
multicellular organism like man the cells are organized into tissues, organs and
systems on the principle of division of labour.
Each organ-system makes some contribution towards providing optimum conditions f
or the functioning of all cells of the
body. Through the cooperative and coordi nated activity of all
parts of the body, the conditions under which cells function are
maintained at a reasonably constant level. This constancy is
known as homeostasis (homoios, similar; stasis, position).

Since the aim of all parts of the body is homeostasis, study

of physiology is essentially a study of how each organ-system
contributes to homeostasis. The dynamic nature of life processes and the hostile
forces in our environment pose a continual threat to homeostasis. But the body
is equipped to detect
the challenges and to mount an appropriate response which
would neutralize the challenge. Health depends on the success of these responses
. When the responses are inadequate in
relation to the challenge, a person falls ill. But even in illness,
recovery from illness depends on the same type of responses
which operate in good health. The fact had been recognized
by Hippocrates as long ago as 400 BC when he stated that the
body possesses the means for its recovery from illness.
In light of the above discussion, we can keep ourselves
healthy by adopting a two-pronged strategy. First, we should