: a branch of biology that deals with the functions and activities of life or of living matter (such as organs, tissues, or cells) and of the physical and chemical phenomena involved compare anatomy
2
: the organic processes and phenomena of an organism or any of its parts or of a particular bodily process
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Physiology Has Latin Roots
The Latin root physio- generally means "physical", so human physiology deals with just about everything that keeps us alive and working, and other physiology specialties do the same for other animals and for plants. To do anything serious in the field of health, you've obviously got to know how the body's organs and cells function normally. Physiology used to be considered separately from anatomy, which focuses on the body's structures; however, it's now known that structure and function can't easily be separated in a scientific way, so "anatomy and physiology" are often spoken of in the same breath.
Example Sentences
She took a course in anatomy and physiology. the physiology of diseased plants
Recent Examples on the WebAnd this has been done ever since sleep physiology has been studied in the labs with a few electrodes, including some that are put under your chin. Steven Strogatz, Quanta Magazine, 24 Aug. 2022 Morten Scheibye-Knudsen did his medical training at the University of Copenhagen including a short scholarship investigating mitochondrial physiology. Alex Zhavoronkov, Forbes, 11 Aug. 2022 The project requires expertise in physiology, biomechanics, kinesiology, data science, statistics, and electrical engineering. Kat Friedrich, Popular Mechanics, 11 Aug. 2022 Men and women are fundamentally different in their genetics and expressed physiology.Anchorage Daily News, 7 Aug. 2022 But now, given the glacier’s changing physiology, around two-thirds of the refuge is now technically in Swiss territory. Tristan Bove, Fortune, 28 July 2022 Finding direct evidence of how ancient organisms’ physiology worked is a challenging task. Riley Black, Scientific American, 20 July 2022 My research isn’t really about inclusion, it’s about physiology.San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 June 2022 Traditionally, customers were mostly college graduates, college athletes or physiology majors, McCartney said. Georgann Yara, The Arizona Republic, 23 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Latin physiologia natural science, from Greek, from physi- + -logia -logy