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Physiology (/ˌfɪziˈɒlədʒi/; from Ancient Greek φύσις (phúsis) 'nature, origin' and -λογία (-logía) 'study of')[1] is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system.[2][3] As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and physical functions in a living system.[4] According to the classes of organisms, the field can be divided into medical physiology, animal physiology, plant physiology, cell physiology, and comparative physiology.[4]
Central to physiological functioning are biophysical and biochemical processes, homeostatic control mechanisms, and communication between cells.[5] Physiological state is the condition of normal function. In contrast, pathological state refers to abnormal conditions, including human diseases.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for exceptional scientific achievements in physiology related to the field of medicine.
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "physiology". Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ "What is physiology?". biology.cam.ac.uk. University of Cambridge, Faculty of Biology. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
- ^ Prosser, C. Ladd (1991). Comparative Animal Physiology, Environmental and Metabolic Animal Physiology (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Liss. pp. 1–12. ISBN 978-0-471-85767-9.
- ^ a b Guyton, Arthur; Hall, John (2011). Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology (12th ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders/Elsevier. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-4160-4574-8.
- ^ Widmaier, Eric P.; Raff, Hershel; Strang, Kevin T. (2016). Vander's Human Physiology Mechanisms of Body Function. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. pp. 14–15. ISBN 978-1-259-29409-9.