The grand challenge of physiology: to integrate function from molecules to man

George Billman

doi:10.3389/fphys.2010.00005

Abstract

Traditional English Nursery Rhythm (earliest published version 1803) (Opie and Opie, 1997). The term physiology was fi rst introduced by Jean Francois Fernel (ca. 1497–1558) in 1542 [De Naturali Parte Medicinae (on the natural part of medicine)] as the study of the function of the healthy body as distinguished from pathology, the study of disease (Hall, 1975). William Harvey (1578–1657) is often regarded as the father of modern physiology as he was the fi rst individual to use carefully designed human and animal experiments to establish the function of a major bodily organ system with his description of the circulation of the blood. This application of physiology is illustrated in the following brief quotation from his seminal publication “Exercitatio Anatomica De Motu Cordis et De Circulatione Sanguinis in Animalibus” 1628 (Anatomical exercises on the motion of the heart and the circulation of blood in living creatures, fi rst English translation 1653):

Highlights

The term physiology was first introduced by Jean Francois Fernel in 1542 [De Naturali Parte Medicinae] as the study of the function of the healthy body as distinguished from pathology, the study of disease (Hall, 1975)
The concept of physiology has evolved and a central tenet has emerged that unites the various sub-disciplines of physiology: the quest to understand how the various components of the organism work together to maintain a healthy state
The French Physiologist, Claude Bernard (1813–1878) was perhaps the first to appreciate that living systems possess an internal stability that buffers and protects the organism against a constantly changing external environment

Summary

Introduction

The term physiology was first introduced by Jean Francois Fernel (ca. 1497–1558) in 1542 [De Naturali Parte Medicinae (on the natural part of medicine)] as the study of the function of the healthy body as distinguished from pathology, the study of disease (Hall, 1975). The concept of physiology has evolved and a central tenet has emerged that unites the various sub-disciplines of physiology: the quest to understand how the various components of the organism work together to maintain a healthy state.

Results

Conclusion