Physiology is the science that studies the functioning of the living human body. Its focus is on the chemical and physical reactions of people's metabolism. That is, how the body's organs, their by-products and their cells relate to each other and balance each other in order to stay alive.
Differences between Human Physiology and Anatomy
Physiology is a science with a different focus than Anatomy. That's because Anatomy studies the shape of organs and tissues, living or not, while Physiology is focused on function, how the body works to stay alive.
Physiology and anatomy are complementary studies in the medical sciences, but their approaches and objects of study are different.
Fields of Physiology
Physiology is a large field of knowledge, studying all parts of a person's body. From how the skin works to the brain. It encompasses everything related to survival. Which means that there are several areas of research in human physiology. Such as:
- Cardiovascular Physiology (studies the functioning of the heart and surroundings)
- Endocrine Physiology (studies the functioning of the glands and the action of hormones)
- Respiratory Physiology (studies the functioning of Organs respiratory organs and oxygenation)
- Renal Physiology (studies the functioning of the kidney and the filtration of metabolites from the body)
- Gastrointestinal Physiology (studies the functionality and absorption of digestion)
- Physiology of the Nervous System (studies the sending and receiving of information in the organs of the nervous system)
Physiological Balance or Homeostasis
The different areas of research in Human Physiology allow the development of medicine and save lives. After all, what happens to a person whose heart isn't working well? And what about the lungs? Or if the kidneys aren't filtering as they should? The physiological imbalance of any part of the body always has the same consequence: the death of the individual.
For a person to stay alive, their body needs to have its physiology balanced and in good working order. That's why health professionals use drugs and other types of therapy to keep the body's physiology working well.
The scientific name for the physiological balance of the body is Homeostasis. This means that your body will fight to stay in balance so that it can perform its functions in any situation.
An example of human body homeostasis: if you eat potato chips that are too salty, you will feel thirsty and drink more water. This is your body's way of diluting that salt in the form of pee and getting back to an optimal amount of salt inside your body.
Bibliographic references
AMBIS, José Mariano; MARTHO, Gilberto Rodrigues. Modern biology. São Paulo, SP: Moderna, 2016.
